The top five leaders on the 2020 New York Yankees in wins above replacement (WAR) were DJ LeMahieu (2.9), Gerrit Cole (2.2), Gio Urshela (1.9), Clint Frazier (1.5) and Luke Voit (1.5). Each player entered the year with high expectations and finished with impressive performances during the pandemic-shortened season, and here now we’ll take a look at some of their standout 2020 accomplishments.

There are plenty of ways to sum up a player’s on-field excellence using highfalutin analytical figures and statistics, but in baseball, a home run still packs the same punch it always has.

For Luke Voit, thanks in part to a leaner and meaner physique, the punches just kept on coming as he mashed his way to a Major League-best and career-high 22 homers in 2020, needing just 56 games to do it.

The last Yankee to lead MLB in home runs was Alex Rodriguez in 2007, the year he hit 54 bombs and captured his third MVP trophy in five years. Only seven other Yankees players in history have led both leagues in home runs -- A-Rod, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and Wally Pipp -- before Voit added his name to that esteemed list.

With all the unforeseen obstacles, delays to the season, travel changes and new health measures Voit and his Yankees teammates were forced to overcome, being able to perform at the highest level carried that much more significance.

Not only was Voit able to help carry the Yankees to the playoffs, he did it while battling plantar fasciitis for much of the year, or “foot stuff,” as it came to be known.

“To be going out there and doing what he’s doing with a hurt foot,” John Flaherty remarked in September, “he just seems to me to be a guy that there are no excuses. ‘My name’s in the lineup, I expect to be there every day, I’m going to be a productive player.’”

Alongside fellow Yankees infielder and 2020 AL batting champion DJ LeMahieu, Voit and The Machine became the first pair of teammates to claim both the batting crown and home run crown in the same season since Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews of the 1959 Braves.

“I just feel more compact, stronger. One thing this year too is I’m finishing with two hands. I think that’s helping me with my bat path through the zone and getting better extension,” Voit said of his 2020 power surge.

With his 20th home run of the year against the Blue Jays on Sept. 17, Voit became just the third Yankee ever to hit at least 20 homers through the Yankees' first 50 games of a season, joining Babe Ruth (1926, 1928, 1930) and Mickey Mantle (1956).

Voit also homered six times across five straight games from Aug. 17-26, becoming the 11th Yankee to homer in at least five consecutive games.

Considering the number of Hall of Famers and all-time baseball legends worn Yankees pinstripes, Voit’s accomplishments were an amazing thing to behold.

“We’re seeing the growth of a really good hitter that’s gone to another level,” Aaron Boone said in mid-September. “It’s hard to imagine where we’d be without Luke Voit.”

As fans have grown accustomed to seeing over the years, general manager Brian Cashman has made a habit out of acquiring players like Voit, Gio Urshela and DJ LeMahieu (to name a few) and watching them blossom into All-Star and MVP-caliber players upon arrival.

Voit was traded from the St. Louis Cardinals for relievers Chasen Shreve and Giovanny Gallegos back in July 2018, and he’s been worth every penny since.

On top of his on-field contributions and toughness, what makes Voit an even more important figure for the Bombers is his willingness to be a vocal leader and to tell it like it is.

He spurred on his team to turn around their midseason struggles when times were tough and was the first to announce the Yankees had their swagger back once the bats were heating up again.

“A couple weeks ago, I don’t think teams were scared of us. Now we’re back to being the Bronx Bombers,” Voit said with confidence back on Sept.16.

But in turn, after struggling against the Rays’ formidable pitching staff in this year’s ALDS, Voit admitted “I feel like I let my team down” when speaking to the media after Game 5.

“I hate this feeling. It sucks,” said Voit. “This is the third year in a row going through it, so I’m going to use it in every workout, every BP session, every cage session I have and be ready for spring training next year.”