2008 New York Yankees

Though they’ve made the playoffs every year since 1998, the New York Yankees haven’t won the World Series since 2000, and after their third straight loss of the American League Division Series in 2007, owner George Steinbrenner had had enough. After offering manager Joe Torre a new contract (that included a pay cut and incentives for making the playoffs) that he found insulting, Torre left and Joe Girardi replaced him. With Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Robinson Canó on the roster, and a new manager to shake things up, the 2008 season is looking bright for the Yankees. This is the last season that they’ll play in historic Yankee Stadium, as the New Yankee Stadium is slated to open in 2009. Get your tickets now to see the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in 2008!

From Baltimore to New York

The Yankees were created in 1901 when the original Baltimore Orioles franchise was relocated to New York in order to give the fledgling American League a presence in the nation’s largest city. First named the Highlanders for the elevated ground their stadium was built on, they soon became the Yankees. The new Yankees floundered for the first two decades of their existence until the 1921 season when, led by their new star Babe Ruth, they captured the American League Pennant.

The Babe Ruth Era

Babe Ruth transformed the game with his homeruns. Concentrating on hitting for the first time in his career he swatted 54 homeruns in 1920, but this was just a warm up. In 1921 Ruth broke his own record by hitting 59 homeruns and leading the Yankees to the first of 3 consecutive American League Pennants. The Yankees lost in their first two World Series appearances to the more seasoned New York Giants in 1921 and 1922.

A new era in Yankee baseball began in 1923. With Ruth’s homeruns drawing a record number of fans through the turnstiles, the Yankees moved into a brand new state of the art stadium. Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, known as the House that Ruth Built, has hosted more World Series games than any other stadium. The Yankees led by Ruth and now playing in their new stadium finally beat the New York Giants and captured their first World Series trophy in 1923. Ruth’s team went on to win 4 more American League Pennants and 3 more World Series. The 1927 Yankee team led by Ruth’s new record of 60 homeruns and Lou Gehrig’s 175 RBIs is often considered the greatest team of all time.

Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle

As the decades rolled on the Yankees cemented their status as the preeminent team in the game. Ruth gave way to Gehrig, who gave way to DiMaggio, who gave way to Mantle. Along the way they collected 29 pennants and won the World Series 20 times, including 5 times in a row from 1949-1953. Unfortunately for Yankee fans the pendulum swung the other way from 1965-1975 as they experienced their longest championship drought since their initial founding. A silver lining appeared on the horizon though as George Steinbrenner purchased the club in 1973.

George Steinbrenner Takes Over

Steinbrenner vowed to bring a winner to the city and set about spending big money on big free agents. In the years to follow Steinbrenner either signed or traded for Reggie Jackson, Craig Nettles, Catfish Hunter, Goose Gossage, and Willie Randolph who, along with homegrown stars Thurman Munson and Ron Guidry, brought the Yankees back to back World Series wins in 1977 and 1978. The Bronx Zoo as they were known was filled with big egos and plenty of infighting. They were the most successful team of the late 1970’s but eventually the pot boiled over and before long Jackson, Nettles, Hunter, and Gossage left for other teams.

Back to the World Series

The exodus of so many veteran stars dropped the Yankees out of the postseason for over a decade, from 1982-1995. This all changed with the arrival of Joe Torre as manager in 1996. Torre led the Yankees back to the World Series in 1996, beating the Braves in six games. After losing to the Indians in the playoffs in 1997, Torre had the 1998 team well prepared. The 1998 Yankees set an American League record with 114 regular season wins. In the World Series they swept the overmatched San Diego Padres. The 1999 team again swept the World Series, beating the Braves once again. In 2000 the Yankees won their third World Series win in a row becoming the first team to do so since the 1972-1974 Oakland A’s. The Yankees pursuit of straight crowns fell short in 2001 as they lost in games to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2003 New York won the Pennant once more but lost the World Series to the underdog Florida Marlins.

The Yankees haven’t missed the playoffs since 1995 and the 2008 team will be tough to beat. If the team needed any more incentive, this will be the last year they play in the original Yankee Stadium before moving into New Yankee Stadium next year.