Best New York Yankees Teams of All Time

As of the end of the 2010 regular season, the New York Yankees had an all-time record of 9670-7361 in 108 seasons, with 27 championships, by far the most of any team.

That makes picking the best Yankees teams an interesting exercise, in some ways easy and in other ways difficult. First of all, they have to be one of the 27 to win them all. That eliminated a few 100-game winners.

Let the arguments begin. Presenting the best teams in Yankees history.

01
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1927: Murderers' Row

New York Teams Posing in Photo

George Rinhart/Contributor / Corbis Historical

The gold standard of lineups, and perhaps teams, in baseball history. They batted .307 as a team with 158 homers, 102 more than any other AL team. Babe Ruth set the record with 60 homers, and Lou Gehrig drove in even more than Ruth. Six players from the team are in the Hall of Fame.

Manager: Miller Huggins

Regular season: 110-44, 19 games ahead of Philadelphia Athletics.

Playoffs: Swept Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 in World Series.

Hitting leaders: Babe Ruth (.356, 60 HR, 164 RBI), Lou Gehrig (.373, 47 HR, 175 RBI),  Bob Meusel (.337, 8 HR, 103 RBI).

Pitching leaders: Waite Hoyt (22-7, 2.63 ERA), Herb Pennock (19-8, 3.00 ERA), Wilcy Moore (19-7, 2.28 ERA, 13 saves).

02
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1998: Most wins ever by a Yankees team

The Yankees, with their best team of the second half of the century, won the second-most games ever in a season, and their 125 combined wins was a record, with just 50 losses. Their team ERA was almost a half-run better than the rest of the league.

Manager: Joe Torre

Regular season: 114-48, 22 games ahead of Boston.

Playoffs: Swept Texas 3-0 in Division Series; beat Cleveland 4-2 in ALCS; swept San Diego 4-0 in World Series.

Hitting leaders: SS Derek Jeter (.324, 19 HR, 84 RBI), 1B Tino Martinez (.281, 28 HR, 123 RBI), RF Paul O'Neill (.317, 24 HR, 116 RBI)

Pitching leaders: David Cone (20-7, 3.55 ERA), David Wells (18-4, 3.49 ERA), Mariano Rivera (3-0, 1.91 ERA, 36 saves)


03
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1961: M&M Boys gobble up a championship

The home run chase between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris was the captivating storyline of the season, with Maris breaking Ruth's single-season record. Three other starters hit 20 homers, and Whitey Ford won 25, and the Yankees won despite Mantle being injured and limited in the World Series.

Manager: Ralph Houk

Regular season: 109-53, eight games ahead of Detroit.

Playoffs: Beat Cincinnati in five games in World Series.

Hitting leaders: CF Mickey Mantle (.317, 54 HR, 128 RBI), LF Roger Maris (.269, 61 HR, 141 RBI), C Elston Howard (.348, 21 HR, 77 RBI)

Pitching leaders: Whitey Ford (25-4, 3.21 ERA), Ralph Terry (16-3, 3.15 ERA), Luis Arroyo (15-5, 2.19 ERA, 29 saves)

04
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1939: Tragedy to triumph

The season began with Lou Gehrig's abrupt retirement and ended with another World Series sweep, led by young center fielder Joe DiMaggio.

Manager: Joe McCarthy

Regular season: 106-45, won AL by 17 games over Boston.

Playoffs: Swept Cincinnati 4-0 in World Series.

Hitting leaders: CF Joe DiMaggio (.381, 30 HR, 126 RBI), 2B Joe Gordon (.284, 28 HR, 111 RBI), OF George Selkirk (.306, 21 HR, 101 RBI)

Pitching: Red Ruffing (21-7, 2.93 ERA), Lefty Gomez (12-8, 3.41 ERA), Atley Donald (13-3, 3.71 ERA)

05
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1932: Nine Hall of Famers, and Ruth calls his shot

The Yankees' dominated, with records left in their wake. Lou Gehrig hit four homers in one game and Tony Lazzeri hit a natural cycle in the same game on June 3. And in the World Series at Chicago, Babe Ruth had the famous "called shot" home run.

Manager: Joe McCarthy

Regular season: 107-47, won AL by 13 games over Philadelphia A's.

Playoffs: Swept Chicago Cubs 4-0 in World Series.

Hitting leaders: Babe Ruth (.341, 41 HR, 137 RBI), Lou Gehrig (.349, 34 HR, 151 RBI), Tony Lazzeri (.300, 15 HR, 113 RBI)

Pitching leaders: Lefty Gomez (24-7, 4.21 ERA), Red Ruffing (18-7, 3.09 ERA), George Pipgras (16-9, 4.19 ERA)

06
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2009: Nine-year drought ends

Just as they did in the first Yankees Stadium in 1923, the team won a title in its first year in the new Yankee Stadium with a dominant, powerful lineup as seven players hit 22 homers or more.

Manager: Joe Girardi

Regular season: 103-59, won AL East by eight games over Boston.

Playoffs: Swept Minnesota 3-0 in Division Series; beat Los Angeles Angels 4-2 in ALCS; beat Philadelphia 4-2 in World Series.

Hitting leaders: 1B Mark Teixeira (.292, 39 HR, 122 RBI), SS Derek Jeter (.334, 18 HR, 66 RBI, 30 SB), 3B Alex Rodriguez (.286, 30 HR, 100 RBI)

Pitching: CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.37 ERA), Andy Pettitte (14-8, 4.16 ERA), Mariano Rivera (3-3, 1.76 ERA, 44 saves)

07
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1936: Gehrig stars, along with a rookie named Joe

Joe DiMaggio made his debut in May, and he was the spark in another championship season. Eight starters hit 10 or more homers, and six pitchers won 12 games or more.

Manager: Joe McCarthy

Regular season: 102-51, 19.5 games ahead of second-place Detroit.

Playoffs: Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants.

Hitting leaders: 1B Lou Gehrig (.354, 49 HR, 152 RBI), CF Joe DiMaggio (.323, 29 HR, 125 RBI), C Bill Dickey (.362, 22 HR, 107 RBI)

Pitching: Red Ruffing (20-12, 3.85 ERA), Monte Pearson (19-7, 3.71 ERA), Lefty Gomez (13-7, 4.39 ERA)

08
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1941: DiMaggio's streak, and 101 wins

Three outfielders hit 30 homers, led by the incomparable DiMaggio, who hit in 56 consecutive games, a record that hasn't even been threatened since.

Manager: Joe McCarthy

Regular season: 101-54, 17 games ahead of Boston.

Playoffs: Beat Brooklyn 4-1 in World Series.

Hitting leaders: CF Joe DiMaggio (.357, 30 HR, 125 RBI), LF Charlie Keller (.298, 33 HR, 122 RBI), RF Tommy Henrich (.277, 31 HR, 85 RBI)

Pitching: Red Ruffing (15-6, 3.54 ERA), Lefty Gomez (15-5, 3.74 WR), Marius Russo (14-10, 3.09 ERA)

09
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1953: Record fifth title in a row

Yankees win World Series rematch with Brooklyn with perhaps their best team of a memorable decade. No team had won five titles in a row before, or since.

Manager: Casey Stengel

Regular season: 99-52, 8.5 games ahead of Cleveland.

Playoffs: Beat Brooklyn 4-2 in World Series.

Hitting leaders: C Yogi Berra (.296, 27 HR, 108 RBI), CF Mickey Mantle (.295, 21 HR, 92 RBI), 3B Gil McDougald (.285, 10 HR, 83 RBI)

Pitching leaders: Whitey Ford (18-6, 3.00 ERA), Eddie Lopat (16-4, 2.42 ERA), Johnny Sain (14-6, 3.00 ERA).

10
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1977: The Bronx Zoo

Reggie Jackson becomes the straw that stirs the drink as the Yankees win their first in the George Steinbrenner era.

Manager: Billy Martin

Regular season: 100-62, 2.5 games ahead of Baltimore in AL East.

Playoffs: Defeated Kansas City in five games in ALCS; defeated Los Angeles in six games in World Series.

Hitting leaders: RF Reggie Jackson (.286, 32 HR, 110 RBI), 3B Graig Nettles (.255, 37 HR, 107 RBI), C Thurman Munson (.308, 18 HR, 100 RBI).

Pitching leaders: Ron Guidry (16-7, 2.82 ERA), Ed Figueroa (16-11, 3.57 ERA), Sparky Lyle (13-5, 2.17 ERA, 26 saves)

Next five: 1937 Yankees (102-52); 1951 Yankees (98-56), 1923 Yankees (98-54), 1999 Yankees (98-64), 1950 Yankees (98-56)