The decade did not include a World Series appearance, let alone a championship. That hadn't happened since the 1910's. But there were still plenty of memorable moments. The end of the Hall of Fame careers of Mariano Rivera in 2013 and Derek Jeter in 2014 probably top my list—the emotional finales for both players will go down in Yankee lore.
But the top players in pinstripes from 2010-19 are an interesting exercise. While all Core Four members said goodbye during the decade, they had a hard time cracking my list, as you will see below.
My friends at SNY first asked me to consider this list, so here it is with a few more expanded thoughts.
Catcher: Gary Sanchez — 105 home runs and 121 OPS+ in three and a half seasons. Brian McCann and Russell Martin put in some good seasons, but didn't quite stack up to Sanchez offensively.
First Base: Mark Teixeira. The injuries caught up towards the end, but Teixeira put up three 30-home run seasons in the decade, hit 167 home runs with 500 RBIs total, won two Gold Gloves and made one All-Star team.
Second Base: Robinson Cano. From 2010 through 2013, before leaving as a free agent, Cano was one of the best players in the game. He made four straight All-Star teams, won two Gold Gloves, and finished in the top six in MVP voting all four years. His combined numbers for the four years: .312/.373./.533 (.906 OPS) while missing only 8 games.
Shortstop: Didi Gregorius. Replaced Derek Jeter as we all know. And for the decade of the 2010's I can say Gregorius was the better player. Jeter produced at a high level through 2012. Didi took over in 2015, tallied three straight 20-homer seasons from 2016-18, something no Yankee shortstop had ever done. Gregorius had a steady glove, was a clubhouse leader, and won over fans and teammates in the toughest shoes to fill.
Third Base: Gio Andujar. Okay, I'm kind of cheating here. Miguel Andujar and Gio Urshela did not play long enough by themselves to overtake Alex Rodriguez at this spot. But the back-to-back years they put up at the end of the decade helped lead to back to back 100 win seasons and were impressive. Chase Headley played more games here but wasn't productive enough. And A-Rod's injuries, suspension, and increased time at DH hurt him here.
Left Field: Brett Gardner. More games played in this decade than any other Yankee. Won a Gold Glove, made an All-Star team and was a clubhouse leader. He is the only remaining Yankee from the 2009 World Championship team. Will go down as one of the most under appreciated Yankees ever.
Center Field: Curtis Granderson. Back to back 40-home run seasons as a centerfielder and a top five MVP finish in 2011. With four seasons as a Yankee and then four more as a Met, Granderson's 210 home runs combined with the Yankees and Mets make him one of the top New York athletes of the decade.
Right Field: Aaron Judge. Record-setting AL Rookie of the Year and MVP runner-up in 2017, two-time All-Star, and quickly atop the list of most popular players in the sport. Judge has the best chance of anyone to make the next decade's list ten years from now.
Designated Hitter: Nick Swisher. For the actual position of DH, it's A-Rod because he played more games there. But the many reasons that curtailed A-Rod's production and knocked him off my list at third base made me wonder if there was a more productive hitter at a different position that was getting squeezed off this list. That's what happened to Swisher with Judge in right field. Swisher's 2010-12 produced 125 OPS+ and averaged 25 HR and 89 RBI per year. ARod's six seasons from 2010-16 produced 114 OPS+ and averaged 19 HR and 63 RBI. A-Rod had his moments and milestones, but like several others from the 2009 team, there wasn't quite enough in this decade to make this list.
Starting Pitchers:
CC Sabathia: A bona fide ace from 2010-2012, an All-Star all three seasons and top four in Cy Young voting twice. Injuries made the rest of the decade more difficult, but he still posted a total of 272 starts between 2010-2019 with over 1,600 innings and 1,500 strikeouts. He also started 14 postseason games in the decade.
Masahiro Tanaka: 164 starts, 75-43 record, 3.75 ERA over 1,006 innings. Tanaka has managed a strong work load despite the partially torn elbow ligament that he suffered in 2014. Add to that a big game reputation in the postseason.
Luis Severino: A strong debut in 2015, and two All-Star seasons in 2017 and 2018 put Severino on the board. Despite a bad sophomore season in 2016 and an injury-filled 2019, Severino spent two years as one of the most dominant starters in the league.
Andy Pettitte: Made only 63 starts across parts of three seasons in this decade, and of his 219 wins as a Yankee, these years accounted for only 27. But he still performed at a high level and was the only member of the Core Four to make this list.
Hiroki Kuroda: Gave the Yankees three years from 2012-2014 and was a consistent performer. Made 97 starts and pitched to a 3.44 ERA while averaging over 6 innings per starts. Also made two postseason starts in 2012 and allowed only 5 runs in 16 innings. Strong competitor who actually pitched to a better ERA+ in his three years with the Yankees (117) than he did in his four years with the Dodgers in the National League (113). His 38-33 record would have looked better if he hadn't consistently suffered for run support. Underrated Yankee pitcher for me because he never was part of a pennant winner.
Closer: Dellin Betances. I'm cheating a little here too.
It would be easy to say Mariano Rivera and it's technically the right answer. Rivera retired in 2013, and his ERA in the decade was a sparkling 1.95. His ERA the previous decade (granted it was over 500 more innings) was 2.08.
But Betances was the Yankees best pitcher across the decade. When given the assignment I was allowed five starters and a closer, so without extra reliever spots I decided to sneak Betances in as the closer. Five dominant seasons, four All-Star appearances, a 2.22 ERA from 2014-2018 and 607 strikeouts in in 373 innings.
Even Dellin would probably tell you there's no way he outranks Mariano on any list. But for this decade, the best and most dominant arm didn't belong to a starter or a closer. Betances was simply the Yankees most valuable pitcher over that time.
I'm reserving a spot for Gerrit Cole and his nine-year contract on the list for the 2020-29 All-Yankees team. Ask me in ten years who else I like.
You can follow Sweeny on Twitter: @YankeesWFAN
