Over the years the Yankees have featured a number of outstanding
ballplayers at each of the nine positions with second base being no
exception. Below is a list of men who excelled at “The Keystone Sack”
for the Bronx Bombers along with the years they spent in pinstripes:
TONY LAZZERI (1926-37): This San Francisco native was the first in a long line of Italian American stars who played for the Yankees which included DiMaggio, Crosetti, Rizzuto, Berra, Raschi, and Pepitone. Lazzeri joined the Bombers in 1926 after hitting a remarkable 60 home runs and driving in 222 runs for Salt Lake City in the Pacific Coast League. Even though the league played a 200 game schedule, these numbers were indeed exceptional. He became an instant star in New York by hitting .275 with 18 home runs and 114 RBI and was instrumental in leading the Yanks to the American League pennant. In 1927 Lazzeri was a major contributor to what many consider the greatest team of all time. Specifically, he hit .309 with 18 roundtrippers and 102 RBI for the World Champions. He batted .332 in 1928 and the Yankees once again prevailed in the Fall Classic. “Poosh ‘Em Up” enjoyed his greatest season in 1929 with a .354 average with 18 home runs and 106 RBI. Tony was a versatile player who could play third base and shortstop in addition to second base. In 1932, he was selected by The Sporting News for its All-Star team as the best second baseman in baseball by hitting .300 with 15 home runs and 113 RBI as the Yankees won another championship. He was a major contributor to the 1936 and 1937 World Champion Yankee teams. He hit the second grand slam home run in World Series history in 1936 and batted .400 in the 1937 Fall Classic. Lazzeri was a very popular player during his tenure in the Big Apple and was a major factor in getting Italian people interested in baseball. He was a highly successful player despite being an epileptic and playing in a home ballpark that were extremely difficult for right handed power hitters. This great second baseman was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.
JOE GORDON (1938-46): Gordon succeeded the popular Tony Lazzeri after starring for the great Newark Bears team that won the International League pennant by 25 ½ games. He joined the Bronx Bombers in 1938 and hit 25 home runs and drove in 97 runs in another championship year. He also excelled in that year’s Fall Classic by leading the Yankees with a .400 average and six runs batted in. In 1939, the talented Gordon hit .284 with 28 home runs and 111 RBI as the Yankees won their fourth consecutive World Series. Joe hit 30 home runs in 1940 and was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1942. During his MVP season, he batted .322 with 18 home runs and 103 RBI and the Bombers won another pennant, but lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals. Gordon was an outstanding defensive player and led the American League in assists and double plays three times. He finished ninth on baseball’s all-time double play list for second basemen with 1,160. Gordon was selected for the All-Star team on six occasions as a Yankee and deserves to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
GEORGE “SNUFFY” STIRNWEISS (1943-50): Stirnweiss joined the Yankees in 1943 backing up Joe Gordon at second base. However, the following year, Gordon went into the service and Stirnweiss took over at the keystone sack and played there in 1944-45. He played the majority of the Yankee games at third base in 1946 and returned to second base for the 1947-48 seasons. This native New Yorker was one of the most exciting and popular players to wear the pinstripes. He possessed outstanding speed and was a great base runner. The 55 bases he stole in 1944 is the sixth highest total in Yankee history. He batted .319 that year and also lead the American League with 205 hits and 16 triples. In 1945, he led the American League in batting (.309), hits (195), triples (22) and stolen bases (33). Stirnweiss was a key member of three Yankee World Championship clubs (1943, ’47, ’49).
BILLY MARTIN (1950-57): This fiery Berkeley, CA native played for future Yankee manager Casey Stengel on the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League in 1948. When Stengel was hired as the Bombers’ manager in 1949, he brought the combative Martin to New York in 1950. Billy was a reserve infielder in 1950 and 1951. However, he became the regular second baseman in 1952 and batted a respectable .267, as the Yankees once again were World Champions. He was a fine contact hitter who possessed surprising power and hit 15 home runs with 75 RBI for 1953 Champion Yankees. Billy missed the 1954 campaign and a majority of the 1955 season due to military obligations, but returned as the regular second baseman in 1956. During that championship year, Martin hit .264 with nine home runs. Additionally, Martin proved to be a spectacular player in the World Series. He made a crucial catch of a wind blown infield pop-up late in the game with bases loaded against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 7 of the 1952 World Series. Billy was the offensive star of the 1953 Fall Classic and hit .500 with 23 total bases. He won the Babe Ruth Award as that year’s Series Most Valuable Player. Martin is tied for fourth on the all-time Series list for triples with three. He is also fourth with a .333 batting average for those with at least 75 series at bats. After an unfortunate incident at the Copacabana Club in New York City in 1957, Martin was traded to Kansas City. However, he would return to New York in 1975 to start his successful, yet controversial tenures as Yankee manager.
BOBBY RICHARDSON (1955-66): The 5’9” Richardson played briefly the Bronx Bombers in 1955 and 1956, but made the club permanently in 1957 and became the regular second baseman in 1959. Bobby was an outstanding defensive player and won the Gold Glove Award as the best fielding second sacker five years in a row from 1961-65. Additionally, he was a fine hitter who hit .301 in 1959 and had a respectable .266 lifetime batting average. As the Bombers’ lead off hitter, he was often on base for the sluggers such as Mantle, Maris, Berra, Howard and Skowron. Richardson had his finest year in 1962 by hitting .302 with 209 hits, 38 doubles and eight home runs. Like some many other Yankees, Bobby was an outstanding World Series performer. He won Sport Magazine’s World Series MVP Award in 1960 after driving 12 runs, despite playing for the losing team. He also hit a grand slam homer during that series. Richardson had nine hits in the 1961 Series to lead both teams and had 13 hits in the 1964 Fall Classic. Bobby retired after the 1966 season and will be remembered as one of the better second basemen in Yankee history.
WILLIE RANDOLPH (1976-88): Randolph was born in Holly Hill, SC, but his family moved to Brownsville section of Brooklyn when he was a child. He played at Tilden High School and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1972. Willie was acquired by New York in December of 1975 and batted .267 with 37 stolen bases in 1976 as the Bombers won their first pennant in 12 years. He was a key member of the championship clubs of 1977 and 1978. Randolph was considered one of the best defensive second sackers during his career. In 1979, he led the American League second basemen in putouts (355), assists (478), total chances (846) and double plays (128). He also led the American League with 112 double plays for second basemen in 1984. Willie was a consistent hitter and hit .270 or better in 10 of his 13 years in pinstripes. He also hit 20 or more doubles eight times and stole 30 or more bases on four occasions. Randolph was a five-time All-Star while with the Yankees. He served as a coach under Joe Torre during the recent Yankee dynasty and is currently managing the cross town New York Mets.
ALFONSO SORIANO (1999-2003): This native of San Pedro de Macoris signed with the Yankees in 1998 and was considered by many baseball experts to be one of the top prospects in all of baseball. After making brief appearances with the Bombers in 1999 and 2000, he became the team’s second baseman in 2001. Alfonso showed great promise by hitting .268 with 18 home runs and 73 RBI as the Yankees won the pennant for the third consecutive year, but lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in that year’s Fall Classic. He exploded in the following season by hitting .300 with 39 home runs and 102 RBI. Additionally, he stole 41 bases and just missed being a member of baseball’s exclusive 40 home runs/40 stolen bases club. Alfonso helped the Bombers win another pennant in 2003 with 38 home runs, 91 RBI and a .290 batting average along with 35 stolen bases. However, after losing the World Series to the Florida Marlins, the Yankees included Soriano in the historic trade with the Texas Rangers for Alex Rodriguez. After spending two productive seasons in the Lone Star State, Soriano was traded to the Washington Nationals. After the 2006 season, he signed a lucrative, long-term contract with the Chicago Cubs.
ROBINSON CANO (2005-Present): This talented youngster from the Dominican Republic signed with the Bronx Bombers in 2001 and was called up to the Major Leagues on May 3, 2005. His father, Jose Cano who was drafted by the Yankees in 1980, named Cano after the legendary Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson. Upon joining the big club, he took over the keystone sack from Tony Womack and finished second in the American League 2005 Rookie of the Year sweepstakes. He hit .297 with 14 home runs and 62 RBI. Despite suffering a strained hamstring during the 2006 season, Cano increased his batting average to .342 which was third in the American League behind teammate Derek Jeter and Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins. He also hit 15 home runs, drove in 78 runs and led the Yankees with 41 doubles. Robinson was the American League’s Player of the Month for September and named the League’s top second baseman by The Sporting News.
Over the years the Yankees have featured a number of outstanding
ballplayers at each of the nine positions with second base being no
exception. Below is a list of men who excelled at “The Keystone Sack”
for the Bronx Bombers along with the years they spent in pinstripes:
the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League in 1948. When Stengel was hired as the Bombers’ manager in 1949, he brought the combative Martin to New York in 1950. Billy was a reserve infielder in 1950 and 1951. However, he became the regular second baseman in 1952 and batted a respectable .267, as the Yankees once again were World Champions. He was a fine contact hitter who possessed surprising power and hit 15 home runs with 75 RBI for 1953 Champion Yankees. Billy missed the 1954 campaign and a majority of the 1955 season due to military obligations, but returned as the regular second baseman in 1956. During that championship year, Martin hit .264 with nine home runs. Additionally, Martin proved to be a spectacular player in the World Series. He made a crucial catch of a wind blown infield pop-up late in the game with bases loaded against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 7 of the 1952 World Series. Billy was the offensive star of the 1953 Fall Classic and hit .500 with 23 total bases. He won the Babe Ruth Award as that year’s Series Most Valuable Player. Martin is tied for fourth on the all-time Series list for triples with three. He is also fourth with a .333 batting average for those with at least 75 series at bats. After an unfortunate incident at the Copacabana Club in New York City in 1957, Martin was traded to Kansas City. However, he would return to New York in 1975 to start his successful, yet controversial tenures as Yankee manager. 
ROBINSON CANO (2005-Present): This talented youngster from the Dominican Republic signed with the Bronx Bombers in 2001 and was called up to the Major Leagues on May 3, 2005. His father, Jose Cano who was drafted by the Yankees in 1980, named Cano after the legendary Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson. Upon joining the big club, he took over the keystone sack from Tony Womack and finished second in the American League 2005 Rookie of the Year sweepstakes. He hit .297 with 14 home runs and 62 RBI. Despite suffering a strained hamstring during the 2006 season, Cano increased his batting average to .342 which was third in the American League behind teammate Derek Jeter and Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins. He also hit 15 home runs, drove in 78 runs and led the Yankees with 41 doubles. Robinson was the American League’s Player of the Month for September and named the League’s top second baseman by The Sporting News. 
