The New York Yankees defeat the New York Giants in the 1923 World Series - pinstripnation.com
The New York Yankees are now known as one of the greatest professional sports franchises in history. The question is how did they get to this point?
How did this franchise pave the way for the Babe Ruth’s to the Derek Jeter’s of the world?
How Did the New York Yankees Get Their Start?
The New York Yankees began their career in Baltimore, Maryland, ironically as the Baltimore Orioles for two years in the American League. In 1903, Frank Farrell and Bill Devery acquired the team and moved the struggling squad to New York.
From 1903-12, the team played at Hilltop Park under the name of the New York Highlanders. Because they played in the American League, local sportswriters called the team the “Yanks” or the “Yankees.”
In 1913, the Highlanders moved to the Polo Grounds and officially became the New York Yankees. The team then moved to Yankee Stadium (“The House that Ruth Built,” nicknamed after Yankee crusher Babe Ruth) from 1923-2008. The team then moved into the current Yankee Stadium, where they have played since 2009.
They were irrelevant for 18 years until the Yankees poached Ruth from the Boston Red Sox in 1920 for cash and a loan from Fenway Park in Boston.
Beginning of a Winning Culture
From 1920 to 1922, the Yankees won three consecutive AL Championships and finally won their first World Series in 1923.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the Yankees won 11 pennants and eight World Series Championships, led by Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio. Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Ruth were three’s company to a lineup known as “Murderer’s Row.”
1927 Ruth and “Murderer’s Row”
At the turn of the decade, Ruth hit 60 home runs, a record for 43 straight years until Roger Marris hit 61 in 1961. Along with Ruth’s power, Gehrig was a clutch hitter, driving in 175 RBIs.
Because of them and their cultural phenomenon, Murderer’s Row was created. Many baseball fanatics today consider the 1927 Yanks to be the greatest team of all time. Even younger generations of baseball content creators and podcasters like myself would agree.
1940s Continued Dominance
While this would be the end of Gehrig and Ruth’s career in pinstripes, it was time to pass it on to the next generation of Yankee greats to continue the winning tradition set by the previous generation.
In came star DiMaggio, who started a run of three continuous league pennants (1941-43) and two World Series Championships (1941, 1943). This led to five more World Series Crowns (1949-53) headed by manager Casey Stengel. Stengel would go on to win 10 AL pennants and seven World Series titles while managing the team for 12 seasons.
DiMaggio had help getting business done, including Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto (Holy Cow), and Hank Bauer.
1956 Perfect Game
Perhaps one of the greatest World Series Championship moments under Stengal’s leadership was Don Larson’s perfect game vs the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game Five of the 1956 World Series.
With the series knotted at two and the Yankees needing a win to avenge their World Series defeat to the Dodgers in 1955, Larson sparkled on the mound and went 27 up and 27 down in nine innings.
For baseball purists, this was back when the starting pitchers went nine innings, and relievers were seldom heard of.
Title Droughts, George Steinbrenner and Reggie Jackson
After another period of greatness during the late 1950s and early 1960s (showcasing World Series Titles in 1958, 1961, and 1962), the Yankees dipped their toes into a pool of mediocrity and despair.
Then, hope came in 1977 when Billy Martin was the Yankees Manager, and a questionable owner named George Steinbrenner made a splash signing by acquiring Reggie Jackson.
The Yankees’ World Series title drought ended later that year when Jackson gave one of the best postseason performances. Jackson hit three home runs in Game 6 of the World Series, allowing the Bombers to win the game and the series four games to two over the LA Dodgers.
Multiple Firings and Rehirings of Martin by Steinbrenner
This would be manager Martin’s only World Series title behind the bench with the club. One of the most memorable parts of Steinbrenner and Martin’s two decades together was Steinbrenner’s stubborn act of firing and rehiring him repeatedly. This led to another decade of mediocrity and overpaid stars on the team.
1996-2007 Return to Wonder Under Joe Torre
The Yankees returned to the peak of the baseball mountain for twelve seasons under manager Joe Torre. Torre, who would develop a reputation as a firm and tough manager, also collaborated with Steinbrenner to buy all the best athletes and spend whatever it took to win.
This led to six AL championships and four World Series titles (1996, 1998-2000), but it also began an era of the Yankees having the highest payroll in baseball. It was so big that it was close to ten times larger than the team with the smallest payroll in the game.
This also allowed the owner to make headline acquisitions by buying more star players, such as Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens.
2009 – Return to the Top
The Yankees hired new manager Joe Girardi in 2008 after Torre retired in the 2007 offseason. Girardi and the Yankees had a magical 2009 season and won the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies 4 games to 2. That brought the Yankees to their 27th World Series Title win, the most amount of wins among all MLB teams.
The roster still had most of the core from the Torre years and some new faces, such as Mark Texiera, C.C. Sabathia, and AJ Burnett.
2024 – Juan Soto Helps Team to Fall Classic
2024 would turn out to be a critical year for manager Aaron Boone and the Yanks. After missing the playoffs in 2023 for the first time since 2016, the Yankees had bigger fish to fry, and they were looking to get back to the World Series for the first time since 2009.
In the offseason, they made a blockbuster trade, acquiring superstar Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Michael King and other young pitchers.
Soto and Aaron Judge would become that season’s version of Marris and Mantle as the thunder and lighting of the lineup. Soto helped the New York Yankees make the World Series with a pennant-clinching home run against the Cleveland Guardians.
Sadly, the New York Yankees bats froze up like an ice storm in the World Series as they were soundly defeated by the LA Dodgers 4 games to 1.
It looks like the Yankees can begin another decade of dominance if they retain Soto and continue to work on their top-notch pitching staff.
Only time will tell if Soto will remain in Pinstripes, but let’s get this deal done.
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