About the New York Yankees

History

• The New York Yankees were formed as the Baltimore Orioles in 1901 when the old Western League added three new teams and changed their name to the American League. They played in Maryland for the first two years, then moved to New York and became known as the New York Highlanders because they played at Hill Top Park, the highest point in Manhattan. They did not become the Yankees until 1913 and from 1913 to 1922, the Yankees played their home games in the Polo Grounds, right across the river from the place where Yankee Stadium would be built.

Home Field

• As of 2009, the New York Yankees will be playing their home games in a new Yankee Stadium. The new stadium has a capacity of 52,325 people, including standing room. There are less seats than at the old stadium, which had a capacity of 56,696, but now they have more leg room, the seats are wider and the field-level seats are padded and come with cup holders. The new Yankee Stadium is 63% larger than the old, with an additional 500,000 square feet. It has 13 different restaurants compared to four for the old stadium. The new additions include a sports bar, a martini bar, two food courts and an outdoor patio.

Great Yankee Teams

• The Yankees of 1927 won the American League pennant with a record of 110-44, 19 games ahead of the second place Philadelphia Athletics. They went on to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates in four straight games in the World Series. The 1936 team won the American League pennant with a 102-51 record, 19 ½ games ahead of the Detroit Tigers. They won the World Series four games to two over the New York Giants. This was also the year Joe DiMaggio made his first appearance. The 1956 Yankees did not win the pennant by as much of a margin. They finished with a 97 - 57 record, nine games ahead of the Cleveland Indians, but they were able to defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers, who defeated the Yankees the year before, by a four-games-to-three margin in the World Series. This was also the year that Yankee pitcher Don Larson pitched the only perfect game in World Series history.

Great Moments in Franchise HIstory

• There is hardly a year when the Yankees have not had at least one moment that will be remembered for as long as baseball is played, but there are some that are more memorable than others. When Reggie Jackson hit three home runs in game six of the 1977 World Series, he proved he really was Mr. October. The fact that he hit each one on the first pitch makes it even more remarkable. Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's single season home run record in 1961, but this was the year that the season was expanded to 162 games and since it took him more games to set the record than it did Ruth, it was entered in the record books with an asterisk. One of the greatest moments does not involve a game, but a person. Lou Gehrig was just 35 years old in 1939 when he was forced to retire from baseball because of the disease that would take his life two years later. On July 4, 1939, the Yankees hosted Lou Gehrig Day, and he said goodbye to his teammates and fans by saying he considered himself to be the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.

Famous Players

• Yankee players have done some impressive things over the years. From May 15th to July 16, 1941, Joe DiMaggio had a hit in 56 consecutive games. Pitcher Whitey Ford has the most career wins of any pitcher in Yankee history--236. Red Ruffing pitched for the Yankees in the 1930s and in a time when there were fewer games in a season than there are today, he won 20 games four seasons in a row--1936 to 1939. Goose Gossage was one of the first closers in baseball. He racked up 310 saves in his career.