This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch's Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

We¡¯re about two weeks into 2025, and also nine days past the point where Larry David said in an episode of ¡°Curb Your Enthusiasm¡± that it¡¯s acceptable to wish people a Happy New Year. Let¡¯s not do that here, but instead take a moment to appreciate that we¡¯ve now witnessed a quarter-century of Yankees baseball in the 2000s.

October 2000 delivered a Subway Series victory over the Mets, and October 2024 saw the Yankees back in the World Series, albeit with a loss. In-between, there was a move across 161st Street to a new facility and a parade through the Canyon of Heroes, amongst many seasons of contributions from future Hall of Famers and fan favorites.

So this is as good a time as any to take a look back with a fun exercise that is sure to inspire some debate: building the Yankees¡¯ quarter-century team, spanning 2000-24. (Technically, the 21st century began on Jan. 1, 2001 -- but how could we leave championship No. 26 on the cutting room floor?)

Catcher: Jorge Posada

There was no doubt about selecting Posada here. One of the best-hitting catchers of his era and a hard-nosed clubhouse leader, Posada earned all five of his All-Star and Silver Slugger selections during the span we¡¯re examining. From 2000 through his final season of 2011, Posada batted .277/.379/.483 (125 OPS+) with 325 doubles, 240 homers and 920 RBIs, producing 38.4 bWAR. He¡¯s in Monument Park, and for good reason.

Honorable mentions: Gary S¨¢nchez, Brian McCann

First base: Mark Teixeira

We could go back and forth all day between Teixeira and his predecessor, Jason Giambi. Both were big-money sluggers imported to anchor the lineup; both were terrific producers heavily taxed by injuries later in their tenures. Though Giambi¡¯s best Bronx seasons of ¡¯02, ¡¯03 and ¡¯05 (16.5 bWAR) edge Teixeira¡¯s three best of ¡¯09, ¡¯10 and ¡¯12 (13.2 bWAR), Teixeira was a much better defender who won three Gold Gloves with the Yanks. He also has one World Series ring to Giambi¡¯s none.

Honorable mentions: Giambi, Tino Martinez

Second base: Robinson Can¨®

The sweet-swinging, smooth-fielding Can¨® had this position on lock from 2005-13, a span in which he batted .309/.355/.504 (126 OPS+) with 375 doubles, 204 home runs and 822 RBIs. With the Yankees, Can¨® was a five-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger and two-time Gold Glover, tallying 44.4 bWAR. Believe it or not, he¡¯s still pounding pitchers at age 42 in the Mexican League.

Honorable mentions: Gleyber Torres, Alfonso Soriano

Third base: Alex Rodriguez

A single paragraph is insufficient to encapsulate A-Rod¡¯s career¡¯s trials and tribulations. Still, over the period we¡¯re looking at, no Yankee comes close to matching his production at the hot corner. From 2004-2016 (with the ¡¯14 season lost to a historic drug suspension), Rodriguez posted a .283/.378/.523 slash line (136 OPS+) with 263 doubles, 351 homers, 1,096 RBIs and 54.0 bWAR. He retired with 696 homers and 3,115 hits; if not for the PED stain, he¡¯d have been a first-ballot lock for Cooperstown.

Honorable mention: Gio Urshela

Shortstop: Derek Jeter

What¡¯s left to say about The Captain? The face of baseball for a generation of fans, Jeter already had three World Series rings when the 2000s began, then added another two championships and four pennants. From 2000-14, Jeter batted .307/.374/.432 (113 OPS+) with 422 doubles, 197 homers, 970 RBIs, 272 stolen bases and 47.9 bWAR, including 2,658 of his 3,465 career hits. The leadoff homer against the Mets, the Flip Play, Mr. November, the dive into the seats; you¡¯ll see them all for decades to come. (By the way, which writer left Jeter off that Hall of Fame ballot? We¡¯re still wondering.)

Honorable mention: Didi Gregorius

Left field: Hideki Matsui

There is another close call between Matsui and Brett Gardner, the latter of whom is probably his generation¡¯s Roy White, a reliable fan favorite who fueled his teams in various ways. But Matsui was a bonafide star long before he donned the pinstripes, an international icon who proudly represented the Yankees. It took a broken wrist to get him out of the lineup in ¡¯06, snapping his consecutive games played streak at 518; yes, he then apologized to the team. Though he was a DH by ¡¯09, Matsui¡¯s six-RBI performance in Game 6 clinched Fall Classic MVP honors. He batted .292/.370/.482 (123 OPS+) with 196 doubles, 140 homers, 597 RBIs and 20.4 bWAR over seven years in New York.

Honorable mentions: Gardner, Johnny Damon

Center field: Bernie Williams

Bern, baby, Bern! Though the period we¡¯re using here only counts seven of Williams¡¯ 16 big league seasons, the beginning of that chunk still features him near the top of his game, with two All-Star selections, a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove. Overall, Williams batted .288/.372/.466 (119 OPS+) for the Yankees from 2000-06, with 208 doubles, 136 homers and 576 RBIs in 980 games, posting 14.9 bWAR. It was just the beginning for Williams, who successfully swapped his bat for a guitar in his post-baseball life.

Honorable mention: Curtis Granderson

Right field: Aaron Judge

History will measure Judge¡¯s AL MVP seasons of 2022 and ¡¯24 as two of his era¡¯s best, and among the finest in franchise history. Judge¡¯s pursuit of Roger Maris¡¯ single-season AL home run record was unforgettable, and he arguably put forth an even more complete performance during the ¡¯24 regular season. In nine seasons from 2016-24, Judge has batted .280/.406/.604 (173 OPS+) with 173 doubles, 315 homers, 716 RBIs and 52.2 bWAR in 993 games. He was the ¡¯17 AL Rookie of the Year, a six-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger ¡­ and he¡¯s not even close to done yet.

Honorable mentions: Nick Swisher, Bobby Abreu, Gary Sheffield

Designated hitter: Giancarlo Stanton

Perhaps there¡¯s some recency bias here, but when Stanton¡¯s swing is locked in (like it was during the 2024 postseason), there are few more fearsome hitters on the planet. Yes, Stanton was the reigning NL MVP when they acquired him ahead of the 2018 season, and they haven¡¯t seen that 59-homer Marlins version of him ¨C partly because of injuries. But in an era of diminished offense, Stanton remains a lethal presence, compiling a .241/.323/.483 slash line (120 OPS+) with 162 homers and 431 RBIs in 663 games so far.

Honorable mention: Giambi, Matsui

Left-handed starter: CC Sabathia

How appropriate, as Sabathia awaits the results of his first turn on the Hall of Fame ballot. The big southpaw was brought in to lead the rotation and stabilize a fractured clubhouse; he succeeded in both, helping to deliver the ¡¯09 championship. From 2009-19, Sabathia compiled a 134-88 record with a 3.81 ERA in 307 games (306 starts), tallying 1,700 strikeouts against 576 walks in 1,918 innings, with 29.4 bWAR. He¡¯s one of three lefties all-time to have at least 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts; Hall of Famers Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson are the others.

Honorable mention: Andy Pettitte

Right-handed starter: Mike Mussina

The second half of Mussina¡¯s career cemented his entry into the Hall of Fame, as the cerebral hurler excelled for the Yankees from 2001-08. Over that span, Mussina pitched to a 123-72 record and 3.88 ERA in 249 games (248 starts), logging 1,278 strikeouts against 318 walks in 1553 innings with 35.1 bWAR. As general manager Brian Cashman has pointed out, Mussina pitched his entire career in the AL East during a period of inflated offense, walking away as the oldest first-time 20-game winner in history.

Honorable mentions: Gerrit Cole, Roger Clemens, Masahiro Tanaka

Closer: Mariano Rivera

How can we encapsulate Rivera¡¯s greatness into a paragraph? Well, more men have walked on the moon (12) than scored an earned run against Rivera in the postseason (11), which is a good place to start. Rivera still seemed near the top of his game when he walked away at age 43 in 2013; heck, he¡¯d probably still find a way to preserve a lead today at age 55. From 2000-13, Rivera pitched to a 2.05 ERA in 849 games, finishing 768 games and saving 523. That ERA is even lower than his 2.21 career mark. We¡¯ll never see another like him.

Honorable mention: Aroldis Chapman