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Yankees NYY

198597–64 (0.602)
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GM: Clyde King

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1985, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$13M
Surplus $M
-2
Win %
0.602
TAB
+12.5
WAB
+11.8
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
50.1
Dead money %
19%
Depth Players
11.0
Dead WAR
-3.0

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1985 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

BButch Wynegar98
LRon Hassey69
RJuan Espino9
LScott Bradley3

1B

LDon Mattingly159
LRon Hassey2
LKen Griffey Sr.1
RRex Hudler1

2B

RWillie Randolph143
RRex Hudler16
RJuan Bonilla7
RAndre Robertson2

3B

LMike Pagliarulo134
RDale Berra41
RAndre Robertson33

SS

BBobby Meacham155
RAndre Robertson14
RDale Berra6
BKeith Smith3
RRex Hudler1

LF

LKen Griffey Sr.106
RBill Sample51
LDan Pasqua31
RHenry Cotto14
RRickey Henderson6
LOmar Moreno⇄3
RVictor Mata1

CF

RRickey Henderson141
RHenry Cotto20
LKen Griffey Sr.5
RBill Sample4
RVictor Mata1

RF

RDave Winfield152
LDan Pasqua6
RVictor Mata2
RHenry Cotto1
LKen Griffey Sr.1

DH

RDon Baylor126
LDan Pasqua14
LScott Bradley9
LKen Griffey Sr.7
RDave Winfield2
LRon Hassey2
RRickey Henderson1

Starters

LRon Guidry4.9 WAR
LBob Shirley2.4 WAR
REd Whitson2.0 WAR
RRich Bordi1.9 WAR
LDennis Rasmussen1.2 WAR
RPhil Niekro1.0 WAR
RJoe Niekro⇄-0.2 WAR
RMarty Bystrom-0.3 WAR
RJohn Montefusco-0.3 WAR
RJoe Cowley-0.8 WAR

Bullpen

★ LDave Righetti29 sv
RBrian Fisher0 h
RRich Bordi0 h
RNeil Allen⇄0 h
RMike Armstrong0 h
RDon Cooper0 h
LRod Scurry⇄0 h
RDale Murray⇄0 h

Each position shows its top 3 by games (top = starter) — click "+more" for the rest. The letter is bats/throws; ⇄ marks a player traded mid-season. Starters are ranked by WAR, bullpen by holds; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.

Key additions (new vs 1984)

PlayerfWAR
Rickey Henderson9.7
Don Mattingly6.1
Ron Guidry4.9
Willie Randolph4.3
Brian Fisher3.1
Dave Winfield3.0

Key subtractions (gone from 1984)

Player1984 fWAR
—

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Yankees. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1985; everyone else is shown as a 1985 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Rickey Henderson 1985 +9.7 +159.2 1.5 +157.7 $0.2M 2.05× –
Ron Guidry 1985 +4.9 +85.3 0.9 +84.4 $0.2M 2.19× –
Don Mattingly 1985 +6.1 +66.3 0.5 +65.9 $0.1M 1.37× –
Dave Righetti 1985 +2.7 +55.9 0.7 +55.2 $0.3M 2.57× –
Willie Randolph 1985 +4.3 +41.1 0.6 +40.5 $0.1M 1.20× –
Dave Winfield 1985 +3.0 +38.8 1.8 +37.0 $0.6M 1.60× –
Ed Whitson 1985 +2.0 +24.3 0.8 +23.5 $0.4M 1.49× –
Bob Shirley 1985 +2.4 +18.6 0.6 +17.9 $0.3M 0.98× –
Ken Griffey Sr. 1985 +1.6 +16.0 1.1 +15.0 $0.7M 1.22× –
Butch Wynegar 1985 +2.4 +14.4 0.6 +13.9 $0.2M 0.76× –
Ron Hassey 1985 +2.0 +12.2 0.4 +11.8 $0.2M 0.76× –
Phil Niekro 1985 +1.0 +8.4 0.6 +7.8 $0.6M 1.02× –
Don Baylor 1985 +0.8 +4.4 0.8 +3.5 $1.0M 0.69× –
Bill Sample 1985 +0.3 +1.9 0.4 +1.5 $1.5M 0.83× –
Neil Allen↔ 1985 +0.2 +1.2 0.3 +0.9 $1.4M 0.67× –
Bobby Meacham 1985 +0.1 +0.7 0.1 +0.6 $0.7M 0.61× –
Rod Scurry↔ 1985 -0.0 -0.1 0.1 -0.2 – 0.67× –
Dale Berra 1985 +0.0 +0.0 0.5 -0.5 $137.7M 0.58× –
Joe Niekro↔ 1985 -0.2 -2.0 0.1 -2.1 – 1.02× –
John Montefusco 1985 -0.3 -1.7 0.6 -2.4 – 0.67× –
Marty Bystrom 1985 -0.3 -2.5 0.2 -2.8 – 1.02× –
Joe Cowley 1985 -0.8 -6.3 0.1 -6.4 – 1.02× –
Andre Robertson 1985 +0.4 +2.0 – – – 0.58× –
Brian Fisher 1985 +3.1 +63.4 – – – 2.57× –
Dale Murray↔ 1985 +0.0 +0.2 – – – 0.67× –
Dan Pasqua 1985 +0.6 +3.9 – – – 0.83× –
Dennis Rasmussen 1985 +1.2 +9.7 – – – 1.02× –
Don Cooper 1985 -0.1 -0.6 – – – 0.67× –
Henry Cotto 1985 +0.0 +0.3 – – – 0.83× –
Juan Bonilla 1985 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.56× –
Juan Espino 1985 +0.1 +0.3 – – – 0.52× –
Keith Smith 1985 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.61× –
Mike Armstrong 1985 -0.1 -0.7 – – – 0.67× –
Mike Pagliarulo 1985 +1.8 +12.2 – – – 0.85× –
Omar Moreno↔ 1985 +0.4 +2.7 – – – 0.83× –
Rex Hudler 1985 -0.4 -1.9 – – – 0.56× –
Rich Bordi 1985 +1.9 +14.6 – – – 0.98× –
Scott Bradley 1985 -0.4 -2.4 – – – 0.69× –
Victor Mata 1985 -0.2 -1.3 – – – 0.83× –
Total—+50.1+638.213.3+522.7—

Trades

Every graded 1985 deal involving the Yankees — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 6 total.

1985 · CHW / NYY
CHW · Roland Hemond +$7.2M
Ron Hassey, Joe Cowley
NYY · Clyde King −$7.2M
Britt Burns, Mike Soper, Glenn Braxton
CHW came out ahead by $7.2M
1985 · TEX / NYY
TEX · Tom Grieve +$9.6M
Toby Harrah
NYY · Clyde King −$9.6M
Billy Sample, Eric Dersin
TEX came out ahead by $9.6M
1985 · NYY / ATL
NYY · Clyde King +$4.0M
Miguel Sosa
ATL · John Mullen −$4.0M
Billy Sample
NYY came out ahead by $4.0M
1985 · HOU / NYY
HOU · Al Rosen +$19.2M
Jim Deshaies, Neder Horta, Dody Rather
NYY · Clyde King −$19.2M
Joe Niekro
HOU came out ahead by $19.2M
1985 · CLE / NYY
CLE · Phil Seghi +$6.4M
Kevin Trudeau
NYY · Clyde King −$6.4M
Mike Fischlin
CLE came out ahead by $6.4M
1985 · BAL / NYY
BAL · Hank Peters +$8.0M
Rich Bordi, Rex Hudler
NYY · Clyde King −$8.0M
Gary Roenicke, Leo Hernández
BAL came out ahead by $8.0M

Current & Historical Payroll

1985 payroll
$13.3M

What the front office was committed to as of 1985, 1985–1991. Pre-2015 has no contract-terms data — forward italic $ are realized actuals (hindsight, not commitments known then). Control labels (ARB/FA) are point-in-time.

current $ guaranteed $ actual $ (hindsight) arbitration (proj) pre-arb (proj) free agent

Guaranteed / signed (18)

PlayerAgeSvc1985198619871988198919901991
Dave Winfield3312.000$1.8M$1.9M$1.9M$2.0MFREE AGENT$1.7M
Rickey Henderson266.000$1.5M$1.6M$1.7M$1.8M$1.2MFREE AGENT
Ken Griffey Sr.3512.000$1.1M$604kFREE AGENT
Ron Guidry3410.000$900k$975k$850k$825kFREE AGENT
Don Baylor3615.000$810kFREE AGENT
Ed Whitson308.000$800k$439kFREE AGENT
Dave Righetti266.000$680k$838k$800k$1.3M$1.4M$1.6MFREE AGENT
Bob Shirley318.000$638k$750k$200kFREE AGENT
John Montefusco3511.000$638k$717kFREE AGENT
Phil Niekro4621.000$600kFREE AGENT
Willie Randolph3010.000$600k$1.1M$900k$875kFREE AGENT
Butch Wynegar299.000$550k$733kFREE AGENT
Dale Berra288.000$478k$558kFREE AGENT
Bill Sample307.000$435kFREE AGENT
Ron Hassey327.000$425k$227kFREE AGENT
Neil Allen276.000$319kFREE AGENT$815k$250k
Joe Niekro4018.000$71k$750k$545kFREE AGENT
Omar Moreno3210.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (7)

PlayerAgeSvc1985198619871988198919901991
Don Mattingly243.000$455kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Marty Bystrom265.000$250kFREE AGENT
Joe Cowley263.000$120kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rod Scurry295.000$50kFREE AGENT
Juan Bonilla294.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rich Bordi265.000—FREE AGENT
Juan Espino293.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (14)

PlayerAgeSvc1985198619871988198919901991
Bobby Meacham242.000$100kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Armstrong31–—
Scott Bradley251.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Don Cooper29–—
Henry Cotto241.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Fisher230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rex Hudler241.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Victor Mata24–—
Dale Murray35–—
Mike Pagliarulo251.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dan Pasqua230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dennis Rasmussen262.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Andre Robertson27–—
Keith Smith23–—

Graphs

How each 1985 acquisition stacked onto Yankees's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

Rosternomics — front-office performance, roster value, and transaction history. Follow @rosternomics on X.
Decision-maker records extend to 1933; resource-controlled WAR and payroll metrics cover 1985–2026. Data sources include FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, the Chadwick Bureau register, the Lahman Database, prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs, and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0).
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