Opinion: Yankees Mount Rushmore

After careful consideration, I have finalized my Yankee Mount Rushmore.

By Michael Foulks, Sports O'Clock Writing Team Member

(via Twitter: Talkin Yanks)

The Yankees have had a long history of legendary players to don the pinstripes. Since 1913 they have had 27 World Series Championships, 39 Hall of Fame players entered as Yankees, and hundreds more that played a portion of their career with the team.

It has been a healthy controversy of who people consider the greatest Yankees of all-time. Some of the factors that fans discuss are the era that the player played in, how long they played, position, and their statistics.

Here is my Mount Rushmore of Yankee players:

(photo credits: 1920s Fashion & Music)

Babe Ruth: This one is an obvious one for many reasons. After the scandal of the 1919 Black Sox, there was a black stain on the sport. Fans and viewers started to believe it was rigged, and it was on its way to be a massive blow to the sport in itself. Then that off-season Babe Ruth was traded to the Yankees for cash, and he saved the sports. But, not only did he save baseball, he made the Yankees an iconic powerhouse.

Ruth helped the Yankees win their first championship ever, in 1923 against the New York Giants and the team slowly started to be built around him. He would lead the league in home runs 12 times; Ruth would sometimes hit more home runs in a single season, than a whole team combined. He became a legend quickly, being apart of murderer's row, the called shot in the 32' World Series, and the 60 home run season record, that stood for 34 years.

He also cursed the Red Sox from winning a championship for 85 years, for that alone he is a legend.

Career stats:

WAR: 182.5/ AB: 8399/ H: 2873/ HR: 714/ BA: .342/ R: 2174/ RBI: 2214/ SB: 123/ OBP: .474/ SLG: .690/ OPS: 1.164/ OPS+: 206

Accolades:

-7-time World Series Champion (1915, 1916, 1918, 1923, 1927-28, 1932)

-2-time All star (1933, 1934)

-12-time AL RBI Champion (1918-1921, 1923, 1924, 1926-1931)

-3rd All-time Home Run leader (714 hr)

-1st All-time Yankee Home Run leader

-1936 baseball Hall of Fame Inductee (first year of inductions)

-AL Pitching Title (1916)

-AL MVP (1923)

-AL Batting Title (1924)

-New York Yankee No. 3 retired

-Monument Park honoree

-MLB All-Century Team

-MLB All-Time Team

At time of he hung up his cleats, he was Baseball's career leader in: Home runs (714), slugging percentage (0.690), runs batted in (2,213), bases on balls (2,062) and on-base plus slugging (1.164)

Second on Mount Rushmore:

(photo credits: Los Angeles Times)

Lou Gehrig: The Iron Horse comes in at No. 2 on Mount Rushmore of Yankee players. Lou Gehrig started his career in 1923 and was the Yankees first baseman. The most impressive part about his career is that he started 2,130 consecutive games. During that span he was apart of 7 World Series teams; winning 6 of them. That consecutive game streak would hold for the next 56 years until Cal Ripken Jr broke it. Lou Gehrig career was cut a few years short from the disease that is now infamously named after himself. He gave his iconic speech at Yankee stadium, that every baseball knows: "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth". He was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1939 as a special election due to his death.

Gehrig was able to thrive playing with Babe Ruth, being a pitcher and having to throw to the both of them was an impossible task; both ruth and Gehrig made pitchers pay for it.

Career stats:

WAR: 114.1/ AB: 8001/ H: 2721/ HR: 493/ BA: .340/ R: 1888/ RBI: 1995/ SB: 102/ OBP: .447/ SLG: .632/ OPS: 1.080/ OPS+: 179

Accolades:

-6-time World Series Champion (1927,1928,1932, 1936-1938)

-7-time All Star (1933-1939)

-2-time AL MVP (1927,1936)

-Triple Crown (1934)

-AL Batting Champion (1934)

-3-time AL Home run leader (1931, 1934, 1936)

-5-time AL RBI leader (1927, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1934)

-New York Yankees Captain (1935-1939)

-New York Yankees No. 4 retired

-Monument Park honoree

-Major League Baseball All-Century Team

-Major League baseball All-Time Team

Third on Mount Rushmore:

(Photo credits: LA Times)

Mickey Mantle: Considered the greatest switch hitter of all-time, Mickey Mantle comes in at No. 3 on my Yankees Mount Rushmore. He debuted for the Yankees in 1951 and played until 1968. Mantle has been discussed about as the greatest offensive threat of any Center Fielder in the history of the sport. He is known for his tape-measure home runs as it has been debated whether or not he hit one out of Yankee stadium during his career. Injuries slowed him down later in his career, but that did not stop him from leading almost all categories for center fielders to this day. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of fame in 1974.

SUMMARY

Career Stats:

WAR: 110.2/ AB: 8102/ H: 2415/ HR: 536/ BA: .298/ R: 1676/ RBI: 1509/ SB:153/ OBP: .421/ SLG: .557/ OPS: .977 /OPS+: 172

Accolades:

-17x All-star (1952-1965, 1967, 1968)

-7x World Series Champion (1951-1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962)

-3x AL MVP (1956, 1957, 1962)

-Triple Crown (1956)

-Gold Glove (1962)

-4x AL Home run Champion (1955, 1956, 1958, 1960)

-AL Batting Champion (1956)

-AL RBI leader (1956)

-New York Yankees No. 7 retired

-Monument Park honoree

-Major League Baseball All-Century Team

-Baseball Hall of Fame 1974

Fourth on Mount Rushmore:

(via: WatchMojo)

Joe DiMaggio: Joe DiMaggio comes in at No. 4 on the list, but that does not take away anything that he achieved in his career. He began his career for the Yankees in 1936 and played until 1951, with a pause in the middle to serve in World War II. Most well-known for marrying Marilyn Monroe, and his hitting streak. In 1941, Joe DiMaggio hit in 56 consecutive games, a record that still holds to this day, and is unlikely to be broken. Like others during his time he took a few years off to serve in war, and when he came back it was as if he had never left the sport. He is known as the "Yankee Clipper". Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1955.

Career stats:

WAR: 79.1/ AB: 6821/H: 2214/HR: 361/BA: .325/ R: 1390/ RBI: 1537/ SB: 30/ OBP: .398/ SLG: .579/ OPS: .977/ OPS+: 155

Accolades:

-13x All-star (1936-1942, 1946-1951)

-9x World Series Champion (1936-1939, 1941, 1947, 1949-1951)

-3x AL MVP (1939, 1941, 1947)

-2x AL Batting Champion (1939,1940)

-2x AL Home run leader (1937, 1948)

-MLB Record 56-game hitting streak

-New York Yankees No. 5 retired

-Monument Park honoree

-Major League Baseball All-Century Team

Honorable Mentions: Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Reggie Jackson, Bill Dickey

Sources: Baseball Reference

(All photos are properly cited. No copyright infringement intended.)