Book Excerpt: The Greatest New York Yankees By Uniform Number
- Paul Semendinger
- Jun 9
- 2 min read
by Paul Semendinger
June 9, 2026
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19
Of the Yankees uniform numbers under number 21, only eight remain that have not been retired by the team. 19 is one of those numbers. Fifty different Yankees have worn number 19.
In recent years, this uniform number has become one for players that would become big league managers including:
· Robin Ventura (2002-03) who managed the Chicago White Sox from 2012 to 2016.
· Aaron Boone (2003) who has managed the Yankees since 2018.
· Kevin Cash (2009) who has managed the Tampa Bay Rays since 2015.
The greatest Yankees to wear this uniform number have all been pitchers:
Each pitcher above also deserves a few notes:
· Johnny Murphy was one of the first relief specialists in baseball. He was a three-time All-Star who pitched on 7 World Series teams.
· Bob Turley won the 1958 Cy Young Award and was a three-time All-Star who pitched on 7 World Series teams.
· Fritz Peterson was an All-Star one time.
· Dave Righetti won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1981 and threw a no-hitter in 1983. In 1984 he was made the team’s closer, and for a time held the American League record for the most saves in a season with 46 in 1986. Righetti was a two-time All-Star. He was on one World Series team.
· Masahiro Tanaka was a two-time All-Star.
This is an impressive list of excellent pitchers, but greatest of them was Dave Righetti who had the highest ERA+ and the highest WAR. The fact that he was successful as both a starting pitcher and a relief specialist makes the case for him even stronger.
Thr clear winner in a strong field.
How about Luis Sojo I think he wore #19 for the dynasty Yankees of the late 90's and early 2000's. 🤔
You have to wonder if the switch to the bullpen cost Righetti a shot at the Hall of Fame. He had 3 seasons as a starter, and if you adjust for the 1981 strike year and that he came up at the end of May, he averaged 3.9 WAR over those seasons. His ERA+ was over 100 through 1991, so at that rate, he's at something like 43.3 WAR, which isn't enough for the HoF, but who knows how much better he might have been if he'd stayed a starter for his age 25-32 seasons.
Agreed about Rags! Too bad in how he left.
keeping things in proportion, Tanaka
is a likely lad