The Yankees are the most successful franchise in the history of baseball. We could’ve easily made this a list about the 8 greatest Yankees World Series Moments, or post season moments, but we’ll leave that for another list and another time. The great New York Yankees moments in this list all occurred during the regular season or in the off season.
Warning: This list of great New York Yankees Moments is extremely subjective. Please leave your favorite moments in the comments section below.
Here’s Our List
8. The Derek Jeter Dive
It couldn’t have happened against a better team. This play demonstrates the heart, attitude and drive that has posessed Derek Jeter since his Yankee debut. He came away from this play with cuts, bruises and the ball. Great job Derek.
7. Bobby Murcer Euolgy and Celebration of Thurmon Munson
Yankees team captain catcher Thurmon Munson died way too early when a small private plane he was flying crashed in Ohio on Aug 2, 1979. The following Monday, the team attended the funeral in Ohio and then flew back for a game with the Baltimore Orioles that night. Outfielder Bobby Murcer delivered the eulogy at the funeral. He was a great friend of Thurmon’s. The manager allowed Bobby to have that night’s game off, but Bobby refused. He went out there that evening and single-handedly drove in all the runs needed to defeat the Orioles in a comeback win. Murcer celebrated his friend’s life with a 3 run home run in the seventh inning and a knocked in two runs later to put the Yanks up 5-4.
6. Mickey Mantle’s Triple Crown in 1956
The Triple Crown is rarely talked about in present day baseball. Leading the league in homers, RBIs and batting average is almost impossible to do. What makes Mickey Mantle’s accomplishment so much more special was his age. At only 24 years old, the Mick proved he was something special. Mickey Mantle is sometimes overlooked by non-Yankee fans, but he shouldn’t be. His stats for 1956: 52 HRs, .353 BA and 130 RBIs.
5. Three Grand Slams in One Game
Grand Slams are special. The Yankees have always been good at hitting grand slams but on August 25, 2011, the team made history. They were losing against the A’s until they broke out the big bats. Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson each hit a homer with the bases loaded. Never before had a team hit three grand slams in one game. The Yankees wound up winning against the Oakland A’s 22-9.
4. Ron Guidry Fans 18 and Wins Cy Young Award
Who is the best ever Yankees left handed pitcher from Louisiana? Of course that’s Ron Guidry. If you’re a younger Yankees fan, you may not remember or ever heard of Ron Guidry but on June 17, 1978 the man known as Louisiana Lightning fanned 18 California Angels and he went on to strike out 248 batters during this phenomenal year. His final stats for 1978, a year in which he was paid only $47,000 was… 25 wins 3 losses, a 1.74 ERA and 9 shutouts. Talk about amazing. That was Ron Guidry.
3. Derek Jeter’s 3000th Hit
Talk about history. July 9, 2011 is the day Derek Jeter became the fist New York Yankee to reach the 3000 hit mark. He did it with a home run. That made him the second player ever to make his 3000th hit a homer. He joined Craig Biggio as the only other player to get five hits the day of their 3000th hit. He was also only the second player playing shortstop at the time of their 3000th hit, joining Honus Wagner. Look at the entire at bat below.
2. Lou Gherig’s Farewell Speech – July 4, 1939
I’m not sure how many people have not seen Pride of the Yankees, the bio pic about Lou Gehrig’s life. It should be one of the first movies every baseball fan should watch. Lou Gehrig was an amazing player and is best known for the 2130 game playing streak which was eventually broken by Cal Ripken Jr. If you’re not a baseball historian, you may not know how great Lou Gehrig really was. His avg for a 162 game season over 17 years was 37 home runs and 149 RBIs per year. All that while only averaging 59 strikeouts and hitting .340. The man was a legend. See some his most touching words in his farewell speech below.
and number one on our list of 8 Great New York Yankees Moments to Ponder Over Pizza is….
1. Joe Dimaggio’s 56 Game Hitting Streak
Hitting streaks are one of the most amazing feats in all of baseball. I remember Pete Rose when he hit in 44 straight games. The big news after he hit in 30 straight was whether or not Pete got in his latest game. Arguments in bars often broke out on whether or not Pete Rose could break Joltin’ Joe’s record. The record of hitting in 56 straight games may never be broken. That would be fitting for our number one moment in Yankees history to ponder over pizza.