The New York Yankees featured a number of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers in the 2010s, but none were better than this home-grown member of the team.
If we were to look at things pessimistically, we would remember the 2010s as the first decade in a century the New York Yankees didn’t make the World Series. As natural optimists, however, let’s remember this past decade as the era of the Baby Bombers. An era in which a new breed of players came in and replaced the Core 4 without so much as missing a step.
This was a decade in which All-Star players the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, and Carlos Beltran all wore pinstripes. An era that introduced to us Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, and Gleyber Torres.
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In the end, however, only one player reigns supreme over all the rest, and for the Yankees that player might come as a surprise. He’s the only position player on the team to play for the team throughout the entire decade. At the same time, he’s also the only player on the team leftover from the 2009 championship team.
I’m talking about none other than Brett Gardner.
Sure, pound for pound, players like Cano and Judge are statistically better. However, consistency and longevity have to count for something, and when we take that into account, there’s nobody better than Brett.
First, with 1349 games played for the Yanks during the 2010s, Gardner has almost double the number of games played than the next guy, Teixeira who has 802. As a result, Gardy also has the highest fWAR of any Yankee player during the 2010s.
- Brett Gardner – 33.6 fWAR
- Robinson Cano – 24.8 fWAR
- Aaron Judge – 17.8 fWAR
What’s more, Gardner will usher in the 2020s with the team, his third decade as a member of the Yankees. This goes to show just how valuable Brett continues to be. When it was announced that Aaron Hicks was to miss a chunk of the season, the team didn’t look to Kevin Pillar or Cameron Maybin, two younger players with more upside, they went with Brett.
Hopefully, the team can conclude his playing career with a World Series ring, Gardy’s second as an MLB player and member of the New York Yankees.