Yankees have largest presence, both good and bad, in Sporting News 140 Greatest Sports Moments

2026-03-17 · Yahoo Sports

Yankees have largest presence, both good and bad, in Sporting News 140 Greatest Sports Moments originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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The New York Yankees are one of the most iconic teams in Major League Baseball, right next to longtime rivals the Boston Red Sox.

Across their storied history, there are plenty of noteworthy moments, both good and bad, that have made the Yankees one of, if not the most iconic teams in MLB and professional sports history.

In Sporting News' 140 Greatest Sports Moments since 1886, the Yankees are featured nine times for the largest presence of any team or individual on this list. However, not every mention is good.

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Yankees featured 9 times, most of any team in SN 140 Greatest Sports Moments

Among the Yankees' nine moments featured in Sporting News 140 Greatest Sports Moments since 1886, five are neutral or positive, while the other four are tough moments or records being broken by non-Yankees players.

Overall, the Yankees' presence on this 140 Greatest Sports Moments shows just how iconic the franchise is. Starting off their nine features on this list is one of the most iconic records in Major League Baseball: Joe DiMaggio's hit streak.

SN 140 Moments: No. 112 - Joe DiMaggio records 56-game hitting in 1941

DiMaggio reaching 56 straight games with a hit is the current MLB record, and with how the game is played nowadays, that record being broken seems incredibly unlikely.

Hitters focus on power more often, and with how great pitchers are, throwing triple-digits often, reaching 56 straight games with a hit will be incredibly difficult. DiMaggio's record will likely stay the record for a long time.

SN 140 Moments: No. 73 - Cal Ripken breaks Lou Gehrig's Iron Man streak at Camden Yards

The first "negative" mention for the Yankees isn't exactly a bad thing. Cal Ripken of the Baltimore Orioles passed Lou Gehrig's Iron Man streak of 2,130 consecutive games played.

Ripken didn't stop there, as he wound up playing 2,632 straight games, a record that seems impossible to beat. This is the first of a few Yankees records to be broken featured on this 140 Greatest Sports Moments, but it's one of the most impressive.

SN 140 Moments: No. 59 - Lou Gehrig gives 'luckiest man' speech at Yankee Stadium

Gehrig is one of the most iconic players in MLB and sports history. His shocking retirement with the announcement of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's Disease, sent ripples throughout the baseball world.

When the Yankees were honoring Gehrig, he said, "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth." This humble comment would have a lasting impact on his legacy and help paint the picture of the kind of person Gehrig was.

SN 140 Moments: No. 52 - Don Larsen throws only perfect game in World Series history

Don Larsen, the Yankees right-handed pitcher, had one of the single greatest games ever in MLB history. In Game 5 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Larsen threw a perfect game.

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With only 24 perfect games in MLB history, having one in the World Series is an incredibly rare incident.

Larsen was a journeyman pitcher, but this one moment cemented his place in MLB history as the single best performance in the postseason by a pitcher.

SN 140 Moments: No. 43 - Babe Ruth is sold from Red Sox to Yankees

Babe Ruth might be the single most popular Major League Baseball player in league history. He's an iconic slugger for the Yankees, but he didn't begin there. He initially was with the Boston Red Sox.

But they sold Ruth to the Yankees for $100,000, and for the next 84 years, the "Curse of the Bambino" had a lasting impact on the iconic Red Sox-Yankees rivalry.

Ruth became an all-time great for the Yankees, while the Red Sox went over 80 years, feeling the lasting impact of the curse. Which, unfortunately for the Yankees, was another moment featured in this list.

SN 140 Moments: No. 33 - Roger Maris hits 61st home run to break Babe Ruth's single-season record

This is the second record-breaking feat involving a Yankees great to be featured in Sporting News 140 Greatest Sports Moments since 1886.

Roger Maris launched his 61st home run of the 1961 season on October 1st, surpassing Ruth for the single-season home run record. He was surpassed by a few sluggers in the 1990's, but Maris's AL record was broken by future Yankee great Aaron Judge in 2022.

SN 140 Moments: No. 28 - Red Sox rally from 3-0 down to beat Yankees, end 86-year curse

This is a season to forget for the Yankees. Seeing their division and long-time hated rivals win in comeback fashion, one of the greatest comebacks ever, is incredibly brutal.

The Red Sox went down 3-0 in the ALCS, and they promptly rattled off four straight wins to be the first, and only, team to come back from down 3-0 in a best-of-seven series in MLB history.

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What made things worse was that the Red Sox went on to easily win the World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals, breaking the curse from the infamous Babe Ruth deal, and winning the 2004 World Series, which would be the first of many since the turn of the century.

SN 140 Moments: No. 19 - Bill Mazeroski's walk-off home run wins World Series for Pirates

In the 1960 World Series, the Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates were facing off in what would eventually become an all-time Game 7.

Bill Mazeroski, not renowned for his power, hit a walk-off home run to win Game 7 of the World Series. It's the kind of moment kids dream of, and Mazeroski got to live such a dream on the biggest stage in professional sports.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, that iconic, top-20 moment came at their expense. But there's another Yankees-related moment that's featured higher on this list, and it's a top-10 moment in sports history according to Sporting News' rankings.

SN 140 Moments: No. 9 - Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's all-time home run record with No. 715

Among the 140 Greatest Sports Moments, two of Babe Ruth's home run records being broken made the list. Maris breaking his single-season record was featured highly, but Hank Aaron breaking the all-time record is a top-10 moment in sports history.

Ruth's 714 home runs in his career seemed like an untouchable record. But in 1974, Aaron hit his 715th home run to left-center field, becoming the greatest power hitter in MLB history.

This was another record from a Yankee-great being broken on this list, but it's also a reminder of just how legendary some of these Yankees players were.

Yankees featured nine times for both good and bad reasons on SN 140 Moments

Overall, the Yankees were featured nine times, for both good and bad reasons, on Sporting News 140 Greatest Sports Moments since 1886.

If there were any doubt about how legendary the Yankees franchise is, one single team being featured in over six percent of the greatest sports moments ever is a testament to how iconic they are.

While most of these mentions happened before the turn of the century, the Yankees are still one of the most iconic teams in MLB and professional sports history.

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