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Yankees NYY

199796–66 (0.593)Made Playoffs
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GM: Bob Watson

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1997, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$63M
Surplus $M
-15
Win %
0.593
TAB
+6.4
WAB
+8.0
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
46.3
Dead money %
16%
Depth Players
7.0
Dead WAR
-2.9

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1997 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RJoe Girardi111
BJorge Posada60
RMike Figga1

1B

LTino Martinez150
RMike Stanley⇄14
RCecil Fielder8
LIvan Cruz3
RLuis Sojo2
LPaul O'Neill2

2B

RLuis Sojo72
RPat Kelly48
RRey Sanchez⇄19
RHomer Bush8
RCharlie Hayes5
LAndy Fox5

3B

RCharlie Hayes98
LWade Boggs76
LAndy Fox11
RLuis Sojo3

SS

RDerek Jeter159
RRey Sanchez⇄19
RLuis Sojo4
LAndy Fox2

LF

BTim Raines Sr.57
BMark Whiten44
RChad Curtis⇄43
LScott Pose28
RMariano Duncan⇄6
LDarryl Strawberry4
LIvan Cruz1

CF

BBernie Williams128
RChad Curtis⇄43
LScott Pose3

RF

LPaul O'Neill146
LScott Pose17
BMark Whiten16
RChad Curtis⇄7
LAndy Fox2

DH

RCecil Fielder88
LWade Boggs18
RMike Stanley⇄14
BTim Raines Sr.13
LTino Martinez6
RPete Incaviglia⇄5
LDarryl Strawberry4
BMark Whiten4
LIvan Cruz3
RMariano Duncan⇄2

Starters

LAndy Pettitte7.2 WAR
RDavid Cone4.9 WAR
LDavid Wells4.3 WAR
RRamiro Mendoza1.7 WAR
LKenny Rogers0.6 WAR
RDwight Gooden0.4 WAR
RWillie Banks0.3 WAR
RHideki Irabu-0.2 WAR

Bullpen

★ RMariano Rivera43 sv
RJeff Nelson0 h
LMike Stanton0 h
LGraeme Lloyd0 h
RBrian Boehringer0 h
RJim Mecir0 h
RDavid Weathers⇄0 h
RWillie Banks0 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 1996)

PlayerfWAR
David Wells4.3
Mike Stanton1.4
Chad Curtis1.0
Mike Stanley0.3
Willie Banks0.3
Rey Sanchez0.2

Key subtractions (gone from 1996)

Player1996 fWAR
Jimmy Key2.7
John Wetteland1.2
Ruben Rivera1.0
Jim Leyritz0.8
Bob Wickman0.7
Dave Pavlas0.6

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 1997; everyone else is shown as a 1997 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Andy Pettitte 1997 +7.2 +145.1 0.6 +144.5 $0.1M 2.50× –
David Cone 1997 +4.9 +85.3 6.7 +78.6 $1.4M 2.19× –
Bernie Williams 1997 +5.1 +83.1 5.3 +77.8 $1.0M 2.05× –
David Wells 1997 +4.3 +75.1 3.8 +71.4 $0.9M 2.19× –
Tino Martinez 1997 +5.3 +58.0 4.4 +53.6 $0.8M 1.37× –
Derek Jeter 1997 +4.0 +42.6 0.6 +42.0 $0.1M 1.32× –
Mariano Rivera 1997 +2.0 +31.2 0.6 +30.7 $0.3M 1.95× –
Paul O'Neill 1997 +2.8 +35.8 5.5 +30.3 $2.0M 1.60× –
Ramiro Mendoza 1997 +1.7 +13.4 0.2 +13.3 $0.1M 0.98× –
Wade Boggs 1997 +2.0 +13.4 2.0 +11.4 $1.0M 0.85× –
Chad Curtis↔ 1997 +1.0 +6.6 0.7 +5.9 $0.7M 0.83× –
Mike Stanton 1997 +1.4 +7.5 1.6 +5.9 $1.1M 0.67× –
Tim Raines Sr. 1997 +1.0 +6.4 1.7 +4.7 $1.8M 0.83× –
Jeff Nelson 1997 +1.0 +5.2 1.1 +4.1 $1.1M 0.67× –
Charlie Hayes 1997 +1.1 +5.0 1.7 +3.3 $1.6M 0.58× –
Brian Boehringer 1997 +0.5 +2.5 0.2 +2.3 $0.3M 0.67× –
Jorge Posada 1997 +0.6 +2.4 0.2 +2.3 $0.3M 0.52× –
Mike Stanley↔ 1997 +0.3 +1.5 0.5 +1.0 $1.4M 0.56× –
Dwight Gooden 1997 +0.4 +2.9 2.0 +0.9 $5.7M 1.02× –
Rey Sanchez↔ 1997 +0.2 +0.9 0.4 +0.6 $1.7M 0.56× –
Luis Sojo 1997 +0.2 +0.9 0.4 +0.5 $2.2M 0.56× –
Joe Girardi 1997 +0.5 +2.2 2.2 -0.1 $4.3M 0.52× –
Joe Borowski↔ 1997 -0.1 -0.4 0.0 -0.4 – 0.67× –
Kenny Rogers 1997 +0.6 +4.5 5.0 -0.5 $9.1M 1.02× –
Pete Incaviglia↔ 1997 -0.1 -0.8 0.1 -0.8 – 0.69× –
Pat Kelly 1997 +0.0 +0.2 1.1 -0.9 $25.9M 0.56× –
David Weathers↔ 1997 -0.1 -0.8 0.2 -1.0 – 0.67× –
Mark Whiten 1997 +0.0 +0.0 1.0 -1.0 $197.4M 0.83× –
Graeme Lloyd 1997 -0.1 -0.6 0.8 -1.4 – 0.67× –
Darryl Strawberry 1997 -0.4 -2.2 0.8 -2.9 – 0.69× –
Hideki Irabu 1997 -0.2 -1.6 2.3 -3.9 – 1.02× –
Cecil Fielder 1997 +0.9 +4.8 9.2 -4.4 $10.7M 0.69× –
Mariano Duncan↔ 1997 -1.1 -7.2 0.5 -7.7 – 0.83× –
Andy Fox 1997 +0.1 +0.6 – – – 0.58× –
Danny Rios 1997 -0.3 -1.5 – – – 0.67× –
Homer Bush 1997 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.56× –
Ivan Cruz 1997 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.56× –
Jim Mecir 1997 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Mike Figga 1997 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.52× –
Scott Pose 1997 -0.3 -1.9 – – – 0.83× –
Willie Banks 1997 +0.3 +1.5 – – – 0.67× –
Total—+46.4+620.763.4+560.1—

Trades

Every graded 1997 deal involving the Yankees — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 7 total.

1997 · OAK / NYY
OAK · Sandy Alderson +$40.8M
Kenny Rogers
NYY · Bob Watson −$40.8M
Scott Brosius
OAK came out ahead by $40.8M
1997 · NYY / SFG
NYY · Bob Watson +$12.0M
Alberto Castillo, Chris Singleton
SFG · Brian Sabean −$12.0M
Charlie Hayes
NYY came out ahead by $12.0M
1997 · BOS / NYY
BOS · Dan Duquette +$8.0M
Tony Armas, Jim Mecir
NYY · Bob Watson −$8.0M
Mike Stanley, Randy Brown
BOS came out ahead by $8.0M
1997 · CHC / NYY
CHC · Ed Lynch +$4.8M
Frisco Parotte
NYY · Bob Watson −$4.8M
Rey Sánchez
CHC came out ahead by $4.8M
1997 · NYY / CLE
NYY · Bob Watson +$10.4M
Chad Curtis
CLE · John Hart −$10.4M
David Weathers
NYY came out ahead by $10.4M
1997 · NYY / TOR
NYY · Bob Watson +$5.6M
Angel Ramirez
TOR · Gord Ash −$5.6M
Mariano Duncan
NYY came out ahead by $5.6M
1997 · SDP / NYY
SDP · Kevin Towers +$31.2M
Rafael Medina, Rubén Rivera
NYY · Bob Watson −$31.2M
Homer Bush, Gordie Amerson, Hideki Irabu, Vernon Maxwell
SDP came out ahead by $31.2M

Current & Historical Payroll

1997 payroll
$63.1M

What the front office was committed to as of 1997, 1997–2003. 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 (23)

PlayerAgeSvc1997199819992000200120022003
Cecil Fielder3312.000$9.2MFREE AGENT
David Cone3411.000$6.7M$6.7M$9.5M$12.0MFREE AGENT
Paul O'Neill3412.000$5.5M$5.5M$6.2M$6.5M$7.2MFREE AGENT
Bernie Williams286.000$5.3M$8.3M$9.9M$12.4M$12.4M$12.4M$12.4M
Kenny Rogers328.000$5.0MFREE AGENT
Tino Martinez297.000$4.4M$4.3M$4.3M$4.8M$6.3MFREE AGENT
David Wells3410.000$3.8M$4.7MFREE AGENT$2.2M$3.2M
Joe Girardi328.000$2.2M$2.9M$3.4MFREE AGENT
Dwight Gooden3213.000$2.0MFREE AGENT$333k
Wade Boggs3915.000$2.0MFREE AGENT
Tim Raines Sr.3718.000$1.7M$1.3MFREE AGENT
Charlie Hayes329.000$1.7MFREE AGENT
Mike Stanton308.000$1.6M$1.9M$2.0M$2.4M$2.5M$2.5MFREE AGENT
Pat Kelly296.000$1.1MFREE AGENT
Mark Whiten307.000$1.0MFREE AGENT
Darryl Strawberry3514.000$750k$875kFREE AGENT
Mariano Duncan3412.000$489kFREE AGENT
Mike Stanley3411.000$470kFREE AGENT
Luis Sojo327.000$425k$800k$800k$289k$500kFREE AGENT
Rey Sanchez296.000$362kFREE AGENT
David Weathers276.000$229kFREE AGENT
Pete Incaviglia3311.000$61kFREE AGENT
Willie Banks286.000—$269kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (4)

PlayerAgeSvc1997199819992000200120022003
Jeff Nelson305.000$1.1MFREE AGENT
Graeme Lloyd304.000$770kARB 3FREE AGENT
Chad Curtis285.000$728kFREE AGENT
Scott Pose304.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (14)

PlayerAgeSvc1997199819992000200120022003
Hideki Irabu280.000$2.3MPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Andy Pettitte252.000$600kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mariano Rivera272.000$550kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Derek Jeter232.000$550kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Boehringer282.000$161kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jorge Posada262.000$158kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ramiro Mendoza251.000$157kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Joe Borowski262.000$8kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Homer Bush240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ivan Cruz290.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Figga260.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Andy Fox261.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jim Mecir272.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Danny Rios24–—

Graphs

How each 1997 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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