There is no other team in the Major League Baseball that can even compare to the success of the New York Yankees. From their countless World Series championship rings (26) and appearances to their legendary players that changed the game, New York Yankee baseball is the face of the MLB of the past, present and the future.
Not only are the Yankees the most dominant team in Major League Baseball history, but the players that have put on the pinstripes over the years have seemed to define and change the game over its many years of existence. History has been made all throughout New York Yankees baseball whether you go back to the days of the “Great Bambino” Babe Ruth who is the arguably the best player ever to play the game and his teammate Lou Gehrig who practically changed the game into an exciting and popular event or you follow the progression all the way to today’s game, the Yankees have always seemed to be relevant in the world of sports.
After the Babe there was the Joe DiMaggio era, where we witnessed the tragic end of Lou Gehrig’s amazing baseball career and the emergence of the one of the greatest hitters ever in DiMaggio with a hitting streak that still continues to impressive to this day as he holds the record for most consecutive games with a hit with 56 consecutive games.
After Jumpin’ Joe came and went, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris burst onto the baseball scene and would continued to redefine the game in classic Yankee tradition. Considered as one of the best homerun hitters and center fielders to play the game, Mickey Mantle was the star attraction for the Yankees for many years until Maris came on the team and seemingly did the impossible by breaking Babe Ruth’s single season homerun record of 60 homeruns with 61 of his own 1961 which in some circles is considered the most memorable of all the New York Yankees seasons. The two superstars were referred to as the M&M boys in the four seasons they played together before Mantle called it quits.
In 1973, a flamboyant shipbuilder named George Steinbrenner bought the New York Yankees franchise from CBS for $8.7 million. With Steinbrenner running the show he tried to improve all aspects of the Yankees by both repairing the stadium and using free agency as a way to improve the Yankees in the best team in the MLB for many years.
As a result of free agency, the Yankees were able to get hard hitting superstar Reggie Jackson to come to New York where he earned the nickname Mr. October after hitting a remarkable four homeruns in the 1977 World Series.
After the Jackson era and the beginning of a nasty Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees rivalry the Yanks went into a slump period with only one real superstar running the show in New York which was first baseman Don Mattingly.
It wasn’t until the mid 90s that the Yankees began to reclaim their winning ways of old with future hall famers like Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettite turning the team around into a perennial World Series contenders and eventually 4 time World Series champions.
With this young core of very talented players in pinstripes, the Yankees absolutely dominated the mid 90s to the end of the century winning four World Series titles in five years.
As those young players of the 90s have begun to show their age, the Yankees have steadily declined over the years. Although they are always a contender in every season, the Boston Red Sox have become the dominant team in the American League over the past few years by winning two World Series championships.
Even though the Red Sox are relevant once again, the sight of any Yankees Jerseys on the opposing side is always a huge threat as the Yankees are still considered one of the best teams in the MLB today.
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