Colossal clout: Yanks' best HRs of the decade

December 27th, 2019

Since the 1930s, the Yankees have been referred to as the “Bronx Bombers,” an apt reference to their slugging might. True to that reputation, hitting for power remains deeply entrenched in the team’s DNA, and they’ve kept fans scattering for souvenirs over the past decade. Here are 10 of their most memorable homers from 2010-19:

Youngest to 600
Aug. 4, 2010

Exactly three years to the date of his 500th home run (Aug. 4, 2007), became the youngest player to reach 600 homers, crushing a drive to center field off the Blue Jays’ Shaun Marcum. At 35 years and eight days of age, A-Rod also became just the seventh player in history to reach the milestone.

History, with an exclamation point
July 9, 2011

Before , Wade Boggs had been the only player in history to homer for his 3,000th hit. That changed when Jeter pounded a hanging David Price breaking ball into the left-field bleachers, becoming the 28th player -- and first Yankee -- to reach 3,000 hits. Jeter finished the day 5-for-5, including a game-winning hit in the eighth inning.

Raul, so cool!
Oct. 10, 2012

A 40-year-old veteran playing his only season in pinstripes,  pinch-hit for Rodriguez and belted a game-tying ninth-inning homer off Jim Johnson, then delivered a game-winning shot in the 12th off Brian Matusz, as the Yankees celebrated a 3-2 victory over the Orioles in Game 3 of the American League Division Series. Ibanez became the first big leaguer to homer twice in a postseason game that he did not start.

The first All Rise
Aug. 13, 2016

Less than 12 hours after the Yankees said goodbye to A-Rod with an on-field ceremony, rookies Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge became the first teammates to homer in the first at-bats of their big league debuts in the same game, slugging back-to-back second-inning homers off Matt Andriese in an 8-4 victory over the Rays. Austin’s 331-foot blast cleared the right-field wall, while Judge’s 446-foot drive hit the center-field restaurant and dropped into Monument Park.

Grand goodbye
Sept. 28, 2016

 thought that it was a perfect way to end his career: his 409th and final homer was a grand slam to defeat the Red Sox. With the Yankees trailing, 3-1, and down to their final out, Teixeira slugged an offering from Joe Kelly into the right-field bullpen. It was Teixeira’s first walk-off homer in the regular season and just the second of his career, joining his 11th-inning blast during Game 2 of the 2009 ALDS against the Twins.

Gardner rakes
May 5, 2017

The 2017 Yankees were forecast to be a .500 team, rebuilding on the fly, but there were clear signs early on that they had some special resiliency. A great example was this frigid afternoon at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, when launched a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Héctor Rondón, helping to lift the Yankees to a 3-2 victory that stunned the defending World Series champions.

How far?
June 11, 2017

Judge hit 52 home runs during his AL Rookie of the Year Award-winning campaign, and his longest was a jaw-dropping blast off the Orioles’ Logan Verrett that was calculated by Statcast at 495 feet and cleared the left-field bleachers at Yankee Stadium. That was an appetizer for the show Judge would put on at the Home Run Derby in Miami, and preceded a July 21 drive that nearly left Seattle’s Safeco Field.

Sir Didi’s ‘Wild’ night
Oct. 3, 2017

Some in the crowd had not even found their seats for the AL Wild Card Game against the Twins when the Yankees trailed by three runs, knocking Luis Severino out of the contest. No worries. cracked an Ervin Santana offering into the right-field seats for a three-run homer, tying a game that the Yankees would go on to win, 8-4. Gregorius also hit two homers off Corey Kluber in the deciding Game 5 of the 2017 ALDS eight days later.

Bird was the word
Oct. 8, 2017

If had been able to remain healthy, he might still be the Yankees’ first baseman. The sweet left-handed stroke that oozed promise and wowed talent evaluators was on display in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Indians, when his blast off tough lefty Andrew Miller held up as the only run of a game that kept the Yankees’ season alive. Thanks in large part to Bird’s drive, New York rebounded from an 0-2 ALDS deficit and advanced to play the Astros in the 2017 ALCS.

Spin it, Mr. DJ
Oct. 19, 2019

Had the Yankees rallied to defeat the Astros in the ALCS, 's ninth-inning blast off closer Roberto Osuna might be ranked among the greatest postseason drives of all-time. As it was, LeMahieu’s clutch blast proved to be unforgettable, with the infielder winning a 10-pitch battle to slug a game-tying blast into the right-field seats at Minute Maid Park. Alas, José Altuve answered in the bottom of the ninth with a homer that sent Houston to the World Series.