Why the Yankees Rule MLB

The New York Yankees could well be the face of the MLB. The team has competed in 118+ seasons of baseball, with a record of 10,378 wins – 7840 losses, with a win/loss percentage of 0.570. The Yankees have made it to the playoffs 55 times, with 40 pennants and 27 World Series Championships.

Over the years, this superb baseball team has featured some incredible managers, including Joe McCarthy whose .627 win/loss percentage ranks as the best ever. The New York Yankees were initially known as the New York Highlanders (1903 - 1912), but once the name changed to the New York Yankees, it stuck.

Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series Winners

Ever since the New York Yankees hit the scene, they made an impact. They won their very first World Series Championship in 1923, and followed this up with 26 additional championships over the years. The last time the Yankees won the World Series was in 2009. All in all, this MLB team has 27 World Series Championships to its credit.

The St Louis Cardinals are a distant second with 11 World Series Championships, and the Boston Red Sox slot into third place with 9 World Series Championships.

This begs the question: Why are the Yankees so far ahead of the competition? Let's see if we can unravel this great mystery for all the MLB fans out there. While you're at  it, take a look at our MLB betting odds!

The NY Yankees are an iconic team. They are just as American as apple pie, and they embody the indomitable spirit of New York just like the mighty Empire State Building, or the Statue of Liberty. But it's the characters who have graced the team over the last century that make the New York Yankees masterclass.

Think of guys like Yogi Berra – one of the finest catchers ever. Moving on to 1st base, there's nobody to touch Lou Gehrig, and on second base its probably Joe Gordon. For shortstop, one has to pay homage to Phil Rizzuto, but ultimately there's only one guy who owns this position with the Yankees – the indomitable Derek Jeter. Third baseman Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) is hands down the best ever the Yankees, and everyone knows it.

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Right-field has to go to Babe Ruth, left field is Joe DiMaggio, and center field is Mickey Mantle. Even if you've never played baseball before or even followed baseball, chances are you've heard all three of those names. If we look at the greatest pitchers for the NY Yankees, we could probably narrow it down to the following 5:

* Vernon ‘Lefty’ Gomez – 5 World Series titles, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939 and with a 189-102 MLB record
* Edward Charles ‘Whitey’ Ford – Believe it or not, Whitey Ford is widely regarded as the Yankees best starter of all time. His career spanned many years, starting 1950 and ended in 1966. His best ERA was in 1965 – 3.24. Dubbed the ‘chairman of the board’ like Frank Sinatra, he won 6 titles with the Yankees and he boasts a 10-8, 2.71 ERA postseason, all of which took place in the World Series.
* Charles ‘Red’ Ruffing - 6 World Series titles, with 231 all-time wins
* Andy Pettitte – 203 wins for the Yankees 18 postseason game wins throughout his career
* Mariano Rivera – 2.21 ERA, 82 wins/60 losses, 1115 games played, 652 saves, 1283.2 innings pitched, and 1173 strikeouts. This guy is known as the Sandman – the best closer in baseball possibly of all time.

The Greatest Yankees Hitters of All Time

Now, let’s turn our attention to the greatest hitters for New York Yankees. This illustrious team has laid claim to the best MLB hitters of all time. It comes as no surprise that the Yankees are so highly regarded – 27 World Series Championships is no laughing matter. The Yankees won dozens of American League pennants, and it's thanks to their legendary players that all of this was made possible.

We all know that the Yankees are the darlings of the MLB; the big-hitting prowess of Yankees batters have made this team what it is today. We could go on to list dozens of superstars like Wade Boggs and his .313 batting average, Phil Rizzuto with his .273 batting average, or even Jorge Posada with his .275 batting average.

These guys are legendary, but we are looking for something even more incredible.

So, we come down to players like Bill Dickey and his ‘clutch-hitting’ style With a batting average of .313 over the course of 12 seasons, he became a Hall of Famer in 1954 and his #8 was retired by the team. Other guys like Yogi Berra made a name for himself as the greatest catcher in the history of the MLB.

He was a 3-time MVP for the American League. Yogi Berra also holds the record for the most hits in the World Series plus many more. With 385 home runs to his credit, and a batting average of .285, this Hall of Fame MLB superstar is a cut above the rest.

Let's not forget other incredible players like Joe DiMaggio who ushered his team to 10 pennant wins and 9 x World Series Championships. Joe DiMaggio bombed 361 home runs out the park, with a batting average of .325. During his purple patch, he had a 56-game hitting streak with an average of .408. That's Joe DiMaggio the New York Yankee.

I'm going to close out with a quick mention of 2 more players, and you probably know who they are.

* Babe Ruth – he began with a slugging average of .847, and he was part of the iconic Murderers Row New York Yankees team. With 2518 hits, 659 homers and 1971 RBI, his batting average of .349 was legendary. We could fill entire books to detail his incredible achievements – he was that good.
* Lou Gehrig ‘The Iron Horse’ – he played 2130 consecutive games, shattered records across the board, and ushered the Yankees towards victories they never dreamed possible. Unfortunately, he died at the tender age of 37, with a .340 batting average, 493 home runs, and 2721 hits. It was his name attributed to Lou Gehrig's disease that many sportsmen have succumbed to over the years.

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* Image courtesy of Ray Stubblebine and AP/Photo of Babe Ruth uncredited and AP