The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of two major league clubs based in New York City, the other being the National League’s (NL) New York Mets. The Yankees began play in the 1901 season as the Baltimore Orioles (no relation to the modern Baltimore Orioles). In 1903, Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the franchise after it ceased operations and moved it to New York City, renaming the club the New York Highlanders. The Highlanders were officially renamed the New York Yankees in 1913.
Who are the best Yankees of all time?
Here are the most notable names to wear each uniform number in franchise history, with player value and championship titles used as determining factors:
1: Billy Martin
A fierce competitor, Martin played an integral part in four World Series-winning clubs as a player during the 1950s, then added another ring while managing the club in 1977. Martin had five separate stints managing the Yankees, and his .333 World Series batting average is sixth all time among players with at least 75 at-bats.
2: Derek Jeter
A first-ballot Hall of Famer, Jeter led the franchise to five World Series titles and seven pennants from 1995-2014. He was the 1996 AL Rookie of the Year, a 14-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger, five-time Gold Glover and the MVP of the 2000 World Series.
3: Babe Ruth
Simply put, Ruth was the most outstanding player in baseball history. The “Great Bambino” ushered in a new era, twice outhomering every other AL team. Ruth hit 659 of his 714 career home runs as a Yankee from 1920-34, retiring with a lifetime .342 batting average.
4: Lou Gehrig
A uniquely durable, power-hitting first baseman who played in 2,130 consecutive games from 1925-39, the “Iron Horse” was a two-time MVP Award winner who compiled a .340 batting average and won the 1934 Triple Crown. Gehrig drove in at least 100 runs in 13 straight seasons and holds the AL record with 184 RBIs in 1931.
5: Joe DiMaggio
The graceful “Yankee Clipper” was a sensational hitter for both average and power, patrolling the outfield with a powerful and accurate arm. A two-time batting champion and three-time MVP Award winner, DiMaggio hit .325 with 361 homers from 1936-51, losing three years (1943-45) to military service.
Yankees start with a bang
As big-dog moves go, as a way to remove any doubt about who’s in charge, it’s hard to beat 876 feet of home runs in the first 10 minutes.
So it was on Tuesday, when the Yankees, as they have so many times before, made themselves at home at Target Field. Aaron Judge drove Cole Sands’ seventh pitch, a helpless fastball in the middle of the plate, halfway up the juniper bushes in center field, 431 feet away. Giancarlo Stanton soon outdid his teammate, launching a blast 445 feet, onto the second deck above the bullpens.
The fireworks concluded, the Yankees proceeded to grind out a fairly standard-issue drubbing of the Twins, 10-4 in their home away from home. New York has lost in Minneapolis only a dozen times in Target Field’s 13-year history.
Oh, Minnesota kept the game close for awhile, handing righthander Jameson Taillon — who last week carried a perfect game into the eighth inning — his worst start of the season. They peppered the righthander with nine hits, three of them by Jorge Polanco, including an RBI double and a solo home run, and knocked Taillon out before he retired a batter in the fifth. They even brought the tying run to the plate in that inning.
Why did Ban Johnson name the Yankees Baltimore Orioles?
Ban Johnson’s dream of naming his team after New York City was shattered by the National League team. It was NL’s team New York Giants, now known as the San Francisco Giants, who blocked Johnson from establishing a team in their city. Hence, Ban Johnson had to form his team in another place, Baltimore, Maryland.
After around 12 years, the team was officially named the New York Yankees. Although, they had already moved their base to New York City in 1903, after solving the dispute with the NL team. However, the team was known as the New York Highlanders.
The century-old team, New York Yankees, has come a long way in establishing their dominance as one of the top teams. However, since 2009, the franchise has not clinched the Fall Series title.
How many titles do Yankees have?
The Yankees getting the label is a no-brainer for sure. The Yanks have 26 World Series titles, the most championships of any professional sports franchise in the world. Adding to that, the Yankees have been a prime destination for major Free Agents since free agency was introduced to Major League Baseball.
But, why does this make them an Evil Empire? Is there anything so wrong, so maniacal, about spending money and putting every financial resource possible into fielding a respectable and playoff-contending baseball team?
Looking at the other side, the Yankees are scrutinized no matter what they do. General Manager Brian Cashman is called “incompetent” when he doesn’t land pitchers like Johan Santana. However, when in the following offseason Cashman brings in pitchers C.C. Sabathia and AJ Burnett, the Yankees go back to their place as the notorious ’empire,’ stealing away all the players from small-market teams. Those same teams who were unwilling to meet the contract demands of the player, which would explain that player being in free agency.
While most say that the Yankees have ‘bought’ their championships, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Most Yankee legends — Thurman Munson, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Don Mattingly, Ron Guidry, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter, for a short list — were all “home-grown” talent, meaning the Yankees drafted or signed these players as amateurs and groomed them into the stars they came to be and all of them at one point contributed to a championship.
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