| The New York
Yankees are a Major League baseball team based in The Bronx, New York
City. They are one of five teams that play in the Eastern Division
of the American League. The Yankees have also been known as the Baltimore
Orioles (1901-1902) and New York Highlanders (1903-1910). On January
9, 1903 Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the defunct Baltimore
Orioles (1901-02) franchise from the American League (AL) for $18,000
and then moved the team to Manhattan. In 1903-1912, the team was known
as the New York Highlanders and played their first game in Washington,
on April 22, 1903, but lost. In 1913, the New York Highlanders changed
their name to the New York Yankees. The Yankees struggled until January
3, 1920, when they purchased the contract of Babe
Ruth, a talented pitcher and blossoming slugger, from the Boston
Red Sox. They purchased Babe Ruth's contract from the Red Sox for
$125,000. Other New York Yankee greats are Lou Gehrig who is the only
Yankee to hit four consecutive home runs. Then there is the legendary
Mickey Mantle, who played his whole professional baseball career for
the New York Yankees. He played centre field and was known for being
a switch-hitter. Mantle hit the longest measured home-run ever in
a major league game. In 1974 Mickey Mantle was inducted into the Baseball
Hall of Fame; his uniform number 7 was retired by the Yankees (he
had briefly worn the number 6, as a continuation to Babe Ruth's 3,
Lou Gehrig's 4, and Joe DiMaggio's 5, in 1951, but the pressure on
him that this caused led to his being switched to number 7 later in
that season.) In 1956 Mantle won the Hickok Belt as top professional
athlete of the year. On January 16, 1961 Mantle became the highest
paid baseball player by signing a $75,000 contract. In his best season,
Mantle won the Triple Crown and the MVP, batting .353 with 52 homers
and 130 RBI in one of the best all-around seasons ever. He led with
132 runs scored and a .705 slugging percentage, becoming just the
ninth man to top the .700 barrier. His 1.172 OPS was the 20th best
in history, and he posted a 1.426 TA. He stole 10 bases in 11 tries.
The Yankees Uniform colors are, midnight navy blue with white or gray
and the home uniform has distinctive pinstripes. The logo design for
the New York Yankees is an interlocking "NY". The New York
Yankees ballpark is Yankee Stadium. The New York Yankees have won
twenty six World Series'(1923, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938,
1939, 1941, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958,
1961, 1962, 1977, 1978, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000) five of which are
consecutive, have been American League Champions thirty nine times
(1921, 1922, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939,
1941, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956,
1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981,
1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003), American League East Division
Champions thirteen times (1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1994 (unofficial),
1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003) and have been Wild Card
twice in 1995(AL) and 1997(AL). The New York Yankees have won 26 and
competed in 39 World Series. These numbers dominate the sport, considering
the St. Louis Cardinals and the Athletics franchise are tied for second
on the list with 9 World Series victories each, and the Giants franchise
is second with 15 World Series appearances. Among the North American
major sports, their success is only approached by the 24 Stanleya
Cup championships of the Montreal Canadians of the National Hockey
League. It is the only team that is represented at every position
in the Baseball Hall of Fame. |
