List of New York Yankees captains

There have been 16 captains of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, an American professional baseball franchise also known previously as the New York Highlanders. The role is held by Aaron Judge, who was named the captain on December 21, 2022.

In baseball, the captain formerly served as the on-field leader of the team, while the manager operated the team from the dugout. In the early 20th century, MLB teams were required to name an on-field captain, who was responsible for making pitching changes, positioning fielders, and talking with umpires. Managers were restricted to working with the players in the dugout. By the mid-1910s, managers took on the roles previously assigned to the captain, and the captain role became ceremonial.

Clark Griffith was captained the team from their inaugural season in 1903 through 1905. Kid Elberfeld was captain from 1906 to 1907, and was followed by Willie Keeler from 1908 to 1909. Hal Chase served in the role from 1910 through 1912. Frank Chance began the 1913 season as captain. When the team traded for Rollie Zeider, he succeeded Chance in the role. Roger Peckinpaugh served as captain from 1914 through 1922, until he was traded to the Boston Red Sox.

The role remained vacant until team owner George Steinbrenner named Thurman Munson as captain in 1976. Following Munson's death, Graig Nettles served as captain. Willie Randolph and Ron Guidry were named co-captains in 1986. Don Mattingly followed them as captain in 1991, serving until his retirement in 1995. Derek Jeter was named captain of the Yankees in 2003, and he held the post until he retired in 2014. Gehrig, Munson, Guidry, Mattingly and Jeter are the only team captains who spent their entire career with the Yankees (Aaron Judge has spent his entire career with the Yankees, but is still active). Jeter is the longest-tenured captain in franchise history, the 2014 season being his 12th as team captain.

When the Yankees named Jeter captain in 2003, the team recognized him as their 11th captain, rather than their 15th. Howard W. Rosenberg, a baseball historian, found that the official count of Yankees captains failed to include Griffith, Elberfeld, an Chance. In addition, right after The New York Times reported Rosenberg's research in 2007, Society for American Baseball Research member Clifford Blau found that Keeler was a team captain, research that Rosenberg confirmed. Though some newspaper articles referred to Everett Scott as captain from 1922 to 1925, the Yankees recognize him as an "acting captain" during the 1922 and 1923 World Series and do not include him on their list.

Captains

Years active	Tenure
Years of the captain's playing career
Tenure as captain
Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame
Denotes a co-captain

Player	Position	Years active	Tenure	Ref
Pitcher	1891–1914	1903–1905
Shortstop	1898–1914	1906–1907
Outfielder	1892–1910	1908–1909
First baseman	1905–1919	1910–1912
First baseman	1898–1914	1913
Shortstop	1910–1918	1913
Shortstop	1910–1927	1914–1921	url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/104785595.html?dids=104785595:104785595&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+01%2C+1988&author=By+Steve+Marcus&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=Will+Yanks+Chase+Captain+Guidry%3F&pqatl=google	archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201032923/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/104785595.html?dids=104785595:104785595&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+01,+1988&author=By+Steve+Marcus&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=Will+Yanks+Chase+Captain+Guidry%3F&pqatl=google	url-status=dead	archive-date=February 1, 2013	title=Will Yanks Chase Captain Guidry?	newspaper=Newsday	first=Steve	last=Marcus	date=December 1, 1988	access-date=November 25, 2011	page=150}}
Outfielder	1914–1935	1922	url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D07EFD71F30EE3ABC4D52DFB5668389639EDE	title=Ruth Made Captain; Roth Is Suspended; Babe Chosen to Fill Vacancy Caused by Transfer of Peckinpaugh to Boston. Roth's Ban Is Indefinite; Yankees' Veteran Outfielder Severely Penalized for Violation of Training Rules	work=New York Times	date=March 15, 1922	access-date=November 19, 2009}}
First baseman	1923–1939	1935–1939
Catcher	1969–1979	1976–1979
Third baseman	1967–1988	1982–1984
Second baseman	1975–1992	1986–1988	url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PeUVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IRQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6114,3457047	title=New Co-Captain: It's Randolph	first=George	last=Vecsey	work=Wilmington Morning Star	date=April 12, 1986	access-date=November 19, 2009}}
Pitcher	1975–1988	1986–1988
First baseman	1982–1995	1991–1995
Shortstop	1995–2014	2003–2014
Outfielder	2016–present	2023–present