Activities Sports & Athletics Best New York Yankees Teams of All Time Share PINTEREST Email Print Sports & Athletics Baseball Best of Baseball History Bicycling Billiards Bodybuilding Bowling Boxing Car Racing Cheerleading Extreme Sports Football Golf Gymnastics Ice Hockey Martial Arts Professional Wrestling Skateboarding Skating Paintball Soccer Swimming & Diving Table Tennis Tennis Track & Field Volleyball Other Activities Learn More By Scott Kendrick Scott Kendrick General Editor, ESPN The Ohio State University Scott Kendrick is a sports writer and editor for ESPN and covered Major League Baseball and other sports for newspapers in Cleveland and Florida. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on 08/08/18 As of the end of the 2010 regular season, the New York Yankees had an all-time record of 9670-7361 in 108 seasons, with 27 championships, by far the most of any team. That makes picking the best Yankees teams an interesting exercise, in some ways easy and in other ways difficult. First of all, they have to be one of the 27 to win them all. That eliminated a few 100-game winners. Let the arguments begin. Presenting the best teams in Yankees history. 01 of 10 1927: Murderers' Row George Rinhart/Contributor / Corbis Historical The gold standard of lineups, and perhaps teams, in baseball history. They batted .307 as a team with 158 homers, 102 more than any other AL team. Babe Ruth set the record with 60 homers, and Lou Gehrig drove in even more than Ruth. Six players from the team are in the Hall of Fame. Manager: Miller Huggins Regular season: 110-44, 19 games ahead of Philadelphia Athletics. Playoffs: Swept Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 in World Series. Hitting leaders: Babe Ruth (.356, 60 HR, 164 RBI), Lou Gehrig (.373, 47 HR, 175 RBI), Bob Meusel (.337, 8 HR, 103 RBI). Pitching leaders: Waite Hoyt (22-7, 2.63 ERA), Herb Pennock (19-8, 3.00 ERA), Wilcy Moore (19-7, 2.28 ERA, 13 saves). 02 of 10 1998: Most wins ever by a Yankees team The Yankees, with their best team of the second half of the century, won the second-most games ever in a season, and their 125 combined wins was a record, with just 50 losses. Their team ERA was almost a half-run better than the rest of the league. Manager: Joe Torre Regular season: 114-48, 22 games ahead of Boston. Playoffs: Swept Texas 3-0 in Division Series; beat Cleveland 4-2 in ALCS; swept San Diego 4-0 in World Series. Hitting leaders: SS Derek Jeter (.324, 19 HR, 84 RBI), 1B Tino Martinez (.281, 28 HR, 123 RBI), RF Paul O'Neill (.317, 24 HR, 116 RBI) Pitching leaders: David Cone (20-7, 3.55 ERA), David Wells (18-4, 3.49 ERA), Mariano Rivera (3-0, 1.91 ERA, 36 saves) 03 of 10 1961: M&M Boys gobble up a championship The home run chase between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris was the captivating storyline of the season, with Maris breaking Ruth's single-season record. Three other starters hit 20 homers, and Whitey Ford won 25, and the Yankees won despite Mantle being injured and limited in the World Series. Manager: Ralph Houk Regular season: 109-53, eight games ahead of Detroit. Playoffs: Beat Cincinnati in five games in World Series. Hitting leaders: CF Mickey Mantle (.317, 54 HR, 128 RBI), LF Roger Maris (.269, 61 HR, 141 RBI), C Elston Howard (.348, 21 HR, 77 RBI) Pitching leaders: Whitey Ford (25-4, 3.21 ERA), Ralph Terry (16-3, 3.15 ERA), Luis Arroyo (15-5, 2.19 ERA, 29 saves) 04 of 10 1939: Tragedy to triumph The season began with Lou Gehrig's abrupt retirement and ended with another World Series sweep, led by young center fielder Joe DiMaggio. Manager: Joe McCarthy Regular season: 106-45, won AL by 17 games over Boston. Playoffs: Swept Cincinnati 4-0 in World Series. Hitting leaders: CF Joe DiMaggio (.381, 30 HR, 126 RBI), 2B Joe Gordon (.284, 28 HR, 111 RBI), OF George Selkirk (.306, 21 HR, 101 RBI) Pitching: Red Ruffing (21-7, 2.93 ERA), Lefty Gomez (12-8, 3.41 ERA), Atley Donald (13-3, 3.71 ERA) 05 of 10 1932: Nine Hall of Famers, and Ruth calls his shot The Yankees' dominated, with records left in their wake. Lou Gehrig hit four homers in one game and Tony Lazzeri hit a natural cycle in the same game on June 3. And in the World Series at Chicago, Babe Ruth had the famous "called shot" home run. Manager: Joe McCarthy Regular season: 107-47, won AL by 13 games over Philadelphia A's. Playoffs: Swept Chicago Cubs 4-0 in World Series. Hitting leaders: Babe Ruth (.341, 41 HR, 137 RBI), Lou Gehrig (.349, 34 HR, 151 RBI), Tony Lazzeri (.300, 15 HR, 113 RBI) Pitching leaders: Lefty Gomez (24-7, 4.21 ERA), Red Ruffing (18-7, 3.09 ERA), George Pipgras (16-9, 4.19 ERA) 06 of 10 2009: Nine-year drought ends Just as they did in the first Yankees Stadium in 1923, the team won a title in its first year in the new Yankee Stadium with a dominant, powerful lineup as seven players hit 22 homers or more. Manager: Joe Girardi Regular season: 103-59, won AL East by eight games over Boston. Playoffs: Swept Minnesota 3-0 in Division Series; beat Los Angeles Angels 4-2 in ALCS; beat Philadelphia 4-2 in World Series. Hitting leaders: 1B Mark Teixeira (.292, 39 HR, 122 RBI), SS Derek Jeter (.334, 18 HR, 66 RBI, 30 SB), 3B Alex Rodriguez (.286, 30 HR, 100 RBI) Pitching: CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.37 ERA), Andy Pettitte (14-8, 4.16 ERA), Mariano Rivera (3-3, 1.76 ERA, 44 saves) 07 of 10 1936: Gehrig stars, along with a rookie named Joe Joe DiMaggio made his debut in May, and he was the spark in another championship season. Eight starters hit 10 or more homers, and six pitchers won 12 games or more. Manager: Joe McCarthy Regular season: 102-51, 19.5 games ahead of second-place Detroit. Playoffs: Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants. Hitting leaders: 1B Lou Gehrig (.354, 49 HR, 152 RBI), CF Joe DiMaggio (.323, 29 HR, 125 RBI), C Bill Dickey (.362, 22 HR, 107 RBI) Pitching: Red Ruffing (20-12, 3.85 ERA), Monte Pearson (19-7, 3.71 ERA), Lefty Gomez (13-7, 4.39 ERA) 08 of 10 1941: DiMaggio's streak, and 101 wins Three outfielders hit 30 homers, led by the incomparable DiMaggio, who hit in 56 consecutive games, a record that hasn't even been threatened since. Manager: Joe McCarthy Regular season: 101-54, 17 games ahead of Boston. Playoffs: Beat Brooklyn 4-1 in World Series. Hitting leaders: CF Joe DiMaggio (.357, 30 HR, 125 RBI), LF Charlie Keller (.298, 33 HR, 122 RBI), RF Tommy Henrich (.277, 31 HR, 85 RBI) Pitching: Red Ruffing (15-6, 3.54 ERA), Lefty Gomez (15-5, 3.74 WR), Marius Russo (14-10, 3.09 ERA) 09 of 10 1953: Record fifth title in a row Yankees win World Series rematch with Brooklyn with perhaps their best team of a memorable decade. No team had won five titles in a row before, or since. Manager: Casey Stengel Regular season: 99-52, 8.5 games ahead of Cleveland. Playoffs: Beat Brooklyn 4-2 in World Series. Hitting leaders: C Yogi Berra (.296, 27 HR, 108 RBI), CF Mickey Mantle (.295, 21 HR, 92 RBI), 3B Gil McDougald (.285, 10 HR, 83 RBI) Pitching leaders: Whitey Ford (18-6, 3.00 ERA), Eddie Lopat (16-4, 2.42 ERA), Johnny Sain (14-6, 3.00 ERA). 10 of 10 1977: The Bronx Zoo Reggie Jackson becomes the straw that stirs the drink as the Yankees win their first in the George Steinbrenner era. Manager: Billy Martin Regular season: 100-62, 2.5 games ahead of Baltimore in AL East. Playoffs: Defeated Kansas City in five games in ALCS; defeated Los Angeles in six games in World Series. Hitting leaders: RF Reggie Jackson (.286, 32 HR, 110 RBI), 3B Graig Nettles (.255, 37 HR, 107 RBI), C Thurman Munson (.308, 18 HR, 100 RBI). Pitching leaders: Ron Guidry (16-7, 2.82 ERA), Ed Figueroa (16-11, 3.57 ERA), Sparky Lyle (13-5, 2.17 ERA, 26 saves) Next five: 1937 Yankees (102-52); 1951 Yankees (98-56), 1923 Yankees (98-54), 1999 Yankees (98-64), 1950 Yankees (98-56)