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The Greatest Franchise in Sports History. You don't have to like 'em (and, for the record, most of us don't), you don't even really have to respect 'em, but you have to give the New York Yankees that. Hockey, we see your Montreal Canadiens, and somewhere in the Bronx somebody's cheering "Nineteen-ninety-three" (since their first title in 1923, the Yankees haven't gone longer than 18 years without a title, and you can't be the greatest if nobody younger than 19 has seen you win a 'chip). Football, we see your Steelers, Packers, 49ers, and Cowboys and counter that if you have four franchises competing for the greatest in your sport you can't call any of them the greatest in all sports. Basketball, we see your Celtics and Lakers, and, well, you're close, but not quite.
We're not talking most beloved or easiest to root for, we're talking greatest. Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra, Jackson, Mattingly, Jeter, Rivera. Did we miss anybody? Martin, Dickey, Munson, Rizzuto, Howard, A-Rod, Cano. Twenty0-seven championships, more rap references than Louis Vuitton, and a pop culture style icon. The Yankees are the greatest, and these are their 50 Greatest Moments.
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50. Prelude to a Dynasty
Date: 10/1/1995
The 1995 team is often overlooked—they lost in the ALDS to the Mariners after leading the series 2-0, and while the season saw the debuts of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, they were brief and unspectacular for both. But '95 featured one of the greatest Septembers in franchise history, when the club won 26 of their last 33, and 11 of their last 12 to secure the first American League wild card and send Don Mattingly to the postseason for the first and only time in his career.
49. Mattingly Battles Winfield for the Batting Title
Date: 9/30/1984
In what was just his second year, Don Mattingly engaged in a war for the 1984 batting title with fellow teammate Dave Winfield. Donnie Baseball had the lead heading into the last week of the season, but 12-year vet Dave Winfield went ahead on September 28 to take a two-point lead, .341 to .339. During the last game of the season the two went at-bat for at-bat against Randy O'Neal and the Detroit Tigers. Mattingly ended up with the crown going 4-5 with an overall batting average of .343, while Winfeld went 1-4 with a .340 average.
39. A Rod Drives in 10 Runs in One Game
Date: 4/26/2005
There are offensive outbursts and then there's what A-Rod did in April of '05 when he 3 home runs and had ten RBIs—in one game. Now, if only he could have games like that in October.
47. Jeter Breaks the All-Time Yankee Hits Record
Date: 9/11/2009
What made Derek Jeter's Yankee hit record truly great is he deserved it. Baseball's recent history has been littered with muscle-bound cheaters, peaking on horse 'roids, and destroying records as though they were Flo Rida with a house sample. Jeter's delivered in the Bronx for two decades and handled the spotlight with class. You want to hate him, but you can't. And even though there's no more pretentious term than a "true Yankee," if the description fit anyone, it's No 2.
46. The Christening of Yankee Stadium
Date: 11/4/2009
The House that Jeter Built. This game was destined to go to the Yankees. Mary J. Blige performed the "The Star-Spangled Banner" like only she could, Jigga's "Empire State of Mind" had dropped about a month before and Andy Pettitte was on the mound trying to become the second pitcher in history to win three series-clinching games in one postseason. The new Cathedral of Baseball was on one that night. Andy dominated as usual and in what would be his last game in pinstripes, Hideki Matsui went 3-4 with a home run and 6 RBIs. The Phillies never stood a chance.
45. A-Rod Gets Traded to Yankees
Date: 2/15/2004
After a year of jostling for position, the evil empire struck gold again on the trade market when they nabbed arguably the best player in the game, Alex Rodriguez. This was such a huge move for so many reasons, not least of which was because the Red Sox wanted him too, and had offered their own star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra in a trade. There's no way anyone could have predicted the scandals that ensued with him in the years to come, but there's no way the A Rod melodrama would have been anywhere near as fun anywhere else.
44. 2006 Boston Massacre
Date: 08/18/2006 to 08/21/2006
Championships are great, but breaking Boston is bliss. Going into a five-game series against the Red Sox, the Yankees clung to the AL East by less than two games. The much hyped showdown in Boston had everything from pride to playoffs on the line. By the end of a four-day Boston-bashing bloodbath, the Yankees were 5-0 having outscored the Red Sox 47-25. When asked how the sweep stood up against his World Series pedigree George Steinbrenner said, "This ranks right at the top because it was for the fans. So many guys delivered."
43. The Boston Massacre
Date: 09/07/1978 to 09/10/1978
If there's one name that is associated with the beginning of the modern Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, it's Bucky Dent. But without the Boston Massacre, there's no Bucky Dent. In two months the Yankees had trimmed a 14.5 game Red Sox lead to four entering a four-game set in Fenway. When the Bombers left town, the teams were even and four weeks later Dent had a new middle name.
42. The House That Ruth Built Opens
Date: 4/18/1923
What you thought the "House That Ruth Built" was just some cute nickname? Nah, son. The Bambino christened the Stadium with a three-run shot to defeat his former team—the Boston Red Sox—in the first game ever played at the O.G. Yankee Stadium. The rest, as they say, is history. Greatest franchise in team sports history.
41. Mickey Mantle Hits 500th HR
Date: 5/14/1967
By the time Mickey Mantle hit his 500th home run, he was a shell of his former self. Hobbled by injuries and forced to play third, he clubbed it in the 7th inning of a mid-May game against the Orioles, with just 18,872 fans in attendance. Still, it was an undoubtedly huge accomplishment—he was just the third hitter at the time to reach the 500 homer mark—and further cemented the Mick's spot as one of the greatest Yankees of all time.
40. Babe Ruth's 575-foot Home Run
Date: 7/18/1921
The Yankees do it big. How big? Five-hundred-seventy-five-feet big. That's how long a home run Babe Ruth hit in Detroit in 1921. Performance-enhancers? Try hot dogs, prostitutes, and bootleg whiskey. Maybe some of today's ballplayers ought to try them.
48. First World Series Win Since 1978
Date: 10/26/1996
Remember when the Yankees were underdogs? Remember when Mariano Rivera was a set-up man? Remember when Derek Jeter was a fresh-faced youngster without a string of hits to his name? These were the Yankees before they became the late-20th/early-21st century version of the YANKEES. Scrappy, relatively unknown (their most famous player was a pre-guitar playing Bernie Williams), the '96 club was a team that even (some) Yankee-haters could root for. Until Wade Boggs toured the Stadium on a police horse that is.
38. Babe Ruth Sets Single-Season HR Record
Date: 9/30/1927
It's easy for old timers to lament the ballooning home run totals of the '90s and 2000s, but if you want to look at some real video game stats, check 1927, the year that Babe Ruth set the record for home runs in a season that, depending on your perspective vis-a-vis 162 game seasons and steroids, was either eclipsed in 1961 (or 1998 or 2001) or still stands today. In '27, Ruth hit 60 home runs; the Yankees as a team hit 158. The team with the second most dingers in the American League was the Philadelphia Athletics—who finished with 56. Ruth hit more home runs than every other team but his own in '27 (he hit more than all but two teams the year before). Here's another perspective: In 1927, ruth hit 14% of the home runs recorded in the American League; to achieve that same percentage, last year's home run champ, Jose Bautista, who finished with 43 homers, would've had to clear the bases 318 times.
37. Jeffrey Maier's Catch
Date: 10/9/1996
Trailing 4-3 in the eight inning of ALCS, Game 1, Derek Jeter hits a high fly ball to right. In perhaps the game's most infamous example of fan interference (stand down, Bartman), 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier reaches over the fence and knocks the ball into the stands. The game is tied 4-4. The Yanks would go on to win the game, the ALCS, and eventually, the World Series. Somewhere Tony Tarasco is still screaming and pointing violently, but nobody is listening.
36. 3 Grand Slams in One Game
Date: 8/25/2011
As if the Yankees didn't occupy the record books enough. How about being the only team in MLB history to hit three grand slams in one game? Thanks to the bats of Robinson Cano, Russell Martin, Curtis Granderson and their band box of a stadium, the Yanks defeated the Athletics on August 25, 2011 by a NFL-like score of 22-9. Hey now, we're not complaining because if chicks dig the long ball, we can admire a solid stroke.
35. Don Mattingly Hits 10 HRs in 8 games
Date: 7/18/1987
Ah, Donnie Baseball. He spent his entire 13-season career in pinstripes but never made it to the World Series. Hell, the Yankees only made the playoffs once during his tenure. But that doesn't take anything away from Mattingly's great career. One high-point came in the summer of 1987 when he hit an MLB record 10 homers over a stretch of eight games. All that and a .307 career BA yet they still won't let him into the Hall. #smh #cmonson
34. Ron Guidry Strikes Out 18
Date: 6/17/1978
In their illustrious 100-plus year history, the Yankees never had a pitcher have a year like Ron Guidry's 1978. He won the Cy Young on the strength of a 25-3 record, 1.74 ERA, and nine shutouts. In the middle of the year, with the Yankee Stadium faithful giving him a standing ovation every time he got two strikes on a hitter, Guidry struck out 18 Angels to set a franchise record. Suffice it to say, if you hold a Yankees franchise record, you're doing something right.
33. Doc Gooden's No Hitter
Date: 5/14/1996
Dwight Gooden's life has been a roller coaster. He came on the scene with the Mets as a skinny 19-year old kid with a rocket for an arm in 1984. He had an all-time great year in '85, and helped the '86 Amazin's to a World Series win over Bill Buckner and the Red Sox. Doc battled substance abuse almost his entire career and before 1996 he had just finished serving his second suspension from the game. The Boss gave him what seemed to be his umpteenth chance at redemption. That move payed off when Gooden no-hit a nasty Mariners club with 135 pitches, five Ks and six walks in a 2-0 victory to became the King of New York once again.
32. Ford Breaks Ruth's World Series Scoreless Streak
Date: 10/8/1961
Forty-plus years into the Curse of the Bambino (although they didn't call it that yet then), Red Sox fans could still look to the record books for a reminder of their 1918 World Series title (and, unfortunately, Babe Ruth, too). That year, Ruth set the World Series record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched, at 29 2/3. At the end of the following season, Ruth was sold to the Yankees, leading to his frequent appearances on this list. In 1961, Whitey Ford, the Greatest Yankee Pitcher of All Time Until Mariano Came Around (GYPOATUMCA?) eclipsed Ruth's scoreless innings mark, and extended it to 33 2/3 run-free frames. How do you get the nickname "Chairman of the Board" in a franchise as storied as the Yankees? For a couple reasons, one of them being erasing Red Sox from the record books.
31. Rivera Breaks Ford's Postseason Scoreless Streak
Date: 10/13/2000
As far as untouchable relief pitchers go they don't get much better than Mariano Rivera. Scratch that, they don't get any better than Mo, especially circa 2000. That postseason Rivera broke Whitey Ford's record for most consecutive scoreless innings by pitching his 34 1/3 inning of shutout baseball. Sure, Ford did it in the World Series, but Rivera arguably accomplished the harder feat, pitching in as many as three series per year. That record still stands today. Mo stays on his Ray Charles steez.
30. The Start of the Curse of The Bambino
Date: 12/26/1919
Your team's rivalry is cool and all, but it doesn't compare to the feud that the Yankees and Red Sox have had brewing since the early 1900s. It all started when Babe Ruth demanded a raise in salary to $20,000. A paltry number when you consider how much athletes earn these days, but then-Sox owner Harry Frazee grew frustrated with the Babe's request and traded him to the Yanks for $125,000 cash, three $25,000 notes a year and a $300,000 loan. Since that momentous day, depending on who you ask, the Curse of the Bambino kicked in and Boston didn't win another championship for 86 years. Since breaking the curse in 2004, the Red Sox have won another chip but they sure got a lot of catching up to do if they want to reach 27 anytime soon.
29. Billy Martin Ties World Series Hit Record
Date: 10/5/1953
The Yankees don't just clog up every list of postseason records, they do it with style. In 1953, Billy Martin tied the record for most hits in a World Series with 12 (it's since been passed three times, including once by another Yankee). In Game 6 after the Yankees had lost a 3-1 lead and were tied in the top of the 9th, Martin hit the game-winning single in the bottom of the inning, giving him a share of the single Series hit record, and propelling the Yankees to their 5th consecutive title. Like we said, the Yankees just have a different way of doing things.
28. Allie Reynolds' Two No Hitters in the Same Season
Date: 7/12/1951 and 9/28/1951
Some teams go 50 years without pitching a no-hitter. (OK, one team, the Mets. How'd you guess?) The Yankees—one pitcher to b exact—do that in the span of three months. On July 12, Allie Reynolds dueled with Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians with both pitchers carrying no hitters deep into the game. Mickey Mantle broke Feller's run in the 6th but the Indians weren't able to get a hit on Reynolds and the Yankees won 1-0.
The second no-no came in the first of a double header against the Red Sox when a win was needed to guarantee a tie for the pennant. They ended up winning the game, the pennant, and the World Series that year thanks to Reyonlds' rare form that season.
27. Sorry Sox, Just Wait Another 55 Years
Date: 10/1/1949 to 10/2/1949
What's better than winning the pennant on the final day of the season? Beating your archrival to do it. With two games to go in the '49 season, the Yankees trailed the Red Sox by a game, but hosted Boston in the final series of the season. In the first game Johnny "Frickin'" Lindell hit an 8th inning homer to complete a Yankees comeback, and in the second, the Bombers withstood a late Sox rally to hold on for a 5-3 win. The Yankees then beat the Dodgers in the World Series, the first of five straight for the Pinstripes.
26. Derek Jeter Becomes Mr. November
Date: 11/1/2001
Fall 2001 was a little different in New York, and the World Series was no exception. The Yankees ended up losing to the D'backs (something about Mariano blowing a save?), but in a weird way it didn't matter. For three straight days New Yorkers (don't lie Mets fans, you know who you were rooting for that week) were able to put the tragic events of that September in the back of their minds as the Yankees won three of the most stirring back-to-back-to-back games in the history of Yankee Stadium. The sandwich game featured the most beloved Yankee of the era, Derek Jeter, hitting a 10th inning, walk-off homer just after the clock struck midnight on Halloween.
25. Richardson Saves a World Series
Date: 10/16/1962
Bottom of the 9th, one-run game, two outs—growing up, every kid playing baseball imagines they're the hitter in this situation. But what if you're the second baseman? In Game 7 of the 1962 World Series, one of the greatest ever played, and the last the Yankees would win until 1977, Bobby Richardson and the Bombers led the San Francisco Giants 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th and had registered two outs. But Matty Alou was on third, and Willie Mays on second, and some guy named Willie McCovey at the plate. Some guy named Willie McCovey whom many baseball fans will say hit the ball harder than just about anybody who played the game. McCovey hit a screamer—he'd later call it the hardest ball he'd ever hit—but right at Richardson, who caught it for the final out of the World Series.
24. The First World Series Win
Date: 10/15/1923
What makes the Yankees' MLB-leading 27 total championships even more impressive? That they didn't win their first until their 21st season in New York. In 1923, the Yankees opened play in their new eponymous Stadium, but were also coming off two consecutive World Series losses to Uptown rivals, the Giants. The Yankees ran away with the American League, winning the pennant by 16 games, and then avenged their defeats to the Giants, beating them four games to two in the World Series. The Bombers (who weren't called the Bombers then) fell behind 2-1 in the Series, but won the final three games, including Game 6 where they overcame a 4-1 deficit to take their first title. Twenty-seven is a great number, but you always remember your first.
23. Dave Righetti's "Perfect" No Hitter
Date: 7/4/1983
Time and time again, the Yankees, perhaps like no other team in sports history, have transcendent moments that almost seem scripted. No hitter? Check. Against the Red Sox. You bet. On July 4th? Why not?!? Why even bother to make a movie out of it? Just watch the replays.
22. Chris Chambliss Sets off a Riot
Date: 10/14/1976
Chris Chambliss' home run to win the 1976 ALCS is a great Yankee moment because it put the Bombers into the Fall Classic for the first time in 12 years. It's also a great New York moment illustrating just how batshit crazy the city was in the mid-'70s. Before Chambliss could hit, the game was delayed while the Yankee Stadium field crew picked up the accumulated debris thrown on the field, and once Chambliss hit his homer, the Stadium damn near literally exploded, and Chambliss was forced to run for his life when the fans rushed the field. The Bronx is burning indeed.
21. Murcer Drives in 5 in Honor of Thurman Munson
Date: 8/6/1979
On the same day he delivered the eulogy at his best friend Thurman Munson's funeral, the late Bobby Murcer delivered a performance that will never be forgotten. The Yankees flew to Ohio from New York in the morning to bury their captain. They then flew back in order to get ready for the visiting first-place Orioles. Billy Martin suggested Bobby sit out given the circumstances, but Murcer insisted on playing in honor of his fallen friend. Bobby single-handedly erased a 4-0 B'more lead by hitting a 3-run shot in the 7th and a two-run walk-off single down the left field line. New York won 5-4.
20. This Is Why They Call Him Captain
Date: 7/1/2004
To the Yankee faithful, Derek Jeter is a god. To everyone else, DJ is overrated. But one thing that both sides can agree on is his competitive spirit. Over the course of his 17-year career (yeah, we can't believe it either), Jeter has made a history of coming through in the clutch at the plate and making the play that few players would even attempt, like diving into the stands to get the third out of the 12th inning to prevent the runner from scoring. The Captain's sacrifice resulted in cuts and bruises, but No. 2 just sees it as doing whatever it takes to get his team the W.
19. Ruth Says Farewell
Date: 6/13/1948
There were other carpenters, and over the years plenty of new contractors have made their mark with significant additions. But Yankee Stadium—the original, the renovation, even the "New"—was and is the House That Ruth Built. So when the Babe made his final appearance at Yankee Stadium, it was a big deal. The year before the club had hosted a Babe Ruth Day, but the 25th anniversary celebration of the Stadium marked Ruth's final public appearance. Gaunt and hunched over due to the affects of cancer, the most famous Yankee of them all made one last appearance in front of the Bronx crowd that loved him so well. Sure, it's a product of having many of the greatest players the game has ever known, but if you want to know how to do pomp and circumstance in baseball, look no further than the Bronx.
18. The Kings of New York
Date: 10/21/2000
Every once in a while, you have to remind the neighborhood who's boss. At the turn of the century New York actually had two good baseball teams (yes, we know this is hard to believe for some of our younger readers). In 1999, the Mets had reached the postseason for the first time in 11 years, and even had a moment of their own with Robin Ventura's grand slam single. In 2000, the Mets finished the regular season 94-88, seven games better than the Yankees who limped into the postseason losing 15 of their last 18 games to finish 87-74. No matter. After beating the Oakland A's and Seattle Mariners in the AL playoffs, the Yankees dominated the Mets in the World Series (the first Subway Series in 44 years), and punked their NL brethren in the process when Roger Clemens hurled a bat shard at Mike Piazza. Bullies? You bet.
17. Derek Jeter's 3000th Hit
Date: 7/9/2011
There's a "You couldn't make this up" quality to many of the greatest moments in Yankees history. Such is the case with Derek Jeter's 3000th hit. The Captain, one of the most beloved Yankees of all time—and that's saying something—was the first player to collect his 3000th hit for the Yankees. He was the first to do it in Yankee Stadium (either old or new), and he did it with a home run. And the hit last July 9 turned around what had been Jeter's worst regular season. He was hitting .257 when he went to the Stadium that day, but finished the season at .297. Not bad for an old guy.
16. Mickey Mantle Completes the Triple Crown
Date: 1956
Occasionally Triple Crowns are the result of inferior competition (we say "occasionally" and "inferior" with a big ol' tongue in cheek—the last hitter to win the Triple Crown did so 45 years ago). Maybe one year home runs are down across the league and you pick up that leg of the trifecta cheap; maybe a slugger has a career batting average year and wins that title in a squeaker. But when you win the Triple Crown across both leagues, there's no denying you were the best hitter in the world that year. Mickey Mantle hit .353, clubbed 52 home runs and knocked in 130 RBIs in 1956, numbers that would've put him atop the leaderboard in the American League, the National League, and any other league that kept track of those accomplishments that year. Of the 16 all-time major league Triple Crowns, only five were "Major League" Triple Crowns. And two of those were accomplished by Yankees.
15. Lou Gehrig's Triple Crown Season
Date: 1934
Here's a bit of Yankee trivia: Who has more MVP awards, Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig? It's Gehrig, two to one, and, oddly enough, he didn't win either of them in 1934, when he led the American League in batting average (.363), RBI (165), and home runs (49). And lest the Sabermatricians call these meaningless "counting stats," the Iron Horse also led the league in both on base percentage and slugging percentage as well.
14. David Cone's Yankee Legends Perfect Game
Date: 7/18/1999
Yogi Berra Day. Don Larsen throws out the first pitch to Berra (Larsen had thrown the first perfect game in Yankees history with Berra as his catcher). David Cone proceeds to pitch a perfect game, complete with a ninth inning scare when an outfielder lost a fly ball in the sun. If you sent this synopsis to a Hollywood executive, he'd trash it immediately for being too far-fetched. But it really happened for Coney and the Bombers on July 18 1999. Twenty-seven up, twenty-seven down, with 10 strikeouts to boot. Such is the charmed life of the greatest franchise in baseball.
13. David Wells' Hungover Perfect Game
Date: 5/17/1998
Pitching a perfect game is a ridiculous feat for anybody, but Wells claims he did it hungover, which make it even crazier. The second Yankee to ever pitch a perfect game, Wells did it in a game against the Minnesota Twins in 1998. He wasn't seen as an elite pitcher but this moment propelled his fame and popularity lending itself to him writing a controversial book Perfect I'm Not: Boomer on Beer, Brawls, Backaches and Baseball that the Yankee's weren't too happy about. They ended up fining him and the relationship was never great as he moved on to other teams (not to mention a bout with gout), but this day's going to be in Yankee history books forever.
12. Jim Leyritz Jumpstarts a Dynasty
Date: 10/23/1996
The greatest home run in Yankee history? It's got stiff competition, but hear us out. In Game 4 of the '96 World Series, the Yankees were down 2-1 in the Series, and had fallen behind 6-0 entering the 6th inning. The Bombers rallied for three runs that inning, and Leyritz's 3-run dinger in the 8th completed the comeback; the Yanks won the game 8-6 and swept the final two games of the Series to take their first title since '78. But if Leyritz doesn't hit that home run? The Yankees likely lose Game 4. Down 3-1 on the road, it's easy to see them losing Game 5 and the Series as well. Frustrated at the Bombers' lack of run production in the Series, George Steinbrenner signs Albert Belle in the offseason, and trades Derek Jeter and set-up man Mariano Rivera to the Red Sox for Mo Vaughn. The rest is a haze of fan-assault lawsuits, destroyed buffet spreads, and Red Sox titles. Yeah, that's how important Leyritz's homer was.
11. Jim Abbott's No Hitter
Date: 9/14/1993
There are a lot of theories on the best way to play baseball, but it's generally agreed that it takes two hands. Not Jim Abbott. It was amazing that he pitched so well at the University of Michigan, even more amazing that he made the major leagues. But to dominate major league hitters in a just plain incredible no hitter? It's one of the most badass moments in baseball history.
10. Babe Ruth Calls Shot
Date: 10/1/1932
One of the greatest moments in trash talking history, Ruth did what talkers today can only dream of. In the 5th inning of Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, Babe signaled to the centerfield stands as if to predict he'd hit a home run—and then he actually did it. That's gotta be demoralizing for an opponent and really demonstrates just how dominant he was in his day. That'd be like Tom Brady pointing to the end zone and throwing for a TD with 60 yards to go. #toomuchswag.
9. Aaron "F*ckin" Boone
Date: 10/16/2003
When the Yankees traded for Aaron Boone on July 31, 2003, he was expected to just be a place-holder at third base. However, his struggles at the plate in the 2003 ALCS against the Red Sox forced manager Joe Torre to bench Boone for the less-experienced Enrique Wilson in Game 7. In the bottom of the 11th inning with the score tied at five, Boone was called upon to hit a pitcher he hadn't been able to handle: Tim Wakefield. But one swing can change a lot. The Yanks went on to the World Series and the legend of Aaron Fuckin' Boone began in Beantown.
8. The Flip
Date: 10/13/2001
Sure, maybe he was "out of position" (sidebar: Not Ever Being Affiliated With Bobby Valentine was an honorable mention entry on this list), but Derek Jeter's Flip was one of the greatest, coolest plays in baseball history. Down 0-2 to the A's in a best-of-five ALDS, Jeter's relay shuttle-throw saved the Yankees postseason. Maybe they practiced it, maybe they didn't, either way it was brilliant.
7. Babe Ruth Hits 3 Homers in the World Series x 2
Date: 10/9/1928
There's no such thing as clutch, right? So why are the three players to have hit three home runs in a postseason game named Ruth, Jackson, and Pujols? And why is Ruth the only one to do it twice? The Babe knocked three balls fair and out of play in Game 4 of the 1926 World Series at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, and repeated the feat at the same stadium in Game 4 of the 1928 World Series. Clutch, with an eye for symmetry, too!
6. Maris Breaks Ruth's HR record
Date: 10/1/1961
Before the steroid era plagued the baseball history books, Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's single-season home run record in 1961 with some controversy of his own. Eclipsing the former total by only one, in eight more games than it took Ruth to set his record, Maris nonetheless set a new high in homers with 61. Thirty-seven years later, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa (and later Barry Bonds) visited the pharmacy on the way to the ballpark and topped Maris' mark. For many Maris' 61 is still the real and honest mark, and there's no conversation—it would just be like comparing apples and pesticide-contaminated oranges.
5. DiMaggio's Hit Streak
Date: 05/14/1941 to 7/16/1941
Baseball's different. You have to do it day in and day out, so the occasional off day is expected. Which makes what Joe DiMaggio did in the late spring and summer of 1941 one of the most impressive records in sports history. Between May 14 and July 16, Joe played in 56 games, and recorded a hit in every one. One hit a day isn't so tough, right? Well, in the 70+ years since, only one player, Pete Rose, has gotten within 12 of DiMaggio's mark, and in that same time, only one player, Derek Jeter, has recorded a hit in as many as 54 of 56 games. It's only fitting that one of the greatest records in baseball belong to a player who played for its greatest team.
4. Bucky "F*ckin" Dent
Date: 10/2/1978
This moment gave the "Curse of the Bambino" its validation. The Boston Red Sox blew a 14.5 game lead over the Yankees during the summer, and by September were tied up after the "Boston Massacre." Boston retook the lead, but found themselves even with New York again on the last day of the season. This resulted in a one-game playoff. Boston had a 2-0 lead and all was right. That is until the 7th inning came around and Bucky Fucking Dent stepped up to the plate. The number 9 hitter sent a 3-run shot over the Green Monster and broke the hearts of Red Sox Nation. Yankees won the game 5-4 and went on to win their 22nd World Series title.
3. Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech
Date: 7/4/1939
On June 19, 1939, the day he turned 36 years old, Lou Gehrig got the grim news that he was suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, a fatal disease with no cure and a life expectancy of three years. As a result of the unexpected illness, Gehrig was forced into an early retirement from the game he loved so much. On July 4, 1939, the Yankees gave The Iron Horse the proper sendoff after his many successful years in pinstripes. The team retired his No. 4 jersey, Babe Ruth and then-manager Joe McCarthy spoke highly of the Yankee great, but there was no greater moment than when Gehrig took the mic and embodied the role of an exceptional team player by thanking everyone while discussing little about himself and his personal accolades. Try not to get choked up listening to that speech.
2. Don Larsen's Perfect Game
Date: 10/8/1956
In 1956 the Yankees were in the midst of their second great dynasty, having won six of the previous nine World Series, on their way to a stretch of winning 10 of 16 between 1947 and 1962. But they hadn't won a title in two years, and had lost the previous year to their crosstown rivals/punching bags, the Brooklyn Dodgers. What better way to get the Bombers back on track than a perfect game in the World Series. Larsen was an unlikely candidate to pitch a perfecto; he finished with a career record of 81-91 in a 14-year big league career. But he's one of just 20 pitchers in Major League Baseball's 140-plus year history (and one of three Yankees) to toss a perfect game, and the only one to do so in the postseason.
1. Mr. October
Date: 10/18/1977
In yet another example of a Yankee moment seemingly scripted by Steven Spielberg, Reggie Jackson blasted three home runs in Game 6 of the '77 World Series to a) win the Yanks' their first title in 15 years, b) cement Reggie Jax's place in Yankee and baseball lore, and c) give rise to one of the greatest nicknames in sports. Jackson had an ego the size of Yankee Stadium (both of them, combined) and being dubbed Mr. October did nothing to diminish it. And the Yankees—especially their fans—aren't shy about extolling the virtues of their team. But it's in the sports rule book, call it "Bylaw 27 (And Counting)": If you can walk the walk, you get to talk the talk.