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Ranking the Top 10 Yankees of the Decade

By Sean Facey

The Yankees have no shortage of quality players to reflect on from this decade.
The Yankees have no shortage of quality players to reflect on from this decade. / Al Bello/Getty Images

The 2010s marked the first decade since the 1910s that the Yankees didn't even make a World Series appearance. Despite the surprising pennant drought, there was no shortage of stellar players who donned those sacred pinstripes between 2010 and 2019.

These guys in particular stand out as the top 10 Yankees of the decade.

10. Dellin Betances

Dellin Betances has been the Yankees' best reliever this decade.
Dellin Betances has been the Yankees' best reliever this decade. / Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

Even though he didn't pitch in three separate years this decade, Betances still ranks fourth among all qualified Yankees pitchers in fWAR with 11.3, which is made even more impressive by the fact that the three guys ahead of him are all starters. He boasts a 2.36 ERA and an insane 40.1% strikeout rate the likes of which few players could even dream of matching.

9. Robinson Cano

Robinson Cano was the cream of the second base crop while with the Yankees.
Robinson Cano was the cream of the second base crop while with the Yankees. / Elsa/Getty Images

In the early part of the decade, Cano was the gold standard at second base playing on baseball's biggest stage. He posted a 142 OPS+ for the Yankees from 2010 to 2013, earning four All-Star nods, three Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers and four consecutive top-six finishes in the MVP voting. Though his time in this decade with the Yankees was abbreviated, it was nonetheless superb.

8. Didi Gregorius

Gregorius was the perfect replacement for Derek Jeter at shortstop.
Gregorius was the perfect replacement for Derek Jeter at shortstop. / Elsa/Getty Images

Gregorius had some major shoes to fill following the retirement of legendary shortstop Derek Jeter, and he fit in just fine. He smacked 97 home runs in 660 games for the Yankees while playing some quality defense. He not only survived, but thrived under the spotlight in the Bronx.

7. Curtis Granderson

Granderson was superb furing his four-year stint in New York.
Granderson was superb furing his four-year stint in New York. / Rich Schultz/Getty Images

From 2010 to 2013, Granderson was everything the Yankees could have asked out of an outfielder and more. Twice an All-Star, he produced an impressive .829 OPS during his four-year stint in New York, clubbing 115 home runs while managing a fourth-place finish in AL MVP voting in 2012.

6. Aroldis Chapman

He might not be Mariano Rivera, but he has proved himself to be a dominant closer in the Bronx.
He might not be Mariano Rivera, but he has proved himself to be a dominant closer in the Bronx. / Bob Levey/Getty Images

Chapman's time with the Yankees this decade was tumultuous, but incredibly effective. He logged 111 saves for New York while striking out 291 batters in 190 innings of work. Though significantly less dominant than his predecessor in Mariano Rivera, he has year in and year out asserted himself as one of the game's best closers, especially while with New York.

5. Mark Teixeira

Teixeira was brought in to be the Yankees' slugging star, and he succeeded in that role.
Teixeira was brought in to be the Yankees' slugging star, and he succeeded in that role. / Al Bello/Getty Images

Teixeira epitomized what it meant to be a Bronx Bomber. The Yankees signed him to hit home runs and play staunch defense at first base, and that's exactly what he did. From 2010 to the end of his career in 2016, he slugged 167 home runs, drove in 500 runs, and finished with MVP votes in three separate years. He was an offensive force to be reckoned with that stuck it out through the brutal years of mediocrity in the middle of the decade.

4. Masahiro Tanaka

Tanaka has turned out to be one of the best international signings in recent memory.
Tanaka has turned out to be one of the best international signings in recent memory. / Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Expectations for Masahiro Tanaka were high when the Yankees signed him off of the international market to a seven-year, $155 million deal in 2014. Since then, though, he has met and exceeded them. A two-time All-Star, he has managed a 3.75 ERA during his time with the Yankees, and in the playoffs, he owns a dominant 1.76 ERA.

3. Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge helped revitalize the slumping Yankees late in the decade.
Aaron Judge helped revitalize the slumping Yankees late in the decade. / Elsa/Getty Images

Despite playing in just 396 games, Judge was the third-most valuable position player for the Yankees in this decade, logging an 18 fWAR from 2017 to 2019. He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2017 and finished second in AL MVP voting after he slugged 52 home runs (a rookie record at the time). He was the leading force bringing the Yankees out of their rebuild and is the face of the franchise.

2. Brett Gardner

Gardner was the only Yankees position player who was with the team clean through the decade.
Gardner was the only Yankees position player who was with the team clean through the decade. / Elsa/Getty Images

Brett Gardner was the only Yankees position player to spend the entire decade with the team. Year in and year out, he played with relentless hustle, swatting 121 home runs and racking up 228 stolen bases. An All-Star in 2015 and a Gold Glove winner in 2016, Yankees fans everywhere could depend on Gardner to give 100% effort in every single game.

1. CC Sabathia

Sabathia was the heart and soul of the 2010s Yankees.
Sabathia was the heart and soul of the 2010s Yankees. / Emilee Chinn/Getty Images

Sabathia spent the entire decade pitching in pinstripes, and nobody could have better represented the team than him. He was by far and away the Yankees' most valuable pitcher, accruing 25.8 fWAR, 115 wins, three All-Star appearances and 1,503 strikeouts from 2010 to 2019. He was the heart and soul of the team both on the mound and in the dugout, exemplifying just what it means to be a Yankee through his determination and grit.