Tuesday Discussion: The Next 4 Outfielders

September 23, 2025

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This week we presented the following to our writers:

It's pretty easy to get a consensus on the top four Yankees outfielders all-time (Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, Judge).  We each ranked them last week.  

What is much more difficult is listing the next four greatest outfielders (as Yankees).  The list of candidates is long:  Willie Keeler, Earle Combs, Bob Meusel, George Selkirk, Tommy Henrich, Charlie Keller, Hank Bauer, Roger Maris, Roy White, Bobby Murcer, Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson, Bernie Williams, Brett Gardner, and more.

After the top four, who are the next four greatest Yankees outfielders of all time?

Here are their replies:

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Cary Greene - Everyone in the Big Apple and around MLB knows that the Yankees are judged not by statistics, but rather, by winning World Series championships. Therefore, no Yankees player could be given the mantle of being a truly great Yankee, unless they were on championship teams. Answering this week's question therefore requires us to keep one eye on statistics, while also looking at which players were also winners. The Yankees are a storied franchise with a fan base that expects championships. Body of work also needs to be considered - how many seasons did each player being considered play for the Yankees? This week's question is a complex exercise but answering it properly is fairly easy. 

I began contemplating my answer by framing the question, Who are the next four best Yankees outfielders ever?, by putting together a list using only bWAR - to find out which Yankees outfielders had the greatest overall careers statistically. It's no surprise that Mr. October - none other than Reggie Jackson (74.0) is statistically the fifth best Yankees outfielder ever. Reggie is followed by Dave Winfield (64.2); Bernie Williams (49.6) and Roy White (46.8) in that order. 

However, Reggie, who won two World Series championships as a Yankee, only played five seasons with the Yankees and Winfield only played 8 1/2 seasons as a Yankee and he wasn't even a part of any Yankees World Series championship teams. Both Reggie and Winfield had fleeting Yankees careers. 

Meanwhile, Bernie Williams played 16 seasons for the Yankees and he was a member of four championship Yankees teams and Roy White, played 15 seasons as a Yankee and he was on two World Series winning Yankees teams. Based on their statistical bodies of work, their lengthy Yankees careers and the fact that each were winners, both Williams and White undoubtedly deserve more of a nod than either Jackson or Winfield - if we're trying to rank the second tier of the greatest Yankees outfielders ever. 

Another Yankees great, center fielder Earle Combs (45 bWAR) played 12 seasons for the Yankees and was a member of three Yankees championship teams. Imagine if the Yankees of today had a center fielder like Combs, who posted a lifetime .325/.397/.462 slash line to go with an .859 OPS? Combs was a triples and doubles gap-to-gap hitter, he was an on-base machine and he was a true table setter who averaged 125 run scored from 1925 to 1932.

Combs easily leapfrogs the great Reggie Jackson in Yankees lore and he'd join Williams and White, forming a clear #6-#7-#8 on the list of the greatest Yankees outfielders ever. Yes - you read that right. There is actually one other former Yankees outfielder who should be ranked ahead of Combs, Williams and White. 

His name was Hank Bauer (27.2 bWAR) and he should easily be #5 on the list, as he played 12 seasons with the Yankees and he was on seven Yankees championship teams. It's kind of hard to ignore a player like Hank Bauer and what he did while playing in the city of New York. Bauer was clearly a big time winner, he was a player who came up big when it mattered most and he played for a team whose fan base expected their team to win. With three All-Star nominations to his credit, Bauer garnered many MVP votes from 1952 to 1956, though he never won one. Bauer was an integral part of seven Yankees championship teams. 

Hank Bauer, Bernie Williams, Earle Combs and Roy White -- in this order and if evaluated for their bodies of work in pinstripes - should be considered as the next four greatest Yankees outfielders ever. 

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Tamar Chalker - I’m going with Tommy Henrich, Reggie Jackson, Bernie Williams, and Rickey Henderson

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Ed Botti - My next 4 greatest yankee outfielders, for a number of reasons, in no specic order are Bernie Wiilliams, Rickey Henderson, Earle Combs, and Roger Maris. Not including O'Neil and Winfield was difficult,  and White was an excellent player,  but a notch below, IMO.

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Paul Semendinger - If one were to go by WAR as a Yankee, the next four Yankees outfielders would be:

• Bernie Williams - 49.6

• Roy White 46.8

• Earle Combs - 45.0

• Brett Gardner - 44.3

Right behind are:

• Charlie Keller - 42.4

• Tommy Henrich - 39.5

Next, off in the distance, are:

• Rickey Henderson - 30.8

• Hank Bauer - 29.3

• Bob Meusel - 28.2

• Bobby Murcer - 27.8

• Dave Winfield - 27.1

One can argue and debate a few points of WAR, but overcoming ten points is an almost impossible task. So, for me, any of the top six players could be chosen.

Of all the players, Rickey Henderson was the greatest player overall, but he wasn't a greatest Yankee in comparison.

I loved Reggie Jackson. But this isn't about my favorites, it's about the greatest outfielders as Yankees. Reggie earned only 17.2 WAR as a Yankee. Among outfielders, he does not rank in the Top 20.

I believe that Keller and Henrich were greater than Brett Gardner. Charlie Keller lost a season and half of his prime years to WWII. Tommy Henrich missed three seasons. They both belong.

I would, then make my Top Four:

• Bernie Williams

• Tommy Henrich

• Charlie Keller

• Earle Combs (gets the nod over Roy White because he is in the Hall of Fame)

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Mike Whiteman - Decisions, decisions! Here are my next four:

• Reggie Jackson - You can't deny Mr. October of a top spot. A 148 OPS+ over five years and the 1977 World Series.

• Charlie Keller - A consistent six-WAR player at the beginning of his career, clutch (.306/.367/.611) in four World Series. He was on his way to another great season in 1947 when he suffered a back injury and was never the same. Were it not for the injury, he could have been Cooperstown bound. 

• Rickey Henderson - Just an absolute force in the lineup. His 9.9 WAR 1985 season was one of the best I've seen. 

• Bernie Williams -  We all know how good Bernie was for a long time, and how he stepped up in the postseason. It's hard for a Yankee to be considered underrated, but I think Bernie's all-around talent and contributions don't get the credit they deserve. 

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Tim Kabel - I am going to select for outfielders based on what they did as the Yankees and not necessarily what they did for their entire careers. 

If the first four outfielders were sort of a mount Rushmore, I guess the next four could be a Mount Rush – less. I would choose Bernie Williams, Roger Maris, Reggie, Jackson, and Paul O’Neill.

My selections are based on the fact that all these players contributed to the Yankees winning World Series. Dave Winfield would be a very strong choice, but I felt that Reggie Jackson edged him out by virtue of the two World Series victories and the show he put on in the final game of the 1977 World Series.