Yankees' Aaron Judge, Spencer Jones and the tallest players in MLB history

Baseball players who are as tall as power forwards and centers in basketball are few and far between, so MLB fans can find it especially fascinating when a player of great height makes it to the big leagues.

That conversation was sparked earlier this month when the 6-foot-7 Spencer Jones -- an outfielder and one of the Yankees' top prospects -- was called up from the minors. The Yankees became the first MLB team  with multiple position players who are at least 6-7 in the same season, the other obviously being the 6-7 Aaron Judge, according to MLB.com researcher Sarah Langs.

While no 7-footers have played in MLB, there have been players who have towered over the likes of Judge and Jones. The tallest players in MLB history, including some who played for the Mets and Yankees, according to Stathead:

6-foot-11: Jon Rauch, Sean Hjelle

The tallest players in MLB history are righthanded relief pitchers.

Rauch had a 3.90 ERA over an 11-year career. He spent the 2012 season with the Mets, going 3-7 with four saves, a 3.59 ERA, 0.988 WHIP and 42 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings (73 games). His average fastball velocity was 90.7 mph that season.

Hjelle, who was with the Giants from 2022-25, is pitching for Japan’s Orix Buffaloes. In MLB, he has a 7-8 record, 5.11 ERA and 1.470 WHIP. He throws harder than Rauch did but is not among the sport’s elite flamethrowers, averaging 94.4 mph on his sinker and 93.2 mph on his fastball with San Francisco.

6-foot-10: Andrew Brackman, Paul Gervase, Eric Hillman, Randy Johnson, Noah Schultz, Andy Sisco, Aaron Slegers, Chris Young

Two of these eight pitchers are active: Gervase (Dodgers) and Schultz (White Sox). Two pitched for the Yankees: Johnson (2005-06) and Brackman (2011).

Johnson, was past his Hall of Fame prime with the Yankees (he was 42 in 2006), but he went 34-19 with a 4.37 ERA, 1.180 WHIP and 383 strikeouts in 430 2/3 innings. He was the tallest player in MLB history when he debuted in 1988. Brackman, the Yankees’ 30th overall pick in 2007, pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings in 2011, his only MLB experience. He also played basketball as a freshman at North Carolina State and was part of the Yankees’ “Killer B’s” prospect trio with Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos. Sisco was in 2011 spring training with the Yankees and pitched for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Hillman (1992-94) and Young (2011-12) pitched for the Mets.

Hillman pitched all 49 of his career games (36 starts) with the Mets, going 4-14 with a 4.85 ERA, 1.422 WHIP and 96 strikeouts in 232 innings. Young had a 13-year career and started 24 games for the Mets, going 5-9 with a 3.76 ERA, 1.281 WHIP and 102 strikeouts in 139 innings. Young, a star basketball player at Princeton, now is president of baseball operations for the Texas Rangers and helped lead them to the 2023 World Series title.

6-foo-9: Terry Bross, Johnny Gee, Mark Hendrickson, John Holdzkom, Adam McCreery, Alex Meyer, Kam Mickolio, Jeff Niemann, Bailey Ober, Johan Quezada, Lane Ramsey

Each of these 11 players is a pitcher. One is active -- Ober, a starter for the Twins.

The only one who played for the Mets or Yankees was Bross, who debuted with the Mets in 1991 and pitched in eight games that season. Bross, who also played basketball at St. John’s, had a 1.80 ERA, five strikeouts and three walks in 10 innings. He pitched in only two more MLB games, both with San Francisco in 1993.

Gee had a 4.41 ERA in six seasons and made his last appearance for the New York Giants in 1946. He also played college basketball at Michigan and later for the pro Syracuse Nationals. The Mets also selected Holdzkom in the fourth round of the 2006 MLB Draft.

Hendrickson, who had a 5.03 ERA in 10 MLB seasons (2002-11), also played 114 NBA games, 27 with the Nets (1999-00).

6-foot-8: 55 players

Of this group, four have played for both the Yankees and Mets: Dellin Betances, Lee Guetterman, Graeme Lloyd and Tony Clark.

Betances, the righthanded reliever who had a career 2.53 ERA, earned four consecutive All-Star nods (2014-17) with the Yankees (2011, ‘13-19). He allowed 11 runs in 12 2/3 innings as a Met (2020-21).

Guetterman, a lefty reliever who pitched in 11 big-league seasons, had a 3.73 ERA with the Yankees (1988-92). He was sent to the Mets in a rare trade between the teams, posting a 5.82 ERA in 43 1/3 innings with them.

Lloyd, another lefty reliever, won World Series titles with the Yankees in 1996 and 1998, posting a 3.51 ERA in three seasons with them (1996-98). The Australian had a 3.31 ERA with the Mets in 2003.

Clark, a first baseman, had a .232/.300/.472 slash line with the Mets in 2003 and a .221/.297/.458 slash line with the Yankees in 2004. He hit 16 homers each season.

Righthanders Billy Taylor and Joe Vitko also pitched for the Mets. Taylor allowed 12 runs in 13 1/3 innings for the Mets in 1999. Vitko allowed seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings with the Mets in 1992, his only MLB experience.

Five other 6-8 players played for the Yankees: Chris Martin, Brandon McCarthy, Jeff Nelson, Stephen Ridings and Stefan Wever.

Martin had a 5.66 ERA in 20 2/3 relief innings for the Yankees in 2015. McCarthy, traded to the Yankees in July 2014, went 7-5 with a 2.89 ERA in 14 starts with them that season.

Nelson went 23-19 with a 3.47 ERA in six seasons for the Yankees (1996-2000, ‘03). He won four World Series with the Yankees and had a 3.12 ERA for them in six postseasons.

Ridings, from Huntington, had a 1.80 ERA in five relief appearances for the Yankees in 2021, his only MLB experience. Wever pitched one game for the Yankees on Sept. 17, 1982, allowing eight earned runs in 2 2/3 innings in a 14-0 loss to the Brewers.

Eleven 6-8 players have played in MLB in 2026.

Eight 6-8 players have earned All-Star nods in MLB history: Felix Bautista, Betances, Gene Conley, Tyler Glasnow, Nelson and J.R. Richard.

6-foot-7 METS

John Candelaria (1987), Miguel Castro (2020-21), Jeff D’Amico (2002), Aaron Harang (2013), Jared Hughes (2020), Tylor Megill (2021-present), Bryce Montes de Oca (2022), Tom Parsons (1964-65), Mike Pelfrey (2006-12), Michael Tonkin (2024)

6-foot-7 YANKEES

T.J. Beam (2006), Rich Bordi (1985, ‘87), John Candelaria (1988-89), Miguel Castro (2022), Ben Ford (2000), Spencer Jones (2026-present), Jeff Juden (1999), Aaron Judge (2016-present), Slim Love (1916-18), Andrew Miller (2015-16), Bobby Munoz (1993), Scott Patterson (2008), Dave Pavlas (1995-96), Michael Pineda (2014-17), Dennis Rasmussen (1984-87), Richie Sexson (2008), Tim Stoddard (1986-88), Michael Tonkin (2024), Mike Witt (1990-91, ‘93).

AND THE SHORTEST? . . .

The shortest player in MLB history was Eddie Gaedel, who was 3-7 and made a plate appearance Aug. 19, 1951, for the St. Louis Browns. The publicity stunt was the brainchild of team owner Bill Veeck. Gaedel wore the uniform number "1/8," and walked on four pitches by Detroit's Bob Cain. He was replaced by a pinch-runner and never played in another game, his contract being voided the next day by the American League.