MANHATTAN — Who’s your favorite Yankee? The Captain or the Bambino, the Yankee Clipper or the Commerce Comet?
New Yorkers had their say on their favorite players in a Quinnipiac University Poll released Friday, and legendary Yankee slugger and outfielder Babe Ruth and shortstop Derek Jeter came out head and shoulders above the rest, with 23 percent each.
Rounding out the fan favorites, Joe DiMaggio grabbed nine percent, Lou Gehrig eight percent and Mickey Mantle six percent.
Women showed their admiration for Jeter in large numbers, with the popular pitch-man garnering 30 percent of female votes to Ruth’s 16 percent, a nearly 2-to-1 margin.
The Babe was tops among men, backing the Bambino 29 percent compared to Jeter's 18 percent.
When broken down by age, the generation gaps were clear. Voters between 18 and 34 preferred Jeter, those from 35 to 64 like the Babe, while those older loved DiMaggio.
Citywide, New Yorkers preferred the Bronx Bombers to the Mets by a wide margin, 59 percent to 26 percent. A surprising three percent said their favorite team was the Boston Red Sox.
Even in the Mets' Queens home, baseball fans polled preferred the Yankees over the Mets 45 to 37 percent.
Quinnipiac University polled 1,528 New Yorkers. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent.
