NEW YORK YANKEES

The New York Yankees are the most successful team in Major League Baseball history. They have reigned over the sport of baseball and their accomplishments have been nothing short of brilliant. The Yankees have won twenty six and competed in 39 World Series titles. They have a sixty six percent win ratio when it comes to the coveted World Series title. 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 Stanley Cup championships of the Montreal Canadians of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is the only team that is represented at every position in the Baseball Hall of Fame. 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). 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 are a renowned team not only for their formidable history on the field, but also for their financial situation. The current ownership spends more on player salaries than any other franchise in baseball. As of 2004, the team payroll is more than $182 million, which is $51 million more than the second-highest team, the Red Sox, and more than the six lowest-payroll teams combined. Because of their perceived willingness to do anything and spend any amount for a championship, the Yankees are sometimes referred to as the "Mafia" and also occasionally as an "Evil Empire." The current stars for the New York Yankees are; Derek Jeter, Tino Martinez, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera, Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Tom Gordon, Felix Rodriguez, Paul Quantrill, Hideki Matsui, Jaret Wright, Tony Womack, Mike Stanton, Rubén Sierra, Gary Sheffield, Javier Vazquez, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams. The 1998-2000 Yankees were the first team to "three-peat" with World Series victories since the Oakland Athletics of the early 1970s. In 1998 and 1999, they swept the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves, respectively. In 2000, the Yankees met up with cross-town New York Mets for the first Subway Series since 1956 and won four games to one. In these four World Series victories, the Yankees won fourteen straight games. The Yankees are the last Major League Baseball team to date to have repeat World Series titles. In 2003, on the 13th of June, Roger Clemens (The Rocket) became the first pitcher since Nolan Ryan in 1990 to reach the 300 mark. The Rocket also joined another fraternity on that June 13th night at Yankee Stadium, striking out the 4,000th batter of his career. Only Ryan (5,714) and Steve Carlton (4,136) have more strikeouts than Clemens. After defeating the Twins in a four-game American League Division Series (ALDS) and taking a 3-0 lead over the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series (ALCS), the Yankees dropped their fourth consecutive game, becoming the first team in baseball history to lose a best-of-seven series after winning the first three games.