Tuesday Discussion: Ranking The Greatest Outfielders

September 16, 2025

***

Image created by Copilot

With Aaron Judge passing Joe DiMaggio in lifetime homers last week, we asked our writers to rank the top four Yankees outfielders of all-time.

The top four outfielders in Yankees history are  Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Aaron Judge.  

How would you rank these four players from 1-4 with 1 being the best?

Here are their answers:

***

Derek McAdam - I would say:

1. Ruth

2. DiMaggio

3 Mantle

4. Judge

DiMaggio would’ve had an even more illustrious career had it not been for his military service. But it’s tough to put him ahead of someone that was both an excellent hitter and pitcher.

***

James Vlietstra - Ok so I am going to take this from a completely statistical perspective.

I will use the following benchmarks for point totals 8.0+ WAR, 120+ runs, 40+ HRs, 110+ RBIs, 180+ OPS+ and since Joe D missed three seasons to military service, not injuries , right in the middle of his prime, I will add 20% to his numbers. Judge currently in his prime will add the same 20%:

Mantle 5-6-4-3-8=26

Judge 4-4-4-4-3=19

DiMaggio 3-5-1-9-1=19

Ruth 12-10-11-12-14=59

Once I add the 20% to Joe and Aaron, they are almost identical to Mantle. So now I’m going to go back and add bonus points for greatness 10.0 WAR is 2, 140+ runs is 2, 50+HRs is 2, 130+ RBIs is 2, 200+ OPS+:

Mantle 3-0-2-1-2=8x2=16+26=42

Judge 2-0-4-1-3=10x2=20+23=43

DiMaggio 0-1-0-4-0=5x2=10+23=33 

Ruth 9-8-4-10-11=42x2=84+59=143 

Number 1 isn’t a question is it? Ruth in a landslide 

2??? I’m going to go with Judge 

3.Mantle

4.DiMaggio 

***

Tim Kabel - I would rank them in the following order:

1) Babe Ruth

2) Mickey Mantle

3) Aaron Judge

4) Joe DiMaggio

that ranking is based on where things stand today. It is possible that in five years that ranking could change. I think that Babe Ruth was the greatest ball player of all time, so that’s why he is number one on the list. Mickey Mantle had a triple crown season and was a switch hitter with tremendous speed, particularly early in his career. At this point, I would give him the edge over Judge. Joe DiMaggio was a fine ball player, but on this list, he ranks in fourth place.

***

Ethan Semendinger -

1) Ruth

2) Mantle

3) DiMaggio

4) Judge

***

Paul Semendinger -

Babe Ruth is the greatest, of that there is no question. No player in the history of baseball was Babe Ruth. He's always the greatest on any list. Babe Ruth was that great. Period.

But here is where it gets difficult because an argument can be made for all.

By WAR, it goes Mantle, DiMaggio, Judge...

By OPS+, it goes Judge, Mantle, DiMaggio

By Slugging Percentage, it goes Judge, DiMaggio, Mantle

(I don't think most fans know that DiMaggio had a higher lifetime Slugging Percentage than Mantle)

How's this...Mantle and DiMaggio are tied with the same lifetime OPS (.977).

How about World Series?

Appearances: Mantle, DiMaggio, Judge

Wins: DiMaggio, Mantle, Judge

By Top-10 MVP Vote Seasons, it's DiMaggio, Mantle, Judge

Then, off the field of play, and this might be a sign of the times and the fact that baseball and culture have changed, but in society, Ruth, DiMaggio, and Mantle were larger than the game - much larger. Each, in their own way, more than any other player of his time, represented an era. Aaron Judge simply does not.

Aaron Judge also doesn't have the championships. As such, while he's great... he must rank fourth among these legends. Part of a player's legacy, fair or not, are championships. That's just a fact.

So, all that being said, for today, I'd rank them in this order:

1. Ruth

2. Mantle

3. DiMaggio

4. Judge

But, I might change Mantle and DiMaggio at any moment...

***

Andy Singer -

This is a really difficult question to answer. On pure ability, the obvious answer is Judge. Fastballs are likely 12+ MPH harder on average now than they were in Ruth's era (and that likely understates it), players are in far better condition, the talent pool is far deeper, etc. But to answer in that way really isn't in the spirit of the question.

I have to look at this question in the context of each player's era. By that standard, Ruth was the most dominant player of his time, but much as I know this bothers some of my colleagues and friends, Ruth's numbers bear a significant asterisk. Ruth played in an era of segregation, and much of the historical work that has been done over the last two decades shows pretty firmly that the best pitching of the era did not play Major League Baseball, but instead weaved nomadically between the Negro Leagues and Latin America. I have no doubt but that Ruth would have remained a dominant force in an integrated league, but we really don't know for certain if his greatness would have been leveled somewhat. Based on the anecdotes and stories we have of Ruth's exploits through barnstorming tours in the offseason, I think he would have remained great, but I think he would have been closer to the pack.

I also heavily weight peak performance over longevity. Both are important, but true dominance over an extended stretch matters. If we look at 5-year peaks, these players are remarkably similar, but the tiers are fairly clear. Ruth's 5-year peak (he really had two 5-year peaks) is a leap beyond the rest, but I've discussed my issue with Ruth's statistics above. After that, Mantle is actually within striking distance when we look at bWAR, followed by Judge and DiMaggio.

DiMaggio and Judge also have unfair statistical marks against their record. DiMaggio lost 3 seasons to World War II. Many have argued that those were prime seasons, however it is almost certain that while those years would have been excellent, his peak had already occurred. Still, those would have been huge years for DiMaggio's counting stats.

Defensive metrics are far more exacting now than what we have to grade historical defense, which almost certainly would have weighed down bWAR calculations for everyone not named Aaron Judge. bWAR also does not use the most consistently good defensive metrics in their bWAR calculations, which hurts Judge's totals.

In summation, there are two tiers for me: Mantle and Ruth, then Judge and DiMaggio. It's really, really close, but here's how I rank them:

1. Mantle

2. Ruth

3. Judge

4. DiMaggio

DiMaggio never had the peak (even at his best) that Ruth, Mantle, or Judge have displayed. Mantle and Ruth were so dominant for so long, that it's hard to put Judge above either, even though I think Judge's dominance is understated compared to past players given the difficulty of being a good hitter in the modern game. Judge might still be able to reach their heights, which is crazy to consider. I'm splitting hairs between Mantle and Ruth; both were as dominant at the plate for a period of time as the game has ever seen. Again, I grade Ruth on a curve due to the severely impacted talent pool against which he played. For me, Mantle just smidges by Ruth by an eyelash. I really think too many have forgotten just how incredibly good young Mickey Mantle was relative to his peers.