Boasting two of the three best winning percentages in MLB history, the Yankees and Dodgers are two of baseball's exemplary franchises.
In preparation for this year's World Series matchup, the Post will compile each team's all-time team to determine who has the advantage at each position.
first base
Dodgers: Gil Hodges
Yankees: Lou Gehrig
Hodges ultimately reaped the rewards and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022 after a career in which he hit 370 home runs and made eight All-Star teams. He had 100 or more RBIs seven times for the Dodgers in the 1940s and 1950s. One of the “summer boys”.
Gehrig was the standard-bearer for the position, hitting 493 home runs and a lifetime batting average of .340. Along the way, he played in 2,130 consecutive games. 1934 may have been Gehrig's best season, as he won two MVP awards and batted .363 with 49 home runs and 166 RBIs.
Edge: Yankees
second base
Dodgers: Jackie Robinson
Yankees: Robinson Cano
Robinson broke MLB's color barrier in 1947 and became the first Rookie of the Year winner. He was an intrepid baserunner, immortalized for stealing home base against the Yankees in the 1955 World Series. Robinson won the MVP award and was named to six All-Star teams. He finished with a career OPS of .887.
Cano (named after Jackie Robinson) hit at least 25 home runs in five different seasons with the Yankees. He also won a Gold Glove Award and finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2005. PED questions taint Cano's numbers — he was suspended twice after testing positive for banned performance-enhancing drugs after leaving the Yankees.
Edge: Dodgers
shortstop
Dodgers: Pee Wee Reese
Yankees: Derek Jeter
A typical shortstop of his era, Reese was a great defensive player without a big bat. Reese posted a career .743 OPS. This is about average for his entire career. A 10-time All-Star and inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984, he was a central figure in Brooklyn's regular pennant championships in the 1940s and '50s.
Few players in the history of the game have contributed to more victories than the former Yankees captain. Jeter, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame with 99.7 percent of the votes, was a key part of the Yankees' five World Series-winning teams and finished his career with 3,465 hits and a career batting average of .310. Jeter won five Gold Glove Awards.
Edge: Yankees
third base
Dodgers: Justin Turner
Yankees: Alex Rodriguez
The infielder, who was non-tendered by the Mets after the 2013 season, reinvented his swing with a focus on launch angle. He hit at least 20 home runs four times with the Dodgers and posted an .865 OPS in his nine seasons with the Dodgers. Turner earned a World Series ring as part of the 2020 team that defeated the Rays. He was twice named an All-Star with the team.
Rodriguez won two of the three MVP awards during his time with the Yankees and played an integral role in the team's last World Series victory in 2009. Rodriguez has served two PED-related suspensions that have prevented him from making the Hall of Fame for the rest of his career. He hit 696 home runs and was selected to 14 All-Star teams.
Edge: Yankees
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left field
Dodgers: Matt Kemp
Yankees: Mickey Mantle
In 10 seasons with the Dodgers, most of them with teams that didn't make the postseason, Kemp hit 203 home runs and posted an .842 OPS. He hit 39 home runs in the National League, had 126 RBIs in the Major Leagues, and finished second in MVP voting in 2011. He also won two Gold Glove Awards with the Dodgers.
One of the most iconic players in Major League history, Mantle is a three-time MVP and is considered the greatest switch hitter in Major League history. Mantle hit 536 career home runs and played for seven World Series championship teams. He was selected to 20 All-Star teams and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1974.
Edge: Yankees
center fielder
Dodgers: Duke Snyder
Yankees: Joe DiMaggio
Willie Mays, Mantle and Snyder, known as Willie, Mickey and Duke, gave New York a special triple crown in center field in the 1950s. Snyder was no Mays or Mantle, but he hit 407 home runs in his career and helped Brooklyn/Los Angeles win six pennants. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980.
The Yankee Clipper was a great player for his first five seasons, becoming a legend in 1941 with a 56-game hitting streak. DiMaggio won the MVP award three times and was a member of nine World Series championship teams. The Hall of Famer hit 361 career home runs and only struck out 369 times. This ratio of power hitters is almost unprecedented in any era.
Edge: Yankees
light field
Dodgers: Mookie Betts
Yankees: Babe Ruth
The versatile Betts, a former Red Sox MVP, has remained a star in Hollywood for five seasons. Betts won two Silver Sluggers with the Dodgers and was named to four All-Star teams. He played in 587 games with the Dodgers, posting a .902 OPS and reaching the club's second World Series this year.
Another former Red Sox star who found success elsewhere, Bambino transcended sports in the 1920s and '30s. Who can forget his 60 home run performance in 1927? (OK, almost no one alive saw it.) Ruth went to seven World Series with the Yankees and won four.
Edge: Yankees
catcher
Dodgers: Roy Campanella
Yankees: Yogi Berra
Campanella, a three-time MVP, hit more than 30 home runs in four seasons before a car accident left him in a wheelchair. He was a key part of the Brooklyn team that reached the World Series five times in eight years starting in 1949. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969.
Bella wore a championship ring on each of her 10 fingers. The three-time MVP hit 358 career home runs and was selected to the All-Star Game for 15 consecutive seasons. Berra, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972, had a career OPS of .811 in 75 World Series games.
Edge: Yankees
designated hitter
Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani
Yankees: Aaron Judge
The first 50/50 player (home runs and stolen bases) in MLB history, Ohtani and the Dodgers seem to be a good fit for each other. There is no bigger star in baseball, and Showtime Dodgers is the perfect setting for him.
Judge's at-bat is an event not to be missed. The star outfielder set an AL record with 62 home runs in 2022 and hit another 58 this season.
Edge: Dodgers
starting pitcher
Dodgers: Sandy Koufax
Yankees: Whitey Ford
Koufax was pure magic for five seasons starting in 1962. That's when he threw his first of four career no-hitters. The left-hander finished his career winning three Cy Young Awards in four seasons. Even before he was Sandy Koufax, he was a member of the Dodgers teams that won the World Series in 1955 and 1959. He then dominated World Series winning teams in 1963 and 1965 before moving to Cooperstown.
The chairman of the board was a methodical person who won 236 games and had an ERA of 2.75 in 16 seasons with the Yankees. He twice had the worst ERA in the major leagues. The left-hander had his best performance in the World Series, starting 22 games and posting a 10-8 record and a 2.71 ERA. Another Yankees Hall of Famer has been added.
Edge: Dodgers
nearby
Dodgers: Kenley Jansen
Yankees: Mariano Rivera
Jansen saved 350 games and posted a 2.37 ERA in 12 seasons with the Dodgers. A three-time All-Star for the club, he began his professional career as a catcher.
The first Hall of Famer to receive 100% of the vote, Rivera is baseball's gold standard for closers. No one was more trusted in the big spot, and his 652 saves are the most ever. Rivera played in 96 postseason games, posting a 0.70 ERA and 42 saves. He won five World Series with the Yankees.
Edge: Yankees
