The Ten Greatest Moments in New York Yankees History

Again, February is a slow month. I don't want to get into the Gene Monahan situation yet until we hear more details on his illness and how long he'll be gone from the team. All I can say is that the guy is a total legend...he's been with the club since the 1970's. I certainly hope everything is ok.

I was born in 1986, so I certainly was not alive for what I believe are the ten greatest moments in franchise history, but this is certainly something fun to debate about. I'm not going to mention the greatest seasons, or the greatest games, but these are just moments. Ten of them. Let the debating begin.

10. David Wells' Perfect Game- May 17, 1998 Another great moment from a guy I don't love. But how can you not include a perfect game on this list? On this date, the Boomer retired 27 Twins in a row, getting Pat Meares on a fly ball to Paul O'Neill to end the masterpiece. This was the first of many great moments that occurred during the '98 campaign, possibly the greatest season in Yankees history. Wells would later admit that he was somewhat loaded during that game, that he hardly had much sleep from the previous night's activities, and it really wouldn't surprise me based on some of his personal character traits.

9. Jim Leyritz's Game Tying Blast- Game 4, 1996 World Series Here's another guy with some questionable character traits, but he got it done when it counted. Leyritz's eighth inning homer off of Mark Wohlers in Atlanta tied the game at 6, after the Yankees and Kenny Rogers were down 6-0 just a few innings earlier. The Yanks would go on to win the game in extra innings, and would never trail again in the series. It began the most recent Yankee dynasty, which allowed the team to create its own network and a brand new stadium.

8. David Cone's Perfect Game on Yogi Berra Day- July 18, 1999 This day was already special as it was Yogi Berra's second time back at Yankee Stadium after ending his 14-year exile. The former perfect game tandem took part in the game's ceremonial first pitch: Don Larsen threw it to Yogi Berra, who borrowed catcher Joe Girardi's glove and handed it back to him to catch Coney. Cone, who dealt with an aneurysm just three years earlier, climbed to the top of the world after dealing with a rain delay, tossing a perfecto against the hapless Montreal Expos during another Yankees championship season.

7. Tino, Jeter, and Brosius- Games 4 and 5, 2001 World Series I know the Yankees lost this series in heartbreaking fashion to the D-Backs, but these two games, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, were absolutely incredible to watch. I was fortunate enough to attend Game 4, and when Tino tied the game with a two-out, two-run ninth inning homer, he promised me that I would never see that again for the rest of my life. An inning later, Jeter became Mr. November with a walk-off. And a night later, Scott Brosius disproved my father, as I only had to wait 24 hours for another two-out, two-run ninth inning homer. I guess there's only one other thing to say about these three blasts: Thank you, Byung-Hyun Kim!

6. Lou Gehrig Day- July 4, 1939 This was the number one reason why I said that this list was going to contain moments- so I could include this speech. We all know the story. Lou Gehrig was the ultimate symbol of Yankees' pride and the greatest first baseman who ever lived. After he was diagnosed with the disease that would later take his life, Gehrig stood in front of a capacity crowd and his teammates, calling himself the "luckiest man on the face of the earth." It would be referred to as baseball's Gettysburg Address. Even if you don't know baseball, you know Lou Gehrig and you know his speech.

5. Roger Maris hits 61- October 1, 1961 In 1961, one of the greatest seasons in Yankees history, two teammates squared off to take on a hallowed record: Babe Ruth's 60 homers from 1927. Most fans rooted for Mantle, who'd been with the team since '51. Although Maris was league MVP in 1960, fans hated him and writers made his hair fall out. After Mantle went down and finished with 54, Maris etched his name into history by hitting his 61st on the season's final day against the Boston Red Sox. Although Ford Frick ruled that Maris would have an asterisk next to his record for the extra eight games teams played compared to the 1927 season, it would be removed in 1991, years after Maris was dead. If you think about the guys that have surpassed 61 since then- Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds- Maris really is the true single-season home run record holder.

4. Bucky Beats Boston- October 2, 1978 We all know this one, and there's no way we could have a list of great Yankee moments without Bucky F'n Dent, as he's still known in Boston. George Steinbrenner called this the greatest baseball game he'd ever witnessed in person. The one-game AL East playoff had Boston and Mike Torrez in control with a 2-0 lead until Bucky's three run homer over the Green Monster in the seventh inning silenced Fenway. Not only did the Yankees go on to win the game 5-4, they captured their second consecutive world title a couple of weeks later. It also culminated the greatest comeback in their history, after once trailing by as many as 14 games in the division standings to the Sawx. The Curse of the Bambino was never more prominent.

3. Chris Chambliss rocks Yankee Stadium- October 14, 1976 If you haven't seen the images of the aftermath of this walk-off blast, you're not a true fan. In the first season of the newly remodeled Yankee Stadium, Chris Chambliss' home run in Game 5 of the 1976 ALCS gave the Yanks their first pennant since 1964. Oh, and security was a little bit different then it was today. Fans raced in from the seats and bleachers to swarm the field. Chambliss would never touch home plate, as it was dug up by a nutty fan. Later, he would be escorted out by two police officers to touch the area where home plate once rested.

2. Don Larsen's Perfect Game- Game 5, 1956 World Series When Casey Stengel put the ball in Don Larsen's shoe on this historic date, many of his teammates, like Hank Bauer, were pretty disgusted with his decision. Larsen was never a great pitcher, but he's a guy who had one perfect day, which turned him into a true Yankee legend for life. You might get tired of hearing about it, but there's no way that this game should be any less than number 2 on this list. A no-name retires 27 Brooklyn Dodgers in order...during a WORLD SERIES! The final strike three pitch to Dale Mitchell was probably a foot above the strike zone, but who really cares at this point?

1. Aaron Boone Keeps the Curse Alive- October 17, 2003 This game started on October 16, but by the time it ended in the eleventh inning, it was after midnight. Of all of the post-season magical wins the Yankees have had over their amazing history, this game was by far the greatest. Down by four runs to Pedro and the Sox, the Yankees looked as if their season was over, and Boston would finally head back to the Fall Classic. But the rest was history. Giambi homered twice, Grady Little left Petey in the game, and Jorge dunked a two-run double in front of some idiot named Damon. Then, after Mariano Rivera's third scoreless inning of relief, Aaron Boone sent a knuckleball from Tim Wakefield into the left field seats for the Yankees' 39th pennant. It wasn't just how they won, but it was who they beat.

I'd say it's tough to argue that these ten moments should not be on there. You could argue for Reggie's three homers in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, and maybe a couple of no hitters here and there. You could also argue for The Babe's Called Shot, but Frank Crosetti said that it never really happened, so we'll stick with The Crow and leave him off of this list. That's my 10 greatest moments- what's yours?