Yankee Stadium may be in the Bronx, but for generations, some of the team’s most recognizable names have had another home base just a few miles north.
Westchester County.
From Mariano Rivera and Bernie Williams to Andy Pettitte and Joe Girardi, Yankees players from the championship teams of the 1990s and 2000s discovered that living in Westchester offered something particularly appealing: large homes, privacy, good schools and a relatively easy drive to Yankee Stadium.
But the connection stretches much further back than the Core Four era.
One of baseball’s greatest icons, Babe Ruth, has his final resting place in Hawthorne. So does fiery Yankees player and manager Billy Martin.
Taken together, Westchester has quietly become an extension of Yankees country—with connections to some of the most famous names ever to wear pinstripes.
Mariano Rivera — Purchase, Rye, White Plains and New Rochelle
No Yankee may have a deeper connection to Westchester than Mariano Rivera.
The Hall of Fame closer arrived in the major leagues in 1995 and developed an early relationship with New Rochelle after meeting Yankees tailor and New Rochelle resident Joe Fosina.
Rivera later described New Rochelle as his hometown since arriving in the area in 1995. The connection went well beyond simply living nearby: he developed friendships there, became involved in the community and established philanthropic and religious ties to the city.
Eventually, Rivera and his family made their home in the Purchase area.
And it was quite a home.
The Riveras purchased a newly constructed estate in 2006 for $5.7 million. The approximately 13,000-square-foot residence had nine bedrooms along with a home theater, billiards room, gym, swimming pool, basketball area and perhaps the most appropriate room imaginable for a Yankees legend—a wood-paneled sports bar.
Rivera reportedly entertained teammates there.
The property carried a Rye mailing address but was located within the Harrison school district. Rivera eventually sold it in 2022 for approximately $3.8 million, after the family had moved to another custom-built home in White Plains.
But Rivera’s Westchester story isn’t simply celebrity real estate.
He and his wife Clara established the Refugio de Esperanza congregation, which eventually moved into a renovated church building in New Rochelle. Rivera has also been involved with charitable organizations throughout the county.
In 2019, after he became the first player unanimously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, New Rochelle celebrated him with a parade.
For Rivera, Westchester wasn’t merely where he slept between Yankees games.
It became home.
Bernie Williams — Armonk
Another member of the Yankees dynasty found a very different corner of Westchester.
Bernie Williams settled in Armonk.
Williams and his family purchased a home there in 1999, right in the middle of the Yankees’ remarkable championship run.
And his explanation for choosing the area may be one of the nicest endorsements Armonk has ever received.
Williams said his family fell in love with its quiet, countryside atmosphere and that the surroundings reminded him somewhat of the part of Puerto Rico where he grew up.
It wasn’t merely a temporary in-season address, either.
Williams was at his Armonk home on the morning of September 11, 2001, when he first saw news reports of a plane striking the World Trade Center. MLB later recounted his experience of watching the events unfold from Westchester and contacting teammates as the magnitude of what was happening became clear.
Williams remained connected to Westchester after his baseball career as he pursued his other great passion: music.
When he decided to formally study music at the Manhattan School of Music, MLB noted that the school was conveniently close to his Westchester home.
For Yankees fans who remember the quiet center fielder from those championship teams, Armonk somehow seems like an appropriate choice.
Andy Pettitte — Purchase
Mariano Rivera wasn’t the only Yankees pitching legend who discovered Purchase.
Andy Pettitte owned a home there, too.
Pettitte purchased his Purchase Estates residence in 2007 for approximately $3.98 million. The Colonial-style home contained about 6,800 square feet, six bedrooms and six-and-a-half bathrooms. Outside, the one-acre property included a swimming pool and spa.
Pettitte maintained strong ties to Texas throughout his career, but his Westchester residence provided a convenient New York base during his Yankees years.
And that convenience mattered.
During the Yankees’ 2009 championship season, Sports Illustrated described Pettitte making the drive from his Westchester home to the Bronx.
Think about that for a moment.
On November 4, 2009, Pettitte started Game 6 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Yankees won 7-3, clinching their 27th World Series championship.
And the man starting that game had essentially commuted to work from Westchester.
Pettitte eventually listed his Purchase home for $3.5 million in 2020.
Joe Girardi — Purchase
Purchase had another Yankee living nearby.
Joe Girardi.
Girardi sometimes gets remembered primarily as the manager who led the Yankees to the 2009 World Series championship, but before becoming their manager, he spent four seasons as a Yankees catcher from 1996 through 1999.
That means Girardi was behind the plate during the beginning of the Yankees dynasty.
He later settled with his wife Kim and their children in Purchase.
A 2012 profile in The New Yorker actually visited Girardi at his Westchester home, describing a six-bedroom stone-and-cedar residence located on the grounds of a private golf club.
And the article revealed a wonderful little piece of Yankees-Westchester history.
While driving toward Yankee Stadium, Girardi passed a gas station near White Plains and recalled that when he was the Yankees catcher, players’ wives would drop their husbands there so the players could carpool together into the Bronx.
Apparently, the Yankees commuter carpool was a real thing.
Girardi continued living in Purchase while managing the team. As late as 2017, MLB described the family gathering at their Purchase home to discuss whether he should continue in the demanding Yankees managerial job.
And Girardi’s Westchester connection produced one extraordinary story following the 2009 championship.
After the Yankees won the World Series, Girardi was driving home when he encountered a car accident on the Cross County Parkway in Eastchester.
He stopped.
Despite dangerous conditions, Girardi helped the driver until police arrived. The woman reportedly didn’t realize that the stranger helping her on the side of the highway was the manager who had just led the New York Yankees to a World Series championship.
That’s quite a way to end a championship night.
Joe Torre — New Rochelle and Harrison
Before Girardi was commuting from Purchase, Joe Torre was another Yankees manager making Westchester home.
And unlike Girardi, Torre had already enjoyed a distinguished playing career before becoming the Yankees manager, although he never played for the Yankees themselves.
When Torre took over the Yankees in 1996, he and his wife Ali initially rented a home in New Rochelle’s gated waterfront Premium Point community.
After the Yankees won the 1996 World Series, the Torres purchased a home in Harrison.
That timing is almost perfect.
Move to Westchester.
Take over the Yankees.
Win the World Series.
Buy the house.
Torre went on to manage the Yankees for 12 seasons, reaching six World Series and winning four championships.
His years in Harrison therefore coincided with one of the most successful periods in modern Yankees history.
Why Did So Many Yankees Choose Purchase and Harrison?
The cluster wasn’t accidental.
For a professional athlete playing in the Bronx, Westchester offers an unusual combination.
You’re close to work without necessarily feeling as though you’re living in New York City.
Purchase and Harrison offer large properties, privacy and easy access to major parkways. And unlike some celebrity enclaves, residents have historically been fairly accustomed to seeing prominent executives, athletes and public figures going about everyday life.
A 2011 look at professional baseball players living in Westchester found that privacy was a major attraction.
Harrison’s mayor at the time explained that residents generally left the players alone—they could shop, eat at restaurants and attend their children’s activities without constantly being approached for autographs.
That sounds remarkably similar to what attracts celebrities to Bedford today.
Privacy without isolation.
And for a Yankee, there’s another major advantage.
Yankee Stadium is just down the road.
Babe Ruth — Hawthorne
Westchester’s Yankees connection isn’t limited to players who lived here.
One of the most famous athletes in American history rests here.
George “Babe” Ruth Grave Site is located at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne.
Babe Ruth died in 1948 and was laid to rest in Westchester after his body lay in state at Yankee Stadium and his funeral was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
More than seven decades later, his grave remains a destination for baseball fans.
MLB has described thousands of people visiting the site, sometimes leaving baseballs, bats, flags and other mementos. One visitor even reportedly left a freshly delivered pizza.
It’s become something of an unofficial baseball pilgrimage.
And Ruth isn’t the only Yankees legend buried there.
Billy Martin — Hawthorne
A short distance from Babe Ruth lies another unmistakable Yankees personality.
Grave of Billy Martin is also at Gate of Heaven.
Billy Martin had one of the most turbulent—and fascinating—relationships with the Yankees of anyone in franchise history.
He played second base for the Yankees during the 1950s, won multiple World Series championships and later became the team’s manager.
And then became manager again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
George Steinbrenner famously hired Martin to manage the Yankees five separate times.
Martin died in an automobile accident on Christmas Day 1989. His funeral was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral before he was buried at Gate of Heaven in Hawthorne, near Babe Ruth.
His headstone includes a line that perfectly summarizes his complicated relationship with the franchise:
“I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I was the proudest.”
Today, two of the most colorful personalities in Yankees history rest within the same Westchester cemetery. The Archdiocese of New York specifically lists both Ruth and Martin among Gate of Heaven’s notable burials.
Westchester and the Yankees Dynasty
There’s something particularly interesting about the era represented by the Westchester Yankees.
Consider the names:
Mariano Rivera. Bernie Williams. Andy Pettitte. Joe Girardi. Joe Torre.
These weren’t simply random players passing through the organization.
They were central figures in a Yankees dynasty.
Rivera closed the games.
Williams patrolled center field.
Pettitte started some of the biggest games.
Girardi caught during the first championships and later managed another.
Torre managed the dynasty that won four World Series championships in five seasons.
And after the games ended and Yankee Stadium emptied, several of them headed in the same direction:
north.
Across the county line.
Into Westchester.
The Yankees Are Closer to Westchester Than You Might Think
For Westchester baseball fans, Yankee Stadium has always felt relatively close.
But the connection runs considerably deeper than a quick drive down the Saw Mill or Hutchinson River Parkway.
A Yankees legend built a life in New Rochelle.
A Hall of Fame center fielder found a piece of Puerto Rico in Armonk.
Championship teammates lived near one another in Purchase.
A Yankees catcher remembered carpooling with teammates from near White Plains.
Two of the most famous Yankees in history were laid to rest in Hawthorne.
And for decades, residents could occasionally find themselves standing in a grocery store, restaurant or local business next to someone they’d watched play at Yankee Stadium the night before.
Maybe that’s the most Westchester part of the story.
Some of baseball’s biggest stars came here precisely because Westchester allowed them, every once in a while, to simply be neighbors.