By James Peacock

It took a freak bounce off of second base for the Yanks to score their two runs against the hated Red Sox, Sunday evening, at Yankee Stadium. Both of their runs scored on that play, one of the Yankees’ three hits in the game. There is no other way to say it than to state the obvious: The offense is absolutely lost without Aaron Judge.

It’s not a crazy thing that any team with the defending MVP would be better with him out there playing, but the Yankees offense is downright anemic without number 99. They score nearly 1.5 less runs per game, hit 21 points worse as a team, and slug .48 points worse. It doesn’t help that other key cogs in the lineup–Rizzo, Stanton, and D.J.–are struggling, but it feels endemic of a larger issue.

The fact of the matter is that Judge is the single centripetal force of the lineup. Everything begins and ends with him. Even in the rare instances when he isn’t hitting at an all-world-level for a week or two at a time, his mere presence on the lineup card dictates how everybody else in the order is attacked by the opposition.

For as great as Aaron Judge is, he is a human being. He can’t play in every single game, and every now and again he’s going to get injured. It happens. What cannot happen is for the other eight guys in the lineup to not exhibit any signs of being able to produce-by-committee. It isn’t just the three guys that I named…everybody needs to be better.

Nobody knows for sure when Judge is going to be back and the Yankees have a tough two weeks ahead of them, with series against the Mets, Red Sox, Mariners and Rangers. There is a very real possibility that the next couple weeks could, in large part, determine their season. Who is going to step up?

By James Peacock

On September 28, 1968, the great Mickey Mantle retired from baseball at the age of 36. When he did so, he immediately cemented his place among Yankee greats like Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Berra among the greatest players in the franchise’s illustrious history. Any list of the greatest Yankees of all time would surely be headlined by this group…so I’m going to make a list that does not include any of these legends. For this list, I will rank the ten greatest Yankees since the start of the 1969 season, the first without Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra or Mickey Mantle donning the pinstripes since Ruth arrived in New York prior to the 1920 season.

It should be noted that for this list, I will be opting not to include any players with links to potential performance-enhancing drug use. As a kid who grew up loving A-Rod and was shattered by his multiple admissions of cheating (and everything that went with them), I can’t in good faith put any of those players on this list. Unfortunately that also removed Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and players like Jason Giambi from consideration.

10. Willie Randolph
The decision for who to put at this final spot was a tough one, but ultimately Willie Randolph had the slight edge over CC Sabathia. Randolph was a Yankee captain, and won two World Series during the 1970’s. Randolph was a quiet, steady presence on those rambunctious teams, and one who played superb defense, stole many bases, and hit consistently. On a team of big players and bigger egos, Randolph just went about his business and made big plays when called upon.

9. Jorge Posada
The heart and soul of the Yankees during his tenure, this rugged catcher won 4 championships during his career. He was a fearless, gritty, spark plug for the Yanks, hitting superbly from both sides of the plate and playing top-notch defense. Posada played all 17 of his seasons in pinstripes, and was a worthy successor to Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard and Thurman Munson among great Yankee catchers.

8. Ron Guidry
Perhaps the second-greatest pitcher in franchise history, the man they called “Louisiana Lightning” ranks highly in virtually every Yankee career pitching statistic. He also authored maybe the best single season for a pitcher in team history in 1978, when he went 25-3 with a 1.74 ERA and 248 strikeouts to win the AL Cy Young. Also during that season, he set the Yankee record for strikeouts in a game, when he struck out 18 batters against the California Angels.

7. Reggie Jackson
The perfect foil to Munson on those late-70’s Yankees was Reggie Jackson. Though the two loved each other by the end of Thurman’s life, Jackson’s Yankee tenure got off to a rocky start in 1977 with his infamous “Straw that stirs the drink comments,” taken as a slight toward Munson. Jackson answered this heat by winning the 1977 World Series MVP, headlined by his magical 3 home run game in the clincher. Though the shortest-tenured Yankee on this list, they would not have won those two championships if did not don the pinstripes.

6. Thurman Munson
Yet another team captain and beloved Yankee, Thurman Munson was the singular emotional force behind the 1970’s Yanks that won 2 championships. Constantly playing in pain as a catcher in a rougher baseball era, those Yankee teams went as Thurman went. When he died in a tragic plane crash in August of 1979, a pall was cast over the Yankees that it took nearly 2 decades to emerge from. Munson was a 1x AL MVP, a two time champion and a phenomenal postseason performer, he hit a staggering .357 in the postseason, constantly rising to the occasion in the biggest moments.

5. Bernie Williams
Perhaps the forgotten great from the late 90’s Yankee dynasty, Bernie was the anchor of teams that won 4 championships in 5 seasons. He won a batting title, consistently hit above .300 from both sides of the plate, and played an excellent defensive centerfield. Even more importantly, he was a perennially great performer in the playoffs, hitting a career .275 with 22 home runs in 121 games against the best competition in baseball.

4. Don Mattingly
“Donnie Baseball” was a model of hitting consistency and genius before a litany of injuries cut his career short. An AL MVP and batting champion as well as an all-world defensive first baseman, Mattingly was everything that you’d want a Yankee to be. The only reason he isn’t higher on this list is because of the aforementioned injuries, and because he didn’t reach the playoffs until his final season in 1995. However, one would be hard pressed to find a more beloved Yankee.

3. Aaron Judge
The latest in the long line of Yankee captains is a human highlight reel. In 2022, he broke Roger Maris’ AL record with 62 home runs, nearly winning the American League triple crown as well. This alone puts Judge right up there with the best Yankees of all time. He also owns the AL rookie record for home runs. For the latest generation of fans, Judge is a harbinger back to the days of Ruth and Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle.

2. Mariano Rivera
The greatest closer who ever lived. Rivera was lights-out in the ninth inning for 19 seasons, during which he, like Jeter won 5 championships. Rivera owns the MLB records for saves, appearances an ERA+. He also owns a .70 career postseason ERA in more than 140 career playoff innings.

1 . Derek Jeter
The Captain. What else is there to say? The leader of Yankee teams that won 5 championships owns the franchise records for: hits, stolen bases, games played, at-bats, plate appearances. He also owns numerous playoff franchise records.