Judge could be one of longest-tenured Yankees ever

Aaron Judge’s historic nine-year, $360 million deal with the Yankees could keep him in New York until 2031. It gives him the chance to be a Yankee for life.

If Judge plays out the full length of his deal, he’ll have played with the Bronx Bombers for 16 seasons. He’ll be 39 years old at the end of it, and he’ll have been a Yankee since the team drafted him as a 21-year-old in 2013.

That would make Judge one of the longest-tenured Yankees of all time. Here are the legends he’d join on the list for the storied franchise.

These are the players who have played the most seasons for the Yankees. Players who spent their entire career with the Yankees are noted in parentheses.

1. Derek Jeter — 20 seasons (career Yankee)

It’s only fitting that the Captain is the longest-tenured Yankee in history. Jeter was drafted by the Yankees in the first round in 1992, put on the pinstripes for the first time as a 20-year-old in 1995 and didn’t take them off until he retired at age 40 after the 2014 season. The Hall of Fame shortstop collected 3,465 hits, the sixth most all time, was a 14-time All-Star and anchored the Core Four that led the Yankees to five World Series championships.

2. Mariano Rivera — 19 seasons (career Yankee)

The greatest closer of all time was every bit as important to the Yankees dynasty as Jeter. Rivera debuted the same year as his fellow Core Four member, 1995, and was also on all five World Series-winning teams until he retired a year before Jeter in 2013. He’s MLB’s all-time leader in saves with 652, he’s a playoff legend, with a 0.70 ERA and 42 saves in the postseason, and his cutter is the most iconic pitch in baseball history. Rivera is the only unanimous Hall of Famer.

3. (tie) Mickey Mantle — 18 seasons (career Yankee)

Mantle is the greatest switch-hitter of all time and one of the greatest center fielders of all time. Debuting with the Yankees as a 19-year-old in 1951, Mantle went on to hit 536 home runs and win three MVP Awards, a Triple Crown in 1956 and seven World Series titles in his career.

3. (tie) Yogi Berra — 18 seasons

Berra won 10 World Series championships with the Yankees, the most of any player in history. He’s one of the greatest catchers ever, hitting 358 home runs, winning three MVP Awards and making 18 All-Star teams in his career in pinstripes, which lasted from 1946-63 (he played four games with the Mets in 1965 after being hired as a coach). Berra is also maybe baseball’s most iconic personality ever. It ain’t over ’til it’s over.

5. (tie) Lou Gehrig — 17 seasons (career Yankee)

The Iron Horse played 2,130 consecutive games for the Yankees between June 1, 1925, and April 30, 1939, a record that stood for 56 years until Cal Ripken Jr. finally surpassed him. Part of the first generation of Yankees legends alongside Babe Ruth, Gehrig was a lifetime .340 hitter, hit 493 home runs and won two MVP Awards and seven World Series championships in his Hall of Fame career with New York. Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” farewell speech at Yankee Stadium after ALS forced him to retire is one of baseball’s most memorable moments.

5. (tie) Jorge Posada — 17 seasons (career Yankee)

The Core Four catcher was a member of four World Series-winning teams, the Yankees’ three-peat from 1998-2000 and their 27th championship in 2009. Posada was a five-time All-Star and Silver Slugger and hit 275 home runs in his career, ninth most among catchers.

5. (tie) Bill Dickey — 17 seasons (career Yankee)

Dickey actually caught more games for the Yankees (1,708) than both Berra (1,697), whom he mentored, and Posada (1,574). The Hall of Famer was an eight-time World Series champion with New York, as well as an 11-time All-Star. Dickey played for the Yankees from 1928-46, and his career could have spanned 19 seasons but he missed the 1944 and ’45 seasons for military service in the Navy during World War II.

5. (tie) Frankie Crosetti — 17 seasons (career Yankee)

Crosetti played 17 seasons for the Yankees from 1932-48 and then coached the Yankees for 20 more. That made him a part of an incredible 17 World Series championship teams, seven as a player, one as a player/coach and nine as a coach after his retirement.

9. (tie) Bernie Williams — 16 seasons (career Yankee)

Williams actually preceded the Core Four in New York, arriving in the big leagues in 1991, four years before Jeter, Rivera, Posada and Andy Pettitte. But he was just as big a part of winning those four championships in five seasons from 1996-2000. Williams was a five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glover in center field, and he won the AL batting title in ’98.

9. (tie) Whitey Ford — 16 seasons (career Yankee)

One of the best pitchers in franchise history, Ford won six World Series titles with New York and the 1961 AL Cy Young Award. The Hall of Fame southpaw pitched for the Yankees from 1950-67, missing two years for military service just after his big league debut at 21. The Chairman of the Board was a 10-time All-Star, two-time MLB ERA leader and the 1961 World Series MVP.

11. (tie) Babe Ruth — 15 seasons

Though not a career Yankee, Ruth is the most famous Yankee of them all … and the most famous baseball player of all time. The Bambino was the first great home run king, and he slugged 659 of his 714 home runs in his decade-and-a-half with the Yankees after the Red Sox infamously sold him to New York in 1919. Ruth became synonymous with the Yankees — and Yankee Stadium, the House that Ruth Built.

11. (tie) Andy Pettitte — 15 seasons

The final Core Four member, Pettitte bookended his career as a Yankee, playing his first nine seasons in New York, as well as his final six, with a three-year stint on the Astros in between. The left-hander was a member of all five of the Yankees’ World Series championship teams of his generation, and he’s MLB’s all-time postseason wins leader with 19. Pettitte was also a three-time All-Star who collected 219 of his 256 career wins and 2,020 of his 2,448 strikeouts with the Yankees.

11. (tie) Red Ruffing — 15 seasons

The Hall of Fame pitcher started his career with the Red Sox but had his best seasons with the Yankees, where he pitched from 1930-46. All of Ruffing’s six All-Star seasons and six World Series championships came in New York, including a run where he won six consecutive World Series starts between 1937 and ’42.

11. (tie) Roy White — 15 seasons (career Yankee)

White began his career during the Yankees’ World Series title drought of the mid ’60s and early ’70s, but he stuck around long enough to be a part of the back-to-back title-winning teams of 1977 and ’78, including being the starting left fielder for the 1978 Fall Classic.

Other notable Yankees:14 seasons — Don Mattingly*, Ron Guidry*, Brett Gardner*13 seasons — Joe DiMaggio*, Phil Rizzuto*, Lefty Gomez, Elston Howard12 seasons — Alex Rodriguez, Tony Lazzeri11 seasons — CC Sabathia, Thurman Munson*, Lou Piniella, Graig Nettles