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Greatest seasons by Yankees lead-off hitters

The idea of what a superb lead-off hitter exemplifies has changed a good deal over the years. It used to be that the typical lead-off hitters would have little power but were adept at getting on base so that the middle of the order hitters would have the opportunity to drive them in.

Recently, the standard for lead-off hitters has changed. In 2019, seven of the top 10 lead-off hitters by plate appearances hit 20 or more home runs and four of those seven hit 30 or more home runs with George Springer leading the group with an impressive 39 bombs. Take the Yankees own DJ LeMahieu’s 2019 season. Last year he set career highs in home runs, slugging, and total bases as the lead-off hitter in 125 games.

With all this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the top seasons by Yankees batting in the lead-off spot over the last 20 years.

2019 DJ LeMahieu

G PA HR R RBI SB AVG OBP SLG OPS wOBA wRC+ WAR
145 655 26 109 102 5 0.327 0.375 0.518 0.893 0.375 136 5.4

We already mentioned it so let’s talk more about DJ LeMahieu’s 2019 season. If we look at all the seasons from 2000 to 2019, LeMahieu’s 2019 season ranks number one overall when measured by wRC+ (136) and is third in terms of WAR (5.4) trailing Derek Jeter’s 2009 season (6.7) and Alfonso Soriano’s 2002 season (5.6).

In terms of getting on base, LeMahieu made up for his lack of walk by striking out only 13.7% of the time which was well below the league average rate of 23%. He put the ball in play and did so with authority hitting 26 home runs, 33 doubles, and 2 triples. He was a great table setter for the middle of the order giving ample opportunity for Aaron Judge and his fellow mashers to drive him in. LeMahieu’s career year in the power department also allowed him to tally 102 RBIs with high on bases hitters such as Brett Gardner, Mike Tauchman, and Gio Urshela often occupied the eighth and ninth spots in the lineup. A stellar year to say the least from the 2019 team MVP.

2002 Alfonso Soriano

G PA HR R RBI SB AVG OBP SLG OPS wOBA wRC+ WAR
156 741 39 128 102 41 0.300 0.332 0.547 0.879 0.374 131 5.6

In 2002 Alfonso Soriano took the mantle of lead-off hitter from Chuck Knoblauch and ran with it, no pun intended. He was one home run shy of becoming only the fourth player to join the 40/40 club. On a side note, he would accomplish this feat with the Washington Nationals in 2006, hitting 46 homeruns and stealing 41 bases. He set career highs in batting average, hits, and runs while finishing third in MVP voting.

Hitting in front of Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi, and Bernie Williams would lead one to think that stealing bases was a not in the cards. However, Soriano was given the green light by Joe Torre allowing him to lead the American League to stolen bases. Soriano would continue to lead-off for the Yankees in 2003 and he would go on to set the single-season record for lead-off homeruns (13) that year. Soriano’s first run with the Yankees would end prior to the 2004 season as part of the Alex Rodriguez trade, but he would have a short cameo with the Yankees again in 2013 and 2014.

2005 Derek Jeter

G PA HR R RBI SB AVG OBP SLG OPS wOBA wRC+ WAR
159 752 19 122 70 14 0.309 0.389 0.450 0.839 0.369 129 4.4

2005 would mark the first year that Jeter made the bulk of his plate appearances as the lead-off hitter. In 2004, Jeter split the lead-off duties with Kenny Lofton and Bernie Williams and the results were average at best. Lofton, known for his base stealing skills early in his career had regressed to just seven stolen bags in 2004. Williams was adept at getting on-base, but similar to Lofton, wasn’t a threat on the base paths in 2004 either.

Jeter was the obvious choice for the lead-off spot and he delivered a more “traditional” stat line for a lead-off hitter. He played in all but three of games while tallying 122 runs, an excellent OBP of .389, and notched 202 hits. He continued to show an all-star level batting eye striking out just 15.6% of the time while posting the third highest walk rate of his career at 10.2%. He stole just 14 bases but that was enough with Sheffield, Rodriguez, and Matsui hitting behind him. He created traffic on the base paths which no doubt helped propel Alex Rodriguez to his first MVP as a Yankee (and his 2nd overall).

2017 Brett Gardner

G PA HR R RBI SB AVG OBP SLG OPS wOBA wRC+ WAR
151 682 21 96 63 23 0.264 0.350 0.428 0.778 0.336 110 4.0

Brett Gardner’s 2017 was better than it seems at first glance. He had spent time as the lead-off hitter in 2013 and 2014 but was replaced as the lead-off hitter in 2015. The Yankees signed Jacoby Ellsbury prior to the 2014 season but they realized he wasn’t going to be anything but a lead-off hitter and made the change prior to the 2015 season. Gardner would regain some of the lead-off duty in 2016 by splitting that spot in the order with Ellsbury (80 games for Gardner and 81 games for Ellsbury.

Going into 2017 however, the Yankees made the call to give the lead-off duty to solely to Gardy. He was always an on-base machine but 2017 marked the first year he would break the 20 homerun barrier. He showed he could steal a bag by totaling 23 stolen bases while only getting caught five times. He almost matched his career high in runs scored and with a “Should have been MVP” from Aaron Judge, you can see why. Gardner’s 2017 would not turn out to be his career year, but him seizing the lead-off spot as the elder statesman of a young and upcoming Yankee’s juggernaut was a highlight of his career for sure.

2009 Derek Jeter

G PA HR R RBI SB AVG OBP SLG OPS wOBA wRC+ WAR
153 716 18 107 66 30 0.334 0.406 0.465 0.871 0.385 130 6.7

Now we get to the best season by a Yankee’s lead-off hitter in the last 20 years, at least in terms of wOBA and WAR. Coming off a 2008 season in which he posted his lowest OPS in a full season, the Yankee’s front office decided to make a slight change to the top of the batting order. They moved Johnny Damon out of the lead-off spot to batting second, and put Jeter at the top of the order.  Damon was coming off a pretty good season as lead-off hitter in 2008 so the move was met with some skepticism.

The Yankees had just missed the postseason for the first time since 1994 and changes were needed. The offseason additions of CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira were not enough of a shakeup and Jeter’s move to the lead-off spot turned out to be the right call. Jeter turned in his third best season by WAR (6.7) and produced 107 runs scored, 30 stolen bases, and an OBP of .406. He finished third in the American League batting title race (behind Joe Mauer and Ichiro Suzuki) and third in the American League MVP race (behind Joe Mauer and Mark Teixeira). The Captain was the table setter for one of the greatest offenses in recent history and the eventual 2009 World Series Champions.