Tony Kubek

New York Yankee Legends: Tony Kubek

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The New York Yankees have been blessed with some players that have become Yankee legends over the years. Some because of their iconic play, some due to their community service, and others because of the Yankee fan’s admiration for a collection of reasons. Over the illustrious 120 year history of the Yankees, they have had some of the most talented men ever to play the game of baseball. Tony Kubec (1957-1965) is one of those players. He had a 39-year career in baseball.

Anthony Christopher Kubek was born on October 12, 1935, in Milwaukee. He was the only boy of three children born to a father that was an outfielder with the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association but did not make it to the major leagues. Instead, he went to work in a tannery, a tool and tie plant, and a brewery and then found some security working for the Post Office. Tony had two sisters, Carol and Christine. With his father in baseball, he learned to play at a young age.


He was a multi-talented sport freak the excelled at baseball, football, and track at Bay View High School in Milwaukee. After his freshman year, the school would drop the baseball team. But that wouldn’t stop Tony from playing as he found several sandlot teams to play for. One day in 1952, at the age of 16, Kubek would be noticed by a Yankee scout Maguolo and invited to participate in the Hearst Sandlot Classic at Yankee Stadium. The exhibition game would pit the New York All-Stars against players from all over the country. Kubek caught the attention of the many scouts at the game. Tony wanted to play for the Yankees and take Phil Rizzuto’s place as the Yankee shortstop, so he signed with the Yankees in 1954. He played just over two years in the minors for the Yankees, and he attended Casey Stengel’s instructional course at each spring training.


In his last season in the minors, Tony would hit .334 with 14 home runs while with the Denver Bears. While there, Kubek formed a strong friendship with Bobby Richardson, his keystone partner, for nine seasons in New York. Kubek’s manager at Denver would be Ralph Houk, who would also manage him later with the Yankees. In 1956 Stengel would work the young Kubek hard in spring training to prepare him for the majors. He would play him all over the field and usually for nine innings. So naturally, Stengel wanted to see as many bats from him and how he ran the bases.

Tony would debut at the beginning of 1957, playing in the outfield, then the shortstop and 3rd base. At the plate, Tony would start slow, hitting only .243. But in June would have a long hitting streak and raise his batting average to .312. That year the Yankee would win the pennant and be in the World Series against the Milwaukee Braves. Now that the Braves left Boston and were in Milwaukee, his family and friends could watch him play. Unfortunately, for the first-year Yankee, he would have a throwing error that would cost the Yankees the series. But, non the less he would win the Rookie of the Year Award.


Due to his excellent play at short during his rookie year, he was awarded the starting shortstop, moving Gil McDougald to second. Kubek was awarded the Rookie of the Year Award. They made quite a dynamic pair in the infield, Kubek turned 98, and McDougald turned 97 double plays. He would end the season in 1957, hitting .297. 1958 would not be a good year for Tony as he had a few injuries and lost 32 points off his 257 batting average, but still, be an All-Star but would not play in the game. After the season, he was to fulfill six months in the military but was released early in March. Thus, he was ready to begin the season in 1959. Casey Stengel was famous for platooning players, and Kubeck and McDougald would share the Shortstop position while Bobby Richardson would defend second. The Yankees would come in third in the division.


During 1960 the Yankees would regain their winning ways. A year in which Kubek would get his second MVP nomination. The Yankees would again win the pennant. In the World Series Game 7, Kubek would be badly injured when a lousy hop caused a ball to hit him in the throat. The Pirates won the World Series. Kubek would go on to play for the Yankees until 1965, mainly as a shortstop. In 1962 he would have a career-high batting average of .314. All and all, Kubek would play 1,092 games for the Yankees; his 38 doubles in 1961 would be a record that held until 2004. He was an All-Star three times and an MVP candidate three times as well. The 1965 season would see Kubek’s average drop to .218 while still being an excellent defender at shortstop.

After the season, he would retire from his 9-year career, all with the Yankees.
Kubek being a fan favorite, quickly moved into the field of announcing and commentating on NBC’s game of the week. He would develop an association with Bob Costas and provide color for at least a dozen World Series and Championship Series nationally. As well, he did local telecasts for the Toronto Blue Jays along with All-Star games. At the Baseball Hall of Fame, he would receive the Ford C. Frick Award and enshrinement into baseball’s Hall of Fame broadcast wing. He was also inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

Kubek is presently 86 years old. He and his wife Margaret reside in Appleton, Wisconsin. They were blessed with two sons, two daughters, and five grandchildren. He had made only one appearance at Old Timer’s Day at Yankee Stadium in 1986 when it was the 25th reunion of 1961 players.

New York Yankees Top 10’s: Is your favorite shortstop among the top 10? (videos)

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New York Yankees, Derek Jeter

The New York Yankees, in their 107-year glorious history, have had their share of great baseball players.  From Babe Ruth to Joe DiMaggio to Ron Guidry, Derek Jeter, and dozens more, some of the best baseball players in history have graced Yankee Stadium.  In my other top ten columns, I’ve dealt with the other positions. In this installment, I will attempt to identify the great Yankee shortstops.  With so many great shortstops, some writers will differ in the order of their preferences.  Here are this writer’s top 10.

One through five is relatively easy; beyond that gets more difficult as the New York Yankees are more known for their outfielders, 2nd and 3rd baseman. If the Yankees have a weakest position in their history, it is probably at shortstop. Also, the Yankees have had players known for their offense and defense of their positions, but they were more well know at another position. A good example is Alex Rodgriguez, one of the top five shortstops in all of the baseball lore, but he played 3rd base for the Yankees. Joe Sewell, the Hall of Fame shortstop, could have been included in this list, but I did not consider him as he only played two years for the Yankees.

10.  Tom Tresh

First, let me say about Tom Tresh that he would have been in the top five except that he played more in the New York Yankee Stadium outfield than in short. Tresh played nine years for the Yankees with a career batting average of .247 with 140 home runs, five seasons with 20 or more, while being an excellent defender both short and in the outfield.

9. Gene Michael

Gene Michael was valuable to the New York Yankees as a player, coach, manager, and front office.  He was as responsible for the last ’90s, 2000’s Yankee dynasty as anyone in the organization. Michael started his seven-year stint with the Yankees in 1968. He was not known as a hitter and less so as a long ball hitter.  What he was known for was his excellent defense at short.  He is another Yankee that could have ranked higher on this list if his offense was in line with his defense.

8. Mark Koenig

Many present-day fans don’t know Mark Koenig; he played for the Yankees for six years, starting in 1925.  Koenig was an excellent hitter for that time, hitting .285.  He was not a home run hitter but hit for contact.  In 1928 he hit .319 for the season.   He was agile at short and played 2nd and 3rd when needed.  In 1927 he had third-most assists at shortstop in all of baseball (423).  In the World Series that the Yankees lost that year, he hit .500 without any errors in 28 chances.

7. Kid Elberfeld

Kid Elberfeld is another Yankee that few fans don’t remember.  He played short for the New York Yankees between 1903 and 1909.  In his seven years, he averaged .268 with 28 home runs.  As with many players at that time, he played all infield positions except for the 1st base.  His fielding average was .938, which was excellent for shortstops at that time.

6. Bucky Dent

Some may say that Bucky Dent should be further down this list or not on it it all.  I place him sixth due to his exceptional spotlight play in the 1978 one-game playoff with the Red Sox. Dent hit .239 while with the Yankees and was an All-Star twice, mostly because of his defense.  Dent was primarily known as a clutch contact hitter hitting 518 hits as a Yankee.

5. Frank Crosetti

Frank Crosetti is my choice as the 5th best Yankee shortstop.  Crosetti played his entire 17-year career with the Yankees, which brings him up on the list substantially. He hit .245 with over a thousand runs scored.  He was a two-time All-Star and a three-time MVP candidate.  Crosetti started his career at short for the Yankees in 1932, a position he held until a poor season in 1940 when Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto took over for him.  But he retook the job when Rizzuto left for the Navy. Rizzuto rejoined the club in  1946. Crosetti then became a player/coach for the club when he retired in 1948.  He had a .948 fielding percentage as a Yankee

4. Roger Peckinpaugh

Roger Peckinpaugh was a Yankee for nine years and was an MVP candidate in 1914 when he was a player/manager.  He is the only one on the list to have managed the Yankees. He had a .949 fielding average while with the Yankees, which was quite good for that era.  He had a .259 batting average over the span.  He was known as a contact hitter with the ability to steal bases.  He stole 38 in 1914.  In 1921 Peckinpaugh led all of baseball with the most assists in one game (9).  After leaving the Yankees, he had a long managerial career ending with the Indians in 1941.  He later became general manager and president of the Indians.

3. Tony Kubek

Tony Kubek was one of the most beloved New York Yankees. He played 9 years with the Yankees. In 1957 he won the Rookie of the Year award.  He played from 1957 to 1965.  He was an All-Star four times and was an MVP candidate three times.  Kubek is the first utility player to make the list, and although he played all over the field, 80% of his games were played at short, which is where he won all his awards.  The only position that Kubek did not play for the Yankees is that of pitcher or catcher.  In Game Seven of the 1960 World Series, he bungled a double play when he was hit in the throat by a bad hop that knocked him out.  At short, he had an excellent .967 fielding percentage.

2.  Phil Rizzuto

Known as much for his career in broadcasting and his onfield play at short. Rizutto can not be overlooked as one of the best Yankee shortstops ever. The “Scooter” had a .968 fielding percentage at short in his 13 Yankee seasons.  Rizzuto was of small stature, and the manager at the time that Rizzuto made his major league debut in 1941, Joe McCarthy once said Rizzuto was too small to be a good baseball player.  History has shown that McCarthy was very wrong.  In 13 years, he had a fielding percentage of .968.  He hit .273 over the life of his career, with almost 1,600 hits over the span.  Rizzuto, the five-time All-Star, was an MVP candidate eight times, capturing the award in 1950.  Rizzuto was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. When he left the Yankees in 1956, he had over 1200 double-plays under his belt.

He contributed to seven Yankee World Series championships and is sixth all-time in World Series games played, eighth in hits with 45, fourth in walks with 30, and tied for third in stolen bases with 10. Rizzuto would have an exceptional 40 years broadcasting on radio and TV for the New York Yankees.  His folksy style embraced him to the Yankee fans.  His signature “Holy Cow” was known throughout baseball even to this day.

1.  Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter is the hands-down best New York Yankee shortstop ever.  This baby bomber spent his entire Hall of Fame career, 20 years with the Yankees, all of them at shortstop. He is one of the very few career Yankees to have never played a game at another position during their career.  Jeter was the most popular of all Yankees from the late ’90s to the present.  He was a member of the “Core four” that brought the Yankees to five World Series Championships.

After 20 years at short, he had the highest fielding percentage (.976) of any Yankee shortstop in the club’s history.  Add to that, Jeter was clutch at every important opportunity.  He hit an amazing batting average of .310, the eighth highest of any Yankee.  He led all Yankees, playing 2,247 games while getting a historic 3,465 hits.  He was also number one with 544 doubles.

Getting back to Jeter being clutch, he had a unique ability to find himself in impact-changing moments during the regular and postseason.  Although the shortstop was one of the most modest players, always putting the team first, he seemed to relish it.  A few examples include him getting his 3000th hit.  He didn’t just get a hit; he did it in style with a smashing home run.  When it came time for Jeter to retire in his last appearance at Yankee Stadium, he turned “fantasy into reality”[1] when he hit the walk-off home run in his final game.

During his career with the Yankees, Jeter was Rookie of the Year in 1996; he was an All-Star 14 times, a twelve-time MVP candidate, a five-time Gold Glove award winner, and a Silver Slugger award winner five times.  Jeter was one of those unique players that played consistently throughout his entire career and retired at the top of his game.  Jeter became the second Yankee shortstop to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame to be inducted into the 2020 class.  He missed a unanimous vote by just one sour sportswriter. Originally scheduled for July 2020, with coronavirus concerns, the induction ceremony has been moved to this July 25th at Cooperstown, New York.