New York Yankees: The All-Century Team of Greatest Pinstriped Players, 2000-2011

Hundreds of players have donned pinstripes for the New York Yankees in the 21st century, but which ones have been the best?

In 12 seasons since 2000, the Yankees have clinched 11 playoff berths, four American League pennants and two World Series championships.

Here is the all-century 25-man roster of past and current New York Yankees who have contributed to the franchise's success in the new millennium. The dates listed in the slide titles are the seasons they spent in New York.

*Note: Each player was assessed solely on his post-2000 Yankee career. For example, David Cone—an excellent starting pitcher in the late 1990s—went 4-14 with a 6.91 ERA in 2000, his final season in the Bronx. Understandably, he did not make this prestigious list.

Jorge Posada (C): 1995-2011

Posada was an obvious selection behind the plate. He has started the vast majority of Yankee games during the last dozen seasons.

The Puerto Rican backstop has been a consistent source of power for the Bombers and was a solid defender earlier in his career.

Posada is a 5-time All-Star. He has started 100 playoff games as a catcher, an MLB record.

With up-and-coming slugger Jesus Montero poised to take Posada's role, 2011 was possibly his final major league season.

Yankee Stats (since 2000)

Year	G	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
2000	151	28	86	2	.287	.943
2001	138	22	95	2	.277	.838
2002	143	20	99	1	.268	.837
2003	142	30	101	2	.281	.922
2004	137	21	81	1	.272	.881
2005	142	19	71	1	.262	.782
2006	143	23	93	3	.277	.867
2007	141	20	90	2	.338	.970
2008	51	3	22	0	.268	.775
2009	111	22	81	1	.285	.885
2010	120	18	57	3	.248	.811
2011	115	14	44	0	.235	.714

Mark Teixeira (1B): 2009-Present

Teixeira doesn't have the same tenure, but has nonetheless made a terrific impact.

He has established himself as the top defensive first baseman in the majors as well as one of baseball's finest switch-hitters. Mark has won back-to-back Gold Gloves at the position and leads the American League with 341 RBI since the start of 2009.

Only the Cardinals' Albert Pujols has a longer streak of consecutive 30-HR seasons.

Yankee Stats

Year	G	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
2009	156	39	122	2	.292	.948
2010	158	33	108	0	.256	.846
2011	156	39	111	4	.248	.835

Robinson Cano (2B): 2005-Present

In 2011, Robinson Cano confirmed the consensus that he is the franchise's best all-around position player.

He is a brilliant fielder with an effortless swing. He became the first Yankee second baseman since Joe Gordon (1938-1940) to slug 25 or more home runs in three straight years.

Cano has missed a grand total of 11 games since 2007. He leads the club in plate appearances during that period.

Yankee Stats

Year	G	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
2005	133	14	62	1	.297	.778
2006	122	15	78	5	.342	.890
2007	160	19	97	4	.306	.841
2008	159	14	72	2	.271	.715
2009	161	25	85	5	.320	.871
2010	160	29	109	3	.319	.914
2011	159	28	118	8	.302	.882

Alex Rodriguez (3B): 2004-Present

Love him or hate him, A-Rod is hands down New York's third baseman of the 21st century (then again, Aaron Boone did hit that epic home run).

Seriously, though, Rodriguez won American League Most Valuable Player awards in 2005 and 2007. He was a dual power-speed threat until lower body injuries slowed him down in 2010 and 2011.

His shift from shortstop to third base upon arrival in 2004 has been largely successful. The nature of the position has allowed him to gradually bulk up.

Often criticized for his playoff struggles, A-Rod dominated the opposition during the Yankees' 2009 World Series run.

Yankee Stats

Year	G	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
2004	155	36	106	28	.286	.888
2005	162	48	130	21	.321	1.031
2006	154	35	121	15	.290	.914
2007	158	54	156	24	.314	1.067
2008	138	35	103	18	.302	.965
2009	124	30	100	14	.286	.933
2010	137	30	125	4	.270	.847
2011	99	16	62	4	.276	.823

Derek Jeter (SS): 1995-Present

3,088 career hits (2,281 since 2000). Countless franchise records. Yankee immortal. Next slide!

Yankee Stats (since 2000)

Year	G	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
2000	148	15	73	22	.339	.896
2001	150	21	74	27	.311	.858
2002	157	18	75	32	.297	.794
2003	119	10	52	11	.324	.844
2004	154	23	78	23	.292	.823
2005	159	19	70	14	.309	.839
2006	154	14	97	34	.343	.900
2007	156	12	73	15	.322	.840
2008	150	11	69	11	.300	.771
2009	153	18	66	30	.334	.871
2010	157	10	67	18	.270	.710
2011	131	6	61	16	.297	.743

Hideki Matsui (LF): 2003-2009

"Godzilla" spent seven seasons in the Bronx after a legendary career in Japan.

Matsui was remarkably consistent when healthy and well-received by his teammates. He had incredible success against left-handed pitching.

He left the team as a free agent in 2009 with World Series MVP honors.

Yankee Stats

Year	G	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
2003	163	16	106	2	.287	.788
2004	162	31	108	3	.298	.912
2005	162	23	116	2	.305	.863
2006	51	8	29	1	.302	.887
2007	143	25	103	4	.285	.855
2008	93	9	45	0	.294	.795
2009	142	28	90	0	.274	.876

Bernie Williams (CF): 1991-2006

Williams was a cornerstone of the New York Yankees through their dynasty in the late 1990s. He remained effective into the 2000s.

The center fielder was awarded his fourth straight Gold Glove in 2000 and nearly won his second AL batting title in 2002.

Even after losing a couple steps, Williams was still a home run threat. He launched a league-best 11 playoffs bombs between 2000 and 2004.

He continues to do the franchise proud through his achievements in the music business.

Yankee Stats (since 2000)

Year	G	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
2000	141	30	121	13	.307	.957
2001	146	26	94	11	.307	.917
2002	154	19	102	8	.333	.908
2003	119	15	64	5	.263	.778
2004	148	22	70	1	.262	.795
2005	141	12	64	1	.249	.668
2006	131	12	61	2	.281	.768

Gary Sheffield (RF): 2004-2006

Sheffield spent 16 MLB seasons with National League clubs before coming to New York.

His infamously violent swing was one of the team's best sources of power. He rarely struck out and showed terrific plate discipline.

This starting spot on my all-century team was highly contested between Sheffield, Paul O'Neill, Bobby Abreu and current right fielder Nick Swisher.

Yankee Stats

Year	G	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
2004	154	36	121	5	.290	.921
2005	154	34	123	10	.291	.891
2006	39	6	25	5	.298	.806

Jason Giambi (DH): 2002-2008

"The Giambino" never quite lived up to his 7-year, $120 million deal, yet he was still a significant contributor to the Yankees.

Giambi led them with 209 home runs from 2002 to 2008. He could be relied on to bring power and patience to the lineup (and sluggishness to the base paths).

His defense was below-average at best. In fact, there has never been a more prototypical designated hitter in the history of this organization. 

Yankee Stats

Year	G	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
2002	155	41	122	2	.314	1.034
2003	156	41	107	2	.250	.939
2004	80	12	40	0	.208	.720
2005	139	32	87	0	.271	.975
2006	139	37	113	2	.253	.971
2007	83	14	39	1	.236	.790
2008	145	32	96	2	.247	.876

BENCH: Alfonso Soriano, 1999-2003

He may be a joke in Chicago now, but Soriano was once an awesome middle infielder in the Bronx.

He had shocking home run ability for a player of such a slender frame. He nearly won AL MVP in 2002!

Soriano always had a questionable glove and tendency to chase pitches out of the strike zone. Cano deserves to start ahead of him on this roster because of his superior fielding and bat control.

Soriano was dealt to Texas following the 2003 season in exchange for Alex Rodriguez. 

Yankee Stats (since 2000)

Year	G	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
2000	22	2	3	2	.180	.556
2001	158	18	73	43	.268	.736
2002	156	39	102	41	.300	.880
2003	156	38	91	35	.290	.863

*Fun Fact: Soriano wore four uniform numbers—58, 53, 33 and 12—in five seasons as a Yankee.

BENCH: Curtis Granderson, 2010-Present

Granderson is oddly similar to Soriano. Both are of equal stature, strikeout-prone, imperfect in the field and dominant in most offensive aspects.

"The Grandy Man" has earned a spot despite his brief tenure because of his 2011 contributions. Granderson nearly led the majors in home runs while finishing comfortably in first with 136 runs scored.

Bernie Williams was overall a stronger defensive center fielder, but Granderson has a knack for sexy, miraculous catches. He's also a great influence in the clubhouse.

Yankee Stats

Year	G	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
2010	136	24	67	12	.247	.792
2011	156	41	119	25	.262	.916

BENCH: Johnny Damon, 2006-2009

Damon was a fan favorite during his four seasons.

Although he entered his $52 million deal already in his mid-thirties, Damon had some of his finest seasons in the Bronx. He was an intelligent base-runner and occasional slugger (thanks in large part to Yankee Stadium's short porch in right field).

His throwing arm gradually deteriorated to a point where he was moved to left field and sometimes DH'ed.

A younger Johnny Damon could have perhaps started on this roster.

Yankee Stats

Year	G	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
2006	149	24	80	25	.285	.841
2007	141	12	63	27	.270	.747
2008	143	17	71	29	.303	.836
2009	143	24	82	12	.282	.854

BENCH: Russell Martin, 2011

Every 25-man roster needs a back-up catcher. After just one Yankee season, I've given Russell Martin the nod over John Flaherty, Jose Molina, Francisco Cervelli or any other squatter of the past dozen seasons.

His batting average and power numbers were hindered by a May/June slump, but his defense never suffered.

Martin caught more than 1,000 innings in 2011. He threw out attempting base-stealers at a respectable rate while handling starting pitchers with especially slow deliveries.

Martin will further justify his placement on the all-century team if given a new contract this winter.

Yankee Stats

Year	G	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
2011	125	18	65	8	.237	.732

CC Sabathia (SP): 2009-Present

Sabathia is a special starting pitcher, the best the Yankees have had since 2000.

He's got the velocity to be effective, the control to pitch into the later innings and the durability to keep it up throughout the regular season and playoffs.

The fragile state of the Yankees' current rotation makes his value more apparent. They need him!

Yankee Stats

Year	GS	W	L	ERA	SO	WHIP
2009	34	19	8	3.37	197	1.15
2010	34	21	7	3.18	197	1.19
2011	33	19	8	3.00	230	1.23

*Fun Fact: Sabathia leads all MLB pitchers with 64 wins (includes playoffs) since the start of 2009.

Andy Pettitte (SP): 1995-2003, 2007-2010

Pettitte started nearly 400 games for the Yankees in the regular season and dozens more in October. Some of his success came in the 20th century, but impressively, the majority of it came at the tail end of his career.

Pettitte never had overpowering "stuff," but attacking the strike zone and avoiding major injuries has put him under Hall of Fame consideration.

Had he not taken a three-year hiatus to pitch for his hometown Houston Astros, Pettitte would be among the most tenured players in franchise history.

Yankee Stats (since 2000)

Year	GS	W	L	ERA	SO	WHIP
2000	32	19	9	4.35	125	1.46
2001	31	15	10	3.99	164	1.32
2002	22	13	5	3.27	97	1.31
2003	33	21	8	4.02	180	1.33
2007	34	15	9	4.05	141	1.43
2008	33	14	14	4.54	158	1.41
2009	32	14	8	4.16	148	1.38
2010	21	11	3	3.28	101	1.27

Roger Clemens (SP): 1999-2003, 2007

Clemens was far from his best during his Yankee years. The 7-time AL Cy Young award winner captured his sixth in 2001, but voters today wouldn't be so dumbfounded by his win-loss record.

Still, he was an intimidating presence, very composed when the pressure was greatest: in the World Series. Clemens was untouchable in four fall classics with New York.

Of course, his reputation is permanently tarnished by rumors of his performance-enhancing drug use.

Yankee Stats (since 2000)

Year	GS	W	L	ERA	SO	WHIP
2000	32	13	8	3.70	188	1.31
2001	33	20	3	3.51	213	1.26
2002	29	13	6	4.35	192	1.31
2003	33	17	9	3.91	190	1.21
2007	17	6	6	4.18	68	1.31

*Fun Fact: Clemens was only the second pitcher to achieve his 300th career win with the Yankees.

Mike Mussina (SP): 2001-2008

"Moose" had some rotten luck. How else does someone pitch for eight seasons on the league's most consistent franchise and never win a championship?

On another note, he must have been personally offended in 2001. Mussina bested Clemens in all the important statistical categories and still finished behind him in Cy Young voting!

Anyway, Mussina was mostly terrific for the Yankees. The exception to that was 2007, when he struggled to compensate for his reducing velocity and was consequently hit hard every outing.

However, he heroically bounced back the next season to baffle everyone and win 20 games. He was the lone bright spot on that third-place team.

Mussina had fabulous control every season and averaged fewer than two walks per nine innings for his Yankee career. His 248 starts since 2000 is a franchise-best.

Yankee Stats

Year	GS	W	L	ERA	SO	WHIP
2001	34	17	11	3.15	214	1.07
2002	33	18	10	4.05	182	1.19
2003	31	17	8	3.40	195	1.08
2004	27	12	9	4.59	132	1.32
2005	30	13	8	4.41	142	1.37
2006	32	15	7	3.51	172	1.11
2007	27	11	10	5.15	91	1.47
2008	34	20	9	3.37	150	1.22

*Fun Fact: Mussina was the oldest pitcher—39 at the time—to have his first 20-win season. It was his 18th and final campaign.

Chien-Ming Wang (SP): 2005-2009

Wang rises above big-name flops like Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson, Kei Igawa and Carl Pavano to round out this all-century starting rotation.

He was a ground ball machine for the Yankees over five seasons until a freaky lisfranc injury derailed his career.

When healthy, Wang featured one of the league's best sinkers. His pitch-to-contact philosophy was well-suited for the Yankees' great defensive infield.

Yankee Stats

Year	GS	W	L	ERA	SO	WHIP
2005	17	8	5	4.02	47	1.25
2006	33	19	6	3.63	76	1.31
2007	30	19	7	3.70	104	1.29
2008	15	8	2	4.07	54	2.02
2009	9	1	6	9.64	29	1.32

*Fun Fact: Wang trails only Japan's Hideo Nomo for most career wins by an Asian-born MLB pitcher.

Mike Stanton (RP): 1997-2002, 2005

Effective left-handed relievers are a rare commodity in baseball. Let's just say the Yankees struck gold in 1997.

Mike Stanton was used as a LOOGY—Lefty One-Out GuY—during the playoffs of the late 1990s. He allowed two total runs in the 1997, 1998 and 1999 postseasons.

Stanton was a prominent late-inning option for them into the new millennium, too. He led the team in regular season appearances nearly every year.

He wasn't particularly terrifying for Yankee opponents, but he kept the ball in the yard. Stanton did not allow a home run in 22.2 post-2000 playoff innings.

Yankee Stats (since 2000)

Year	G	ERA	WHIP
2000	69	4.10	1.35
2001	76	2.58	1.36
2002	79	3.00	1.29
2005	28	7.07	1.64

Ramiro Mendoza (RP): 1996-2002, 2005

Mendoza was brought into the big leagues as a starting pitcher, but grew accustomed to the bullpen in 2001 and 2002. He stayed stretched out, though, and pitched a ton of innings in long relief situations.

He wasn't hard to hit, but Mendoza subdued batters with great control.

Like Stanton, he could be trusted in the playoffs. His career earned run average in October was barely two.

Yankee Stats (since 2000)

Year	G	ERA	WHIP
2000	14	4.25	1.31
2001	56	3.75	1.11
2002	62	3.44	1.29
2005	1	18.00	2.00

Joba Chamberlain (RP): 2007-Present

Joba has certainly had a turbulent time with the Yankees. The set-up man turned starter turned middle reliever underwent Tommy John surgery over the summer.

A season-by-season synopsis would be pretty interesting, but the bottom line is that he has all the tools to get hitters out.

His mid-90s fastball is the best of any 21st century Yankee. When Chamberlain commands his slider and mixes in changeups and curveballs, he can't be stopped.

Yankee Stats

Year	G	ERA	WHIP
2007	19	0.38	0.75
2008	42	2.60	1.26
2009	32	4.75	1.54
2010	73	4.40	1.30
2011	27	2.83	1.05

Alfredo Aceves (RP): 2008-2010

Aceves' Yankee career barely amounted to a full season, yet I'm convinced that he was one of this franchise's elite relievers.

He thrived by constantly varying his pitches. Aceves got a lot of use out of his off-speed stuff. He threw his cutter, curveball and changeup with surprising frequency and confidence.

Aceves stayed in the strike zone and was comfortable pitching multiple innings at a time.

His effectiveness in 2011 with the Boston Red Sox suggests that he continues to improve. 

Yankee Stats

Year	G	W	L	ERA	WHIP
2008	6	1	0	2.40	1.17
2009	43	10	1	3.54	1.01
2010	10	3	0	3.00	1.17

*Fun Fact: Aceves career record of 24-3 (.889 winning percentage) is the best in league history among pitchers with at least 25 decisions.

Tom Gordon (RP): 2004-2005

Gordon also had a brief stay with the Yankees, but made a big impression nonetheless.

He locked down the eighth inning for two years in between closing gigs elsewhere.

Gordon was mostly a fastball-slider pitcher with an occasional curveball. He could reach into the mid-90s with his heater. 

Although well-seasoned and right-handed, Gordon dominated opposing lefties while in New York.

Yankee Stats

Year	G	ERA	WHIP
2004	80	2.21	0.88
2005	79	2.57	1.09

David Robertson (RP): 2008-Present

Robertson is the second coming of Gordon, the best set-up man the Yankees have had since 2005.

He is fresh off a fascinating season in which he led all American League relievers in strikeouts and earned run average.

Strangely, Robertson's velocity has risen each year, although he isn't necessarily your classic fire-baller. He keeps it simple with two pitches: fastball and curveball.

In 2011, Robertson escaped countless jams, stranding 89.8 percent of base-runners!

His high walk rate inflates his WHIP and continues to concern me, but he'll continue to excel so long as hitters struggle with his delivery.

Yankee Stats

Year	G	ERA	SO	WHIP
2008	25	5.34	36	1.45
2009	45	3.30	63	1.35
2010	64	3.82	71	1.50
2011	70	1.08	100	1.13

*Fun Fact: Robertson averages 12.03 K/9 for his MLB career, best among active pitchers with at least 200 IP.

Mariano Rivera (RP): 1995-Present

Was there any doubt in your mind that Mo would claim the final spot on the all-century team? He has finished a zillion games for the Yankees—and saved 603 in the regular season alone—so it seems fitting that he should be named last.

Rivera's cutter is the most unique pitch of its generation. He'll ride it straight to Cooperstown.

This slide shall never need to be edited. Mariano Rivera is certain to garner all-century honors in the 2000s, even against 100 years of competition.

Yankee Stats (since 2000)

Year	G	SV	ERA	WHIP
2000	66	36	2.85	1.10
2001	71	50	2.34	0.90
2002	45	28	2.74	1.00
2003	64	40	1.66	1.00
2004	74	53	1.94	1.08
2005	71	43	1.38	0.87
2006	63	34	1.80	0.96
2007	67	30	3.15	1.12
2008	64	39	1.40	0.67
2009	66	44	1.76	0.90
2010	61	33	1.80	0.83
2011	64	44	1.91	0.90