There have been 16 captains of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, an American professional baseball franchise also known previously as the New York Highlanders. The role is currently held by Aaron Judge, who was named the captain on December 21, 2022.

In baseball, the captain formerly served as the on-field leader of the team, while the manager operated the team from the dugout. In the early 20th century, MLB teams were required to name an on-field captain, who was responsible for making pitching changes, positioning fielders, and talking with umpires. Managers were restricted to working with the players in the dugout. By the mid-1910s, managers took on the roles previously assigned to the captain, and the captain role became ceremonial.

Clark Griffith captained the team from their inaugural season in 1903 through 1905. Kid Elberfeld was captain from 1906 to 1907, and was followed by Willie Keeler from 1908 to 1909. Hal Chase served in the role from 1910 through 1912. Frank Chance began the 1913 season as captain. When the team traded for Rollie Zeider, he succeeded Chance in the role. Roger Peckinpaugh served as captain from 1914 through 1922, until he was traded to the Boston Red Sox. He was succeeded by Babe Ruth, who was quickly deposed as captain for climbing into the stands to confront a heckler. Lou Gehrig was named captain in 1935, serving for the remainder of his career. After the death of Gehrig, then manager Joe McCarthy declared that the Yankees would never have another captain.

The role remained vacant until team owner George Steinbrenner named Thurman Munson as captain in 1976. Following Munson's death, Graig Nettles served as captain. Willie Randolph and Ron Guidry were named co-captains in 1986. Don Mattingly followed them as captain in 1991, serving until his retirement in 1995. Derek Jeter was named captain of the Yankees in 2003, and he held the post until he retired in 2014. Gehrig, Munson, Guidry, Mattingly and Jeter are the only team captains who spent their entire career with the Yankees (Aaron Judge has spent his entire career with the Yankees, but is still active). Jeter is the longest-tenured captain in franchise history.

When the Yankees named Jeter captain in 2003, the team recognized him as their 11th captain, rather than their 15th. Howard W. Rosenberg, a baseball historian, found that the official count of Yankees captains failed to include Griffith, Elberfeld, and Chance. In addition, right after The New York Times reported Rosenberg's research in 2007, Society for American Baseball Research member Clifford Blau found that Keeler was a team captain, research that Rosenberg confirmed. Though some newspaper articles referred to Everett Scott as captain from 1922 to 1925, the Yankees recognize him as an "acting captain" during the 1922 and 1923 World Series and do not include him on their list.

When Aaron Judge was named captain in 2022, the Yankees and affiliated media outlets, such as their majority-owned regional sports network YES Network, recognized him as the franchise's 16th captain, reflecting the revised historical count that includes Griffith, Elberfeld, Chance, and Keeler.

Captains

+KeyYears activeYears of the captain's playing careerTenureTenure as captainElected to the National Baseball Hall of FameDenotes a co-captain

+New York Yankees captainsPlayerPositionYears activeTenureRefPitcher1891–19141903–1905Shortstop1898–19141906–1907Outfielder1892–19101908–1909e-mails from Clifford Blau to Howard W. Rosenberg, March 25, 2007 and March 29, 2007, citing the New York Tribune of April 28, 1908, New York Evening Telegram of June 17, 1909, and Sporting Life of April 24, 1909.First baseman1905–19191910–1912First baseman1898–19141913Shortstop1910–19181913Shortstop1910–19271914–1921 Outfielder1914–19351922First baseman1923–19391935–1939 Catcher1969–19791976–1979Third baseman1967–19881982–1984Second baseman1975–19921986–1988Pitcher1975–19881986–1988First baseman1982–19951991–1995Shortstop1995–20142003–2014Outfielder2016–present2023–present

See also

New York Yankees all-time roster List of New York Yankees coaches

References

External links