List of New York Yankees captains

The two most recent Yankees captains, Don Mattingly and Derek Jeter

There have been 15 captains of the New York Yankees, an American professional baseball franchise also known previously as the New York Highlanders. The position is currently vacant after the most recent captain, Derek Jeter, retired after the 2014 season, after 12 seasons as team captain. Jeter was named as the 11th officially recognized captain of the Yankees in 2003.^[1] In baseball, the captain formerly served as the on-field leader of the team, while the manager operated the team from the dugout. Today, the captain is a clubhouse leader.

The first captain officially recognized by the Yankees was Hal Chase, who served in the role from 1910 through 1912. Roger Peckinpaugh served as captain from 1914 through 1922, until he was traded to the Boston Red Sox.^[2] He was succeeded by Babe Ruth,^[2] who was quickly deposed as captain for climbing into the stands to confront a heckler.^[3] Everett Scott served as captain from 1922 through 1925. Ten years later, Lou Gehrig was named captain, 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.^[4] The position remained vacant until team owner George Steinbrenner named Thurman Munson as captain in 1976.^[5] 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. Gehrig, Munson, Guidry, Mattingly and Jeter are the only team captains who spent their entire career with the Yankees. Jeter is the longest tenured captain in franchise history, the 2014 season being his 12th as team captain.

There is, however, some controversy over the official list. Howard W. Rosenberg, a baseball historian, found that the official count of Yankees captains failed to include Clark Griffith, the captain from 1903–1905, and Kid Elberfeld, the captain from 1906–1907, while manager Frank Chance may have served as captain in 1913.^[6][7]

In addition, right after The New York Times reported Rosenberg's research in 2007, Society for American Baseball Research member Clifford Blau contacted him to say he had found Willie Keeler being called the team's captain in 1908 and 1909, research that Rosenberg has confirmed.^[8]

Captains

Lou Gehrig served as Yankees captain from 1935 through his retirement in 1939.

Key

Years active	Years of the captain's playing career
Tenure	Tenure as captain
	Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame
	Denotes a co-captain

Names in bold are officially recognized as Captains by the New York Yankees.

Captains
Player	Position	Years active	Tenure	Ref
Griffith, ClarkClark Griffith	P	1891–1914	1903–1905	[9]
Elberfeld, KidKid Elberfeld	SS	1898–1914	1906–1907	[10]
Keeler, WillieWillie Keeler	OF	1892–1910	1908–1909	[11]
Chase, HalHal Chase	1B	1905–1919	1910–1912	[12]
Chance, FrankFrank Chance	1B	1898–1914	1913	[13]
Peckinpaugh, RogerRoger Peckinpaugh	SS	1910–1927	1914–1921	[14]
Ruth, BabeBabe Ruth	OF	1914–1935	1922	[2][3]
Scott, EverettEverett Scott	SS	1914–1926	1922–1925	[14][15]
Gehrig, LouLou Gehrig	1B	1923–1939	1935–1939	[16]
Munson, ThurmanThurman Munson	C	1969–1979	1976–1979	[5]
Nettles, GraigGraig Nettles	3B	1967–1988	1982–1984	[17]
Randolph, WillieWillie Randolph	2B	1975–1992	1986–1988	[18]
Guidry, RonRon Guidry	P	1975–1988	1986–1988	[18]
Mattingly, DonDon Mattingly	1B	1982–1995	1991–1995	[19]
Jeter, DerekDerek Jeter	SS	1995–2014	2003–2014	[1]

See also

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

References

External links

• Rosenberg, Howard W. (June 9, 2003). "Derek Jeter Isn't New York Yankees' 11th Captain" (Press release). Howard W. Rosenberg Books. Retrieved May 20, 2007. 
• "New York Yankees captains". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved February 27, 2012. 

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