Top five center fielders in New York Yankees history

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Who are the best center fielders the New York Yankees have ever had?

The Yankees have been blessed to have solid players as their center fielders, ranging from speedsters to power hitters, to tremendous five-tool players. Babe Ruth himself played center field in his first game as a Yankee, and since then, the position has been filled by All-Stars, future Hall of Famers, and in the case of Ruth and a few others, some of the greatest players in the history of baseball. This continues even today, as Aaron Judge roams the spacious Yankee Stadium outfield with grace and poise.

Just like the New York Yankees’ finest left fielders’ list we came up with earlier, here is a list of five of those finest center fielders ever played in pinstripes.

#5. Earle Combs (1924-1935)

Earle Combs, who is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, spent his entire career with the Yankees, but not many people realize just how great he was. One of the best leadoff men in history, Combs was constantly on base for Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to drive him in, which made the New York Yankees’ lineup an unstoppable juggernaut. His skillset of first-class plate discipline and a gap-to-gap approach served him tremendously well in an integral role.

After making a good first impression by hitting .400 in 24 games in 1924, Combs was moved to the leadoff spot in 1925 and responded by hitting .342/.411/.462 with 203 hits and 117 runs scored; the runs scored are especially noteworthy due to the New York Yankees having a struggling offense that year. Although 1926 would be a down year for Combs, the team around him improved and he was able to cross home plate 113 times.

By 1927, the New York Yankees had morphed into “Murderer’s Row”, with Combs setting the table for possibly the most feared lineup in baseball history. While Ruth and Gehrig were at the peak of their powers, Combs had the best season of his career; he registered a .356/.414/.511 slash line, scored 137 runs, and led the American League with 231 hits and 23 triples. His 231 knocks (which included 65 extra-base hits) stood as the single-season franchise record until Don Mattingly surpassed it in 1986, and his 23 three-baggers is a mark that still stands. Overall, Combs recorded a 139 wRC+, an amazing .423 wOBA, and 6.8 fWAR.

Remarkably, the 1927 season was one of three seasons in a four-year span when Combs hit 20 or more triples. He enjoyed another standout year in 1930 by hitting .344/.424/.523 with 59 extra-base hits, a career-best 82 RBI, 129 runs scored, a .423 wOBA, 139 wRC+, and 5.0 fWAR. Two years later, Combs slashed .321/.405/.455 with a career-high 143 runs scored; in 675 plate appearances, he drew 81 walks while striking out a mere 16 times, and had three times as many extra-base hits (51) as strikeouts. He would only play for the Yankees three more seasons, though, as a life-threatening injury in 1934 would result in his retirement one year later. 

Combs’ was an unorthodox combination of speed and power; he only stole 96 bases and hit only 58 home runs in his career, but was fast and strong enough to be an extra-base hit machine. With a remarkable ability to drive balls between outfielders and into the deep power alleys most ballparks had at the time, he was able to leg out 309 doubles and 154 triples, the latter of which rank second in club history. The New York Yankees star’s speed also served him exceptionally well on defense; being a center fielder in Yankee Stadium’s massive outfield, he was worth six total fielding runs as a defender.

In a 12-season career, all with the New York Yankees, the “Kentucky Colonel” was a .325/.397/.462 lifetime hitter with a .395 wOBA and 126 wRC+. He hit over .300 in every full season he played except 1926 (in which he still hit .299), had an on-base percentage over .400 six times, had a slugging percentage over .450 seven times and over .500 twice, and scored at least 113 runs every year from 1925 to 1932. Combs’ 41.3 fWAR ranks fourth among all Yankees center fielders.

Combs was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970, which helped validate his contributions to some of the greatest teams the Yankees had ever assembled.

#4. Rickey Henderson (1985-1989)

Although Combs is one of the game’s greatest leadoff hitters, the Yankees also employed the undisputed best leadoff hitter in history for four-and-a-half seasons. Despite this relatively short tenure, it was more than enough to give Rickey Henderson, the “Man of Steal”, a spot on this list.

Henderson had already established himself as a once-in-a-lifetime speedster with the Oakland Athletics, as he swiped 100 or more bases three times in a four-year span from 1980 to 1983; this included the still-standing single-season record of 130 steals in 1982. After another productive season in 1984, he was shockingly traded to the Yankees in a blockbuster deal that included future Cincinnati Reds ace Jose Rijo. The Bronx Bombers had just created a devastating one-two punch of Dave Winfield and the rapidly emerging Don Mattingly, and looked for Henderson’s blazing speed and on-base skills to improve the offense even further.

The Yankees got exactly that from Henderson – and more.

In 1985, his first season in New York, Henderson put together arguably one of the greatest all-around seasons in Yankees history; this included a .314/.419/.516 slash line, 24 home runs (his previous best was 16), 72 RBI, 80 stolen bases, 146 runs scored, 99 walks against 65 strikeouts, a .413 wOBA, 159 wRC+, and a truly outstanding 9.7 fWAR. His 80 stolen bases broke Fritz Maisel’s single-season franchise record (74) that had stood for 71 years, while he became the first player since Jimmie Foxx in 1939 to have more runs scored (146, the most by anyone since 1950) than games played (143). He finished third in voting for AL MVP, which was won by his Yankees teammate Mattingly; Henderson’s play was crucial to Mattingly’s success that year, as his MLB-leading 145 RBI featured him driving in Henderson regularly.

Henderson remained a force in 1986. Although his slash line dipped to .263/.358/.469, he set a new career-high with 28 home runs and reset the franchise record by stealing 87 bases. It was Henderson’s second straight season with 20 or more homers and 80 or more stolen bases; the only other player to ever accomplish this feat is Eric Davis (who also did it in 1986). He scored 130 runs and drove in 74 (a career-best) while posting a 128 wRC+ and 6.4 fWAR.

The 1987 was an injury-shortened season for the Man of Steal, as he played in only 95 games; as such, this was the only season between 1980 and 1991 that he didn’t lead the American League in stolen bases. Despite this, he still hit .291/.423/.497 with 17 home runs and 78 runs scored.

Looking to reclaim his stolen base crown, the Yankees star did just that in 1988 by breaking the franchise record yet again, swiping 93 bags; this total remains the most in Yankees history. His power was surprisingly down, with just six home runs and a .399 slugging percentage, but his .305 batting average, .394 on-base percentage, and 118 runs scored still made him the best leadoff hitter in baseball.

Sadly, the 1989 season was his last in the Bronx; Henderson was hitting .247/.392/.349 with 25 stolen bases before the floundering Yankees traded him back to the Oakland Athletics on June 21. This meant that New York would miss out on Henderson’s true peak; in 1990, he won the AL MVP award with a brilliant .325/.439/.577 slash line, 28 home runs (tying his personal best from 1986), 65 stolen bases, 119 runs scored, and a transcendent 190 wRC+ and 10.2 fWAR. One year later, he became the all-time stolen base king – against the Yankees, no less – on May 1, 1991. Ultimately, Henderson would play until 2003 and retired as one of the greatest players of all time, earning him a one-way ticket to Cooperstown in 2009.

Even though his time in the Bronx was rather brief, it’s impossible to tell the full story of Rickey Henderson – one of baseball’s most iconic personalities – without mentioning his incredible play with the Yankees. Before his arrival, the one tool that Henderson didn’t possess was power; by the time he left, he was well on his way to setting the career record for leadoff home runs. He additionally was a major asset defensively; as a center fielder from 1985 to 1987, Henderson was worth 24 total fielding runs. Finally, and above all else, the Man of Steal’s speed was just as game-breaking as ever. Over those four-and-a-half years, he stole 326 bases to set a new Yankees record; it took Derek Jeter 17 seasons (16 if not including his 1995 season) to finally surpass that mark.

In the end, Henderson hit .288/.395/.455 with 663 hits, 78 home runs, 513 runs scored, and an astounding 29.7 fWAR in just 596 games with the Yankees. While he may not be best known as a Bronx Bomber, his play captivated so many fans that I believe he deserves a plaque in Monument Park.

#3. Bernie Williams (1991-2006)

Although the Yankees had so many integral players and superstars during the illustrious Joe Torre era, nobody was more important to that dynasty than the criminally-underrated Bernie Williams.

The switch-hitting center fielder spent his entire 16-year career in the Bronx and was the definition of consistent. Most importantly, Williams seemed to play his best when the games mattered most.

Bernie’s road to stardom wasn’t always easy, though. Due to his balanced player profile without a true game-breaking ability, always-impatient Yankees owner George Steinbrenner constantly put Williams on the trade block, even when he entered his prime.

Williams simply responded by breaking out in 1995; he hit .307/.392/.487 with 29 doubles, nine triples, 18 home runs, 82 RBI, and 93 runs scored while playing solid defense in center. 1996 would see him get on base at a similar rate (.305 average, .391 OBP), but his power significantly increased with 29 home runs and a .535 slugging percentage. The Yankees went on to win their first of four championships in a five-year span, and Williams would only continue to improve offensively.

The 1995 season was the first of eight consecutive seasons with a batting average over .300 for Williams, and he had a slugging percentage over .500 every year from 1996 to 2001. From 1995 to 2002, the Yankees star registered a .321/.406/.531 slash line with 260 doubles, 194 home runs, 813 RBI, 837 runs scored, a 143 wRC+, and 39.7 fWAR. In terms of hardware (not counting rings), he won the AL batting title in 1998 by hitting .339, and claimed a Silver Slugger Award in 2002.

Of course, it’s impossible to talk about Bernie without his postseason heroics; in a whopping 121 postseason games, he hit .275/.371/.480 with 22 home runs, 80 RBI, 83 runs scored, and a 118 wRC+. He was named ALCS MVP in 1996 and hit an astounding .345/.435/.707 throughout that postseason run, which proved to be his best overall. Williams is also one of very few players to have multiple walk-off hits in the Yankees’ postseason, having hit a pair of walk-off home runs in Game 1 of the 1996 and 1999 ALCS against the Orioles and Red Sox, respectively. The 22 home runs are also the third-most in postseason history.

Admittedly, defensive metrics aren’t kind to Williams despite winning four consecutive Gold Gloves from 1997 to 2000. This became especially problematic in his last four seasons; with his offensive potency diminishing and his weak throwing arm exploited constantly, he was worth -3.7 fWAR across those seasons. Despite not playing in a major league game after 2006, Bernie didn’t officially retire until 2015; by then, he was 47 years old and had released a Latin Grammy-nominated album that showcased his exceptional guitar skills.

In the end, Williams retired with a .297/.381/.477 slash line, 2,336 hits, 449 doubles, 287 home runs, 1,257 RBI, 1,366 runs scored, a 126 wRC+, and 43.9 fWAR. His trophy cabinet is sizable; above the four Gold Gloves, the 2002 Silver Slugger, and the 1998 batting title, Bernie played in six Fall Classics and proudly wears four ofYankees’ World Series rings.

As soon as Williams chose to hang up the cleats, the Yankees announced that nobody would wear #51 again; he was enshrined in Monument Park on May 24, 2015, a well-deserved honor for one of the most beloved players in team history.

#2. Joe DiMaggio (1936-1951)

The top two choices on this list were extremely obvious, but choosing which one was better is effectively a coin flip. Ultimately, coming in second is Joltin Joe DiMaggio, who is not only one of the best Yankees of all time, but one of the best baseball players of all time.

The Yankees Clipper played in only 13 seasons and even lost three years of his prime; from 1943 to 1945, he served his country during World War II. Despite that, DiMaggio’s accomplishments dwarf many Yankees and MLB players, who had longer careers than him. In addition to a .325/.398/.579 slash line, a 151 wRC+ and 82.6 fWAR, he won a staggering nine World Series titles, playing in just four Yankees seasons without claiming a championship.

After Earle Combs (#5 on this list) retired due to injuries, DiMaggio was called up to the big leagues in 1936 and quickly left a lasting impression. The 21-year-old hit .323 with a .576 slugging percentage, 125 RBI, and 132 runs scored, all while gliding across Yankee Stadium’s spacious outfield; remarkably, his 29 home runs that season stood as the rookie Yankees record for 81 years until Aaron Judge famously hit 52 homers in his 2017 rookie campaign.

From there, DiMaggio had a .300 batting average and a .500 slugging percentage in all but two seasons. Although Yankee Stadium took a multitude of home runs away from him due to “Death Valley” in left-center field, he still hit 30 or more home runs seven times, which included an incredible 46-homer season in 1937, when he was just 22 years old and in his second season. Defensively, the Yankees star was a remarkable asset thanks to his speed and range, and he tallied 49 fielding runs across his career. Finally, DiMaggio’s power was complemented by insane bat control; he walked in 10.3% of his career plate appearances with a minuscule 4.8% strikeout rate. The Yankees maestro had more home runs than strikeouts in seven different seasons, and in 1941 (the year of his famous hitting streak), he struck out just 13 times while hitting 30 home runs.

These stellar seasons produced three AL MVP awards, which surprisingly don’t all align with his three best seasons. They do in 1939 (8.5 fWAR) and 1941 (9.7 fWAR), but in 1937, DiMaggio finished second to Charlie Gehringer despite hitting .346/.412/.673 with 46 home runs, 167 RBI, 151 runs scored, 215 hits (96 for extra bases), a 163 wRC+, and 9.0 fWAR; in contrast, DiMaggio won his third MVP award in 1947 despite a 4.8 fWAR (diminished by defense) and Ted Williams winning the Triple Crown that year (in fact, Williams also had a superior season in 1941, as that was his famous .406 season).

Out of all of DiMaggio’s seasons, though, 1941 is undoubtedly his most famous. In addition to his .357/.440/.643 slash line, 30 homers, 125 RBI, and career-bests in wRC+ (179) and fWAR (9.7), the Yankees legend put together his 56-game hitting streak from May 15 to July 16, a feat that is considered one of baseball’s unbreakable records. What many forget, however, is that DiMaggio started a 16-game hitting streak immediately after the 56-game streak ended, meaning he recorded a hit in 72 of 73 games; this may be even more impressive than the streak itself and will never be equaled in all likelihood.

Even with all these accolades, it’s still worth wondering how much better DiMaggio’s numbers would be if he had not enlisted in the military. While he was still All-Star caliber upon returning, the Yankees great wasn’t quite as incredible as he was in his first seven seasons.

In the end, DiMaggio, who has the ninth-best wOBA in baseball history (.439), famously said, “I would like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee.” That feeling is surely mutual.

And yet, when DiMaggio hung up the cleats, the Yankees ended up replacing one of the greatest players ever with someone even better.

#1. Mickey Mantle (1951-1968)

The term “generational talent” is used more often than it should be, but Mickey Mantle was the definition of that term.

One of the game’s all-time legends and the undisputed best switch-hitter, Mantle has a laundry list of accomplishments that includes seven World Series championships, three AL MVP awards, and a Triple Crown. His career statistics are even crazier, as he retired with a .298/.421/.557 slash line, 536 home runs, a 170 wRC+ (tied with Rogers Hornsby for the sixth-best ever), and 112.3 fWAR (14th best ever among position players); these numbers could have possibly been even better if not for injuries, especially since the Yankees legend played almost his entire career with a torn ACL.

“The Commerce Comet” made his major league debut at the age of 19 in 1951, and hit .267 with 13 home runs in 96 games. The next three seasons saw consistent improvement, as Mantle hit 20 or more homers in each and batted over .300 in 1952 and 1954.

Entering 1955, the Yankees legend was just 23 years old and entering his prime. But even almost 70 years later, those prime seasons are still absolutely ridiculous.

Over the next eight years, Mantle claimed all three of his MVP awards and slashed .315/.445/.616 with 320 home runs; he led the AL in homers four times, and had three seasons with 10 or more fWAR, with another season at 9.8 (1955).

Interestingly, those double-digit WAR seasons don’t completely align with his MVPs. They do for 1956 and 1957, though. 

The Yankees star’s 1956 was one of the greatest seasons by any player in history, as he won the Triple Crown with a .353 batting average, 52 home runs, and 130 RBI; to date, he is the last Triple Crown winner to lead MLB in all three categories. Additionally, The Mick submitted a .464 on-base percentage, .705 slugging percentage, 202 wRC+, and 11.5 fWAR.

1957 saw Mantle’s homer tally drop to 34, but that was because opposing teams were giving him the Barry Bonds treatment. He walked in 23.4% of his plate appearances and had a .512 on-base percentage, in addition to hitting a career-best .365; it took Ted Williams nearly batting .400 again to deny Mantle a second consecutive batting title. Nonetheless, he claimed a second straight MVP with a .665 slugging percentage, 217 wRC+, and 11.4 fWAR to round out his already absurd stats.

The third MVP, however, is where things get interesting. The 1961 season contained the famous home run race between Mantle and Roger Maris, with the latter hitting a record-breaking 61 homers; the new record allowed Maris to claim the MVP award, while Mantle, who hit 54 homers before an ill-fated hip infection, finished second in voting. However, it was Mantle who had the superior season all-around, as he hit .317/.448/.687 with a 196 wRC+ and 10.3 fWAR. The 54 homers are additionally the most by a switch-hitter in a single season.

The next year, Mantle missed 39 games due to injury and had a 6.0 fWAR that was diminished by poor defensive metrics; despite that, he won his third MVP thanks to hitting .321/.486/.605 with 30 home runs and a 24.3% walk rate. Ironically, 1962 also saw Mantle win his only career Gold Glove Award.

1962 also saw Mantle win his seventh and last World Series ring, as the Yankees would lose their following two appearances in the Fall Classic. But regardless of victory or defeat, The Mick came to play; in 65 World Series games, he slashed .257/.374/.535 with 18 home runs, 40 RBI, and 42 runs scored. The last three statistics are all-time World Series records that likely will never be threatened due to the expansion of MLB’s postseason.

Sadly, it’s impossible to talk about Mantle without mentioning his brutal luck with injuries. It all started back in the 1951 World Series, when he played alongside Joe DiMaggio; Mantle got his cleats stuck in a drain pipe and tore his ACL, which he ended up playing with for the rest of his career. Despite still being a fantastic baserunner, being worth 21.8 baserunning runs and having a 80% success rate when stealing bases (153 steals in 191 attempts), one could only wonder how much he could have done on the basepaths and in the field had that injury never happened.

The injuries only continued from there; The Mick dealt with another knee injury in 1953, tore a left shoulder tendon in the 1957 World Series (which led to gradually increasing difficulty hitting left-handed), suffered the hip infection that cost him the 1961 home run race, and missed over a month’s worth of games in the aforementioned 1962 season. In 1963, Mantle played in only 65 games due to a broken foot, and by his final season, he had so many aches and pains that even swinging a bat was excruciating.

Ironically, by playing in 2,401 contests, all in pinstripes, the Yankees legend was the all-time franchise leader in games played until Derek Jeter surpassed him; Mantle is still second on that list.

Mickey Mantle’s career is very much a “what-if” scenario, especially since Willie Mays and Hank Aaron played at the same time as he did; perhaps those two players are what Mantle could have been if he managed to stay healthy.

And yet, he’s still the greatest center fielder in Yankees history, and arguably a top-10 player in the history of baseball.

Honorable mentions of Yankees center fielder

Curtis Granderson- Affectionately called “The Grandy Man” by John Sterling, Curtis Granderson spent just four seasons as a Yankee but pounded 115 of his 344 career home runs with them, with consecutive seasons of 40 or more homers in 2011 and 2012. His left-handed swing was perfect for Yankee Stadium’s short porch, but Granderson complimented his power with excellent speed that served him well on the bases and in the field. From 2010 to 2012, he accumulated a 125 wRC+ and 14.8 fWAR while earning two All-Star nods and a Silver Slugger Award.

Bobby Murcer- Although he had massive shoes to fill as Mickey Mantle’s successor, Bobby Murcer enjoyed a solid career that included two stints in the Bronx. In his first stint, Murcer made four consecutive All-Star teams and had back-to-back outstanding seasons in 1971 and 1972; he slashed .331/.427/.543 with 25 homers and 6.5 fWAR in the former, and hit .292/.361/.537 with 33 dingers, a Gold Glove, and 7.4 fWAR in the latter. Despite missing out on the 1977 and 1978 championship teams, Murcer returned in 1979 and delivered one of the most memorable games in Yankees history; in the team’s first home game since the death of Thurman Munson, the center fielder used the bat of his fallen friend and drove in all five runs in a 5-4 comeback win.

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