Unprecedented Yankee Loyalty???

As the Yankees seem to be set going into 2012 with the same position players as 2011, in this era of free agents that the Yankees have led the way in, it seems there's more loyalty between players and club than at any point in Yankee history.

We know that Jeter, Posada and Rivera set the record for most seasons together for 3 teammates.

We also know that Jeter, Posada, Rivera and Pettitte set the record for most seasons together for 4 teammates.

There are also a lot of Yankee records being set right now in terms of teammate tenure.

Let's start in the infield where the Teixeira-Cano-Jeter-ARod infield will be starting its 4th season together. No Yankee infield has ever surpassed 3 years together as a quartet. 6 different times an infield quartet has put together 3 seasons in a row, all 6 groups won pennants (the most recent being the Tino/Knoblauch/Jeter/Brosius infield from '98 to '00). This will be the first group to hit 4 years together.

Now let's break off Teixeira from the group and just look at Cano, Jeter and ARod. They are in their 8th year together as starters and Jeter and ARod going into their 9th year as the left side of the infield. The 1977 to 1981 Yankees of Randloph, Dent and Nettles had the previous and now shattered Yankee record of 5 consecutive seasons as the 2B, SS and 3B starters for the Yankees. Just SS and 3B used to be held by Frankie Crosetti and Red Rolfe at 6 years together from '35 to '40 before ARod and Jeter.

Now on to the outfield where Gardner, Granderson and Swisher look to put their 3rd straight season together as the Yankee outfield (none of them coming to the Yankees as free agents). Three years together as an outfield for the Yankees is something that hasn't been done in a very long time. Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill played side-by-side for 9 seasons, but nobody could hold the leftfield spot for more than 2. We have to go all the way back to the 1950s to find a Yankee outfield that spent 3 consecutive years together when Gene Woodling, Mickey Mantle and Hank Bauer played together from '52 to '54. The only outfield that was together for more than 3 years, was the 5 seasons the great Yankee outfield of Babe Ruth, Earle Combs and Bob Meusel played together from 1925 through 1929.

Then when you combine the two, the 2010 to 2012 Yankees will have the opportunity to be just the 1st Yankee ball club since the 1920s to keep the same infield and outfield intact. Both the '22 to '24 and '26 to '28 clubs achieved that feat.

For a club known to be the big movers and shakers of baseball, they're not doing much moving or shaking.