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A tiny percentage of people ever become the face of a franchise. It is a title available to players, coaches and executives. It is a role earned through popularity and/or potential and/or longevity and/or achievement. Decade after decade, the defining faces of New York sports have often included all-time legends. Sometimes, someone holds the distinction …
A tiny percentage of people ever become the face of a franchise.
It is a title available to players, coaches and executives. It is a role earned through popularity and/or potential and/or longevity and/or achievement.
Decade after decade, the defining faces of New York sports have often included all-time legends. Sometimes, someone holds the distinction less than a season.
Even in the midst of New York’s eight-year title drought, its teams still boast some of sports’ most significant names.
Below are today’s top 10 faces in New York sports, as ranked by The Post’s sports department:
1. Aaron Judge
He isn’t just the biggest star on the most storied franchise in American sports. After Judge’s jaw-dropping 2017 Home Run Derby performance, commissioner Rob Manfred said he “can become the face of the game.” Potentially the next link in the near-unbreakable, century-long chain of Yankees icons, Judge, 27, combines Ruth’s and Mantle’s power with DiMaggio’s and Jeter’s grace, having turned the team back into a title contender while turning each of his at-bats into events. In late-May of 2017, with Judge on his way to a then-rookie record 52 home runs and a second-place MVP finish, Yankee Stadium unveiled an unprecedented seating section in right field dedicated to the ever-popular outfielder — who has led MLB jersey sales for three straight years — called “Judge’s Chambers.”
2. Pete Alonso
It felt as if the Mets might never again have a star so proudly represent the franchise as David Wright did. It took one season to shoot that theory down. With an all-time debut season, Alonso, 25, broke Judge’s rookie record with 53 home runs, while also winning the Home Run Derby and NL Rookie of the Year honors. With a mix of power, passion and affability, Alonso became an instant favorite of fans, coaches and the front office.
3. Jacob deGrom
The shortstop drafted in the ninth round out of Stetson was initially overshadowed by Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard. He was perceived to have a lower ceiling than Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz. Now, deGrom is building a case for the Hall of Fame. Already among the sport’s best starters, deGrom secured legendary status the past two seasons with back-to-back Cy Young Awards. In his 171 career starts, deGrom, who signed a $137.5 million contract extension last year, has allowed fewer than two runs more than any pitcher — in as many games — since 1908.
4. Saquon Barkley
“He was touched by the hand of God,” Giants general manager Dave Gettleman said after selecting the running back with the second-overall pick in 2018. The once-in-a-generation talent reached the Pro Bowl as the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year and has amassed more than 3,400 yards from scrimmage and 23 touchdowns in two seasons. The chiseled, hard-working, wide-smiling back may have been more valuable in a different era, but Barkley remains a talent like few the league has ever seen.
5. James Dolan
It was just 15 months ago that Kristaps Porzingis was still the face of the franchise, an honor he could have held for another decade or so before forcing a trade. The Knicks then held hope Kevin Durant would join, but the team’s toxicity sent the former MVP and Kyrie Irving to Brooklyn’s smaller stage instead. So, the face of the Knicks remains the constant in a two-decade run as the worst team in the NBA, during which Dolan has overseen just two winning seasons since 2001, while failing to make the playoffs since 2013. In addition to being blamed for the team’s lack of success, the thin-skinned owner keeps himself in the spotlight with incidents like the ejection of beloved Knick Charles Oakley, a recent feud with Spike Lee and the banning of several fans from Madison Square Garden for criticizing Dolan, who is repeatedly showered with chants to sell the team.
6. Sam Darnold
More than five decades after their only Super Bowl, the Jets’ search for Joe Namath’s replacement continues. Darnold, whom the Jets traded up to take with the third-overall pick in 2018, was the highest-drafted quarterback the team has taken since landing Namath with the No. 1-overall pick in the 1965 AFL draft. Since becoming the youngest opening-day starting quarterback in NFL history (21 years, 97 days old), Darnold has had mixed results, going 11-15 in two seasons while also missing six games to injury/illness. Still, he represents hope for a fan base largely void of it.
7. Kevin Durant
Durant is so talented, so accomplished, so famous, that he joins this group before playing one second with the Nets. The 31-year-old, two-time Finals MVP left one of the greatest dynasties of all time to build his brand and elevate his legacy in New York. Barring any issues with his ruptured Achilles tendon, which kept him off the court this season, Durant is a lock to leap up the list soon.
8. Daniel Jones
After a generation with two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, the Giants opened a new era when the 22-year-old Jones displaced the 16-year veteran early last season. The heavily criticized, sixth-overall pick of the 2019 draft set several rookie records with the Giants, throwing for 3,027 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, as the team finished 4-12.
9. Artemi Panarin
Henrik Lundqvist has been replaced in more than one way. After more than a decade with the now-backup goaltender proudly representing the Rangers, Panarin has taken the torch. The 28-year-old Russian became the highest-paid winger in the league after leaving Columbus to sign a seven-year, $81.5 million deal with the Rangers on July 1, and had a brilliant debut on Broadway, producing 32 goals and 63 assists to enter the Hart Trophy conversation.
10. Brian Cashman
During an era when the Steinbrenners have stepped back from the spotlight, Cashman is the Yankees’ front office constant public presence. Promoted in 1998 as the second-youngest general manager in history, Cashman, 52, has elevated into one of the most trusted executives in sports, constructing winners with homegrown talent and high-priced additions.
