Nine first basemen have made their way on to our list of the best 100 players in New York Yankees history. Not that it means much, but seven of them were left-handed hitters.
Hal Chase played for the New York Highlanders from 1905 to 1912 and also in 1913 when the Highlanders became the New York Yankees. He was one of the rare players who batted right-handed yet threw lefty. Playing in the “dead ball” era, Chase hit just 20 home runs with 494 RBI in his new York career. He was a speedy player, though, and he stole 248 bases.
Wally Pipp is best known as the player Lou Gehrig replaced to start Gehrig’s 2,130 consecutive games-played streak. Playing for the Yankees from 1915 to 1925, Pipp twice led the American League in home runs with 12 in 1916 and nine in 1917. Wally had 80 home runs with the Yankees, 826 RBI, and a.282 batting average. He was a member of the Yankees first-ever World Series championship team in 1923.
Lou Gehrig was a Yankee from 1923 to 1939. His shocking illness took his life at the age of 37. Lou is third on the Yankees all-time list for home runs with 493. Only Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle have more. He is the leader in RBI with 1,995 and his.340 lifetime batting average is second only to Ruth’s.349. Gehrig played on six World Series championship teams. He won the AL Triple Crown in 1934 when he blasted 49 home runs, had 165 RBI, and batted.363. Lou is the only Yankees first baseman ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Bill “Moose” Skowron is the second right-handed hitter on the list. He played for the Yankees from 1954 to 1962 and was a member of four World Series championship teams. Skowron batted.294 for his Yankees career. In 35 World Series games, he hit seven home runs and had 26 RBI.
One of the most colorful and flamboyant Yankees was Joe Pepitone. “Pepi” played for the Yankees from 1962 to 1969. The 1962 Yankees were World Series champions. Pepitone was an excellent fielder and won Gold Glove Awards in 1965, 1966, and 1969. He hit 166 home runs and drove in 541 with New York.
Chris Chambliss was with the Yankees from 1974 to 1979. He was a member of the 1977 and 1978 World Series championship teams and he later earned four more World Series rings as the team’s batting coach. Chambliss hit a dramatic walk-off home run in the 1976 American League Championship Series, sending the Yankees to the World Series for the first time in 12 years. Chris hit 79 home runs with the Yankees, drove in 454, and batted.282. He hit.308 in 27 postseason games.
Don Mattingly was a Yankee from 1982 to 1995. He is currently the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. “Donnie Baseball” showed a lot of power early in his career. A back injury in 1987 took away most of that power. Ironically, it was in 1987 when Don tied the major league record by hitting home runs in eight consecutive games and setting a record with six grand slams in one season. Mattingly hit 222 home runs for New York. On the Yankees all-time list, he is 10th in both RBI (1,099) and batting average (.307). Don won three Silver Slugger Awards as the best-hitting first baseman. He was the American League MVP in 1985 and the Yankees’ captain from 1991 to 1995. Mattingly also won nine Gold Glove Awards for his excellent fielding.
Tino Martinez played for the Yankees from 1996 to 2001, and again in his final season as a player in 2005. Tino played on four World Series championship teams. With New York, he hit 192 home runs with 738 RBI. He won a Silver Slugger Award in 1997.
Jason Giambi was a Yankee from 2002 to 2008. He hit 209 home runs and had 604 RBI. Jason won a Silver Slugger Award in 2002.
Current Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is close to being added to this list. One more solid season from the switch-hitter should do it.