Back in August, I began a series here at Pinstripe Alley where I was going to put together an All-Star Yankee team of players who were born in a given month. Since then, we as a staff have started doing daily posts for the year 2026, highlighting a Yankee from history whose birthday happens to land on that day. As we near the end of this month, what better way to put a cap on a month’s worth of birthday posts then by using the all-month teams as a way to look back on who we covered? And maybe some
we didn’t cover who shared a birthday with someone else?
With that in mind, here are my choices for the All-July Birthday Yankee Team.
Pitcher: CC Sabathia (July 21st birthday post)
The 2025 Hall of Fame inductee Sabathia will be getting his number retired by the Yankees later this season. While Sparky Lyle and Goose Gossage are solid options out of July’s bullpen, CC was the obvious choice to start for this team.
Catcher: Austin Wells
Wells has been quite disappointing in 2026, having once looked like the future of the Yankees’ catching position. However, unless you feel strongly about Bubbles Hargrave’s brief run with the Yankees, there’s not a ton of better options. Plus, maybe he can bring burritos.
First Base: DJ LeMahieu (July 13th birthday post)
July is decently strong in the infield, meaning we’re going to move some people around. While it wasn’t his primary position in New York or in his career in general, the flexible LeMahieu played first quite a bit over the years. His 2019 and 2020 seasons were quite fun, even if he did fall off after that.
Second Base: Willie Randolph (July 6th birthday post)
Meanwhile, second base and the infield in general had quite a number of options, so much so that we’re squeezing players in elsewhere, including LeMahieu at first. That’s because for second itself, there was really no other option besides Randolph. The one time Yankee captain helped the team to two World Series titles as a player, and then was on the coaching staff for four more in the 1996-2000 stretch.
Shortstop: Mark Koenig
There’s a famous quote — that’s actually been debunked and was never said — that John Lennon was once asked if Ringo Starr was the best drummer in the world and replied that he “wasn’t the best drummer in the Beatles.” Well, Koening was a perfectly good major leaguer in his time, but he isn’t actually the best shortstop on this team, because…
Third Base: Alex Rodriguez (July 27th birthday post)
The best shortstop on this team famously played third base while on the Yankees. A-Rod’s tenure with the Yankees was controversial and rocky at various points, but you can’t really question the production he put up, including in his two AL MVP winning seasons.
Left Field: Bob Meusel (July 19th birthday post)
While the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig get the plaudits, you can’t have a team that gets called “Murderers Row” with only two good players. Meusel was a very good member of that era’s supporting cast, posting a career 121 OPS+ in 10 years with the Bombers
Center Field: Cody Bellinger
Recently IL’ed, Bellinger has been a very good fit on the Yankees since joining the team ahead of 2025. He’ll be around through 2030 after re-signing with the team this past winter.
Right Field: Hank Bauer
There may or may not be a birthday post coming tomorrow for Bauer. While he was a very good player and made three All-Star teams in his own right, Bauer was overshadowed by the likes of Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra for most of his career as part of the 1950s Yankees’ dynasty.
Designated Hitter: Chuck Knoblauch
Another guy who played second base quite a lot over the years, we’re going to put Knoblauch as the DH on the July team. Also, considering what happened to him defensively at second base, it’s probably best we get him out of the field.
That’s my choice for July’s team, but what changes would you make to this lineup?
