New York Yankees

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 as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two MLB clubs based in New York City, along with the New York Mets of the National League. The team was founded in 1903 when Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the franchise rights to the defunct Baltimore Orioles and used them to establish the New York Highlanders. The Highlanders were renamed the Yankees in 1913.

The team is owned by Yankee Global Enterprises, a limited liability company that is controlled by the family of the late George Steinbrenner. Steinbrenner purchased the team from CBS in 1973. As of 2025, Brian Cashman is the team's general manager, Aaron Boone is the team's field manager, and Aaron Judge is the team captain. The team's home games were played at the original Yankee Stadium in the Bronx from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. In 1974 and 1975, the Yankees shared Shea Stadium with the Mets, the New York Jets, and the New York Giants. In 2009, they moved into a new Yankee Stadium built next to the old one, which was demolished. The team is perennially among the leaders in MLB attendance.

Arguably the most successful professional sports franchise in the United States, the Yankees have won 21 American League East Division titles, 41 American League pennants, and 27 World Series championships, all of which are MLB records. The team has won more titles than any other franchise in the major North American sports leagues, although they trailed the NHL's Montreal Canadiens from 1993 to 1999. The Yankees have had 52 players and 11 managers inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, including iconic figures of the sport such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and Reggie Jackson; more recent inductees include Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter, who received the highest vote percentages of any Hall of Fame member. According to Forbes, the Yankees are the fourth-highest valued sports franchise in the world with an estimated value in 2024 of about $7.55 billion. The team has garnered enormous popularity and a dedicated fanbase, as well as widespread enmity from fans of other MLB teams. The team's rivalry with the Boston Red Sox is one of the best-known in North American sports. The team's logo is internationally known as a fashion item and an icon of New York City and the United States.

From 1903 through the 2024 season, the Yankees' win–loss record is 10,778–8,148–88 (a .569 winning percentage).

In 1900, Ban Johnson, the president of a minor league known as the Western League (1894–1899), changed the Western League name to the American League (AL) and asked the National League to classify it as a major league. Johnson held that his league would operate on friendly terms with the National League, but the National League demanded concessions which Johnson did not agree with and he declared major league status for the AL in 1901 anyway.

Plans to add an AL team in New York City were blocked by the NL's New York Giants. A team was instead placed in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1901 and named the Orioles. The Orioles were managed by John McGraw, who was also a part owner. After many personal clashes with Johnson, during the 1902 season McGraw jumped to become the new manager of the Giants, taking many players with him. The Orioles limped through the remainder of the season under league control, using a roster of players loaned from the rest of the AL clubs. The Orioles were disbanded at the end of the season.

In early 1903, the two leagues decided to settle their disputes and try to coexist. At a conference, Johnson requested that an AL team be put in New York, to play alongside the NL's Giants. It was put to a vote, and 15 of the 16 major league owners agreed on it. The franchise was awarded to Frank J. Farrell and William S. Devery.

The team's new ballpark, Hilltop Park (formally known as "American League Park"), was constructed in one of Upper Manhattan's highest points—between 165th and 168th Streets in the Washington Heights neighborhood. The team was named the New York Highlanders. Fans believed the name was chosen because of the team's elevated location in Upper Manhattan, or as a nod to team president Joseph Gordon's Scottish-Irish heritage (the Gordon Highlanders were a well known Scottish military unit). The land was owned by the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind and was leased to the Highlanders for 10 years.