NEW YORK YANKEES

The Official History of the New York Yankees | Baseball Almanac

They began modestly enough as the New York Highlanders in 1903, owned by a couple of New York bartenders who laid out $18,000 to buy the Baltimore franchise and bring it north.

For their first 18 years in New York the Highlanders (they became the Yankees in 1913) seriously challenged for a pennant only once, in 1904 when star pitcher Jack Chesbro set a modern day record with 41 victories, completing a staggering 48 games and posting an ERA of 1.82.

Some great players passed through New York in those years, including Wee Willie Keeler, Hal Chase, Roger Peckinpaugh and Frank Baker, but the Yankees were always also-rans.

That all changed in 1920. The Yankees completed the famous deal to buy Babe Ruth from the Red Sox and also brought along some of Ruth's more talented teammates, including third baseman Joe Dugan and pitchers Carl Mays, Waite Hoyt, Herb Pennock and Bullet Joe Bush.

With Ruth and a solid pitching staff as the seedlings, a dynasty sprouted. Yankee manager Miller Huggins guided the team to its first three pennants in 1921-22-23. They played the New York Giants in all three Series, losing the first two and winning in 1923, the year they moved into Yankee Stadium.

In mid-decade the team added a strapping young first baseman named Lou Gehrig to give the Yankees an unprecedented 1-2 punch that along with supporting hitters Tony Lazzeri, Bob Meusel and Earle Combs came to be known as "Murderer's Row." They won consecutive pennants again in 1926-27-28, winning the latter two World Series in four game sweeps.

The 1927 team is considered by many baseball historians as the best of all time, with Ruth hitting his Olympian 60 home runs (more than any American League team hit that season) and Gehrig hitting 47. Gehrig had more runs batted in - 175 to 164. Huggins died suddenly in 1929 and the Yanks were derailed for a few years, returning to the Series and sweeping the Cubs in 1932 with new manager Joe McCarthy. Ruth was gone two years later. However, the Yankee machine would enter an era of dominance rarely matched in the game before or since.

The Yankees won four consecutive world championships from 1936-39, winning the pennant races by wide margins. They scored close to or more than 1,000 runs in each of the four seasons with a punishing batting order that consisted of Gehrig, Lazzeri, catcher Bill Dickey and a talented and charismatic new outfielder named Joe DiMaggio. DiMaggio played anything like a rookie in 1936, hitting .323 with 29 home runs and 125 runs batted in. In fact, DiMaggio was one of five Yanks to drive in more than 100 runs that year.

Although the Yankees lost Gehrig to the disease which claimed his life and now bears his name, they kept rolling. They won three more consecutive pennants in 1941-42-43. They defeated the Dodgers in 1941, and split the next two with the Cardinals. McCarthy resigned after three consecutive middle-of-the-pack finishes and Bucky Harris led the team to another championship in 1947, during which Yogi Berra made his debut.

After a disappointing 1948 season, the team surprised everyone by naming former National Leaguer Casey Stengel as manager. Stengel started out winning five consecutive world titles from 1949-53. Unlike their Bronx Bomber predecessors, this Yankee dynasty was fashioned around pitching; the trio of Vic Rashi, Allie Reynolds and Ed Lopat were the bedrock, joined in 1951 by a New York-born lefty named Whitey Ford.

This is not to say these teams did not have offense. There was still DiMaggio, and when he retired in 1951 Stengel oversaw the transition to Mickey Mantle in center field. Berra was winning three Most Valuable Player awards and a hard-nosed outfielder named Hank Bauer was the new team sparkplug.

With the exception of 1959, the Yankees were in every World Series from 1955 through 1964. They beat up on the Dodgers frequently (only losing to them in 1955 and 1963), and traded championships with Milwaukee in 1957 and 1958. By this time Mantle had reached the heights of a triple crown season in 1956 (.353, 52 home runs and 130 runs batted in).

The Yanks would lose the 1960 World Series despite outscoring Pittsburgh 55-27. Some of Stengel's pitching decisions did not sit well with the front office and Stengel was gone shortly after Bill Mazeroski finished his triumphant trek around the bases in the bottom of the ninth in Game Seven.

The Yanks served notice that the Series upset and a new manager (Ralph Houk) would not derail them. They rewrote the record books in 1961 with Roger Maris hitting 61 home runs to beat Ruth's single season record and Mantle clubbing 54. The team hit a record 240 (with no designated hitter), a record that stood until 1996. Whitey Ford won 25 games and led the Yanks to a five game win in the World Series. They won it all again in 1962 against the Giants and also won pennants in 1963-64.

However, suddenly the bottom fell out and the Yankees stopped winning. The veterans grew old, the farm system was dry and the fans were bored with the Yanks' almost-inhumanly methodical winning. What the Yankees had accomplished to this point was staggering. Since the start of their dynastic run in 1921, they had won two-thirds of all the American League pennants and almost half of the world championships (20 in 43 years).

After a decade of wandering the wilderness of mediocrity, the team returned to the top, infused with new leadership and cash from George Steinbrenner, who bought the team in 1973. The Yankees again won three consecutive pennants in 1976-77-78. Catcher Thurman Munson hit over .300 and drove in more than 100 runs three consecutive years, but a loss to Cincinnati in the '76 series prompted the team to sign free agent slugger Reggie Jackson. Jackson made a permanent name for himself in Yankee lore with his postseason heroics, especially in the 1977 World Series when he capped the Yanks victory with three homers in the decisive sixth game.

In 1978 the team erased a 14 game deficit to catch the division leading Red Sox, and then defeated them in a one-game playoff sparked by Bucky Dent's three run homer and Jackson's solo shot. The team subdued Kansas City and Los Angeles for another world championship.

The 1979 team was erratic and dispirited by the death of Munson in a plane crash on Aug. 2. The team rebounded in 1980 to win 103 games, but lost the American League Championship Series to Kansas City. They returned to the Series in the strike-shortened 1981 season, only to lose to the Dodgers in six games.

Through the rest of the decade the team hit a slow decline. Chaos in the front office resulted in a revolving door of managers, the bleeding of talent and a suspension of Steinbrenner for misconduct.

A rejuvenated farm system, astute trades and free agent signings built the team into a wild card winner in 1995, but a loss in the divisional playoffs to Seattle cost manager Buck Showalter his job and brought the dawning of the Joe Torre era.

Torre led the Yankees to the postseason in 12 of his 13 seasons at the helm. He departed after the 2007 season following a salary squabble with management to manage the Dodgers. He blended veteran hitters such as Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez with younger homegrown talent such as Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter, liberally adding pitching talent such as Andy Pettitte, David Cone, David Wells and Roger Clemens. Closer Mariano Rivera was the icing on the cake. Torre’s tenure resulted in six pennants and four World Series rings.

The winning beat continued when Joe Girardi took over as manager in 2008, then one year later, he led the team to its 27th world title. Steinbrenner died at age 80 during the 2010 season, but by that time he was in ill health and had ceded much of the ownership decisions to sons Hal and Hank.

The Yankees latest dynasty from 1995-2010 included playoff appearances every season but 2008, and five more world championship trophies in their case.

Love them or hate them because of their free-spending ways, the Yankees were the barometer of success for baseball and sports in the 20th century, and are off to a rousing start in the first decade of the 21st century.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio." - Ernest Hemingway in Life Magazine (09/01/1952, 'The Old Man and the Sea', Page 37)

New York Yankees History

New York Yankees Official Logo

New York Yankees Official Logo

New York Yankees Franchise Facts

Baltimore Orioles Rosters | 1901 - 1902
  1901 1902              
New York Highlanders Rosters | 1903 - 1912
      1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910 1911 1912              
New York Yankees Rosters | 1913 - Current
      1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020 2021 2022 2023
Bold Seasons : Uniform Numbers Worn
Baltimore Orioles Schedules | 1901 - 1902
  1901 1902              
New York Highlanders Schedules | 1903 - 1912
      1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910 1911 1912              
New York Yankees Schedules | 1913 - Current
      1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020 2021 2022 2023
Bold Seasons : Box Scores Online
New York Yankees 100-Win Seasons
Year Record Manager
1927 110-44 Miller Huggins
1928 101-53 Miller Huggins
1932 107-47 Joe McCarthy
1936 102-51 Joe McCarthy
1937 102-52 Joe McCarthy
1939 106-45 Joe McCarthy
1941 101-53 Joe McCarthy
1942 103-51 Joe McCarthy
1954 103-51 Casey Stengel
1961 109-53 Ralph Houk
1963 104-57 Ralph Houk
1977 100-62 Billy Martin
1978 100-63 Billy Martin
    Bob Lemon
1980 103-59 Dick Howser
1998 114-48 Joe Torre
2002 103-58 Joe Torre
2003 101-61 Joe Torre
2004 101-61 Joe Torre
2009 103-59 Joe Girardi
2018 100-62 Aaron Boone
2019 103-59 Aaron Boone
New York Yankees 100 Loss Seasons
Year Record Manager
1908 51-103 Clark Griffith
" " " Kid Elberfeld
1912 50-102 Harry Wolverton
New York Yankees No-Hitters
Name IP Date
George Mogridge 9.0 04-24-1917
Sam Jones 9.0 09-04-1923
Monte Pearson 9.0 08-27-1938
Allie Reynolds 9.0 07-12-1951
Allie Reynolds 9.0 09-28-1951
Don Larsen 9.0 10-08-1956
Dave Righetti 9.0 07-04-1983
Andy Hawkins 8.0 07-01-1990
Jim Abbott 9.0 09-04-1993
Dwight Gooden 9.0 05-14-1996
David Wells 9.0 05-17-1998
David Cone 9.0 07-18-1999
Corey Kluber 9.0 05-19-2021
Domingo Germán 9.0 06-28-2023
Bold = Perfect Game
New York Yankees Cycle Hitters
Name Inn. Date
Bert Daniels 9 07-25-1912
Bob Meusel 9 05-07-1921
Bob Meusel 9 07-03-1922
Bob Meusel 12 07-26-1928
Tony Lazzeri 9 06-03-1932
Lou Gehrig 9 06-25-1934
Joe DiMaggio 9 07-09-1937
Lou Gehrig 9 08-01-1937
Buddy Rosar 9 07-19-1940
Joe Gordon 9 09-08-1940
Joe DiMaggio 9 05-20-1948
Mickey Mantle 9 07-23-1957
Bobby Murcer 11 08-29-1972
Tony Fernandez 10 09-03-1995
Melky Cabrera 9 08-02-2009
Bold = Natural Cycle
Yankees Cy Young Winners
Year Name Position
1958 Bob Turley RHP
1961 Whitey Ford LHP
1977 Sparky Lyle LHP
1978 Ron Guidry LHP
2001 Roger Clemens RHP
2023 Gerrit Cole RHP
Bold = Unanimous
New York Yankees MVP Winners
Year Name Position
1936 Lou Gehrig 1B
1939 Joe DiMaggio OF
1941 Joe DiMaggio OF
1942 Joe Gordon 2B
1943 Spud Chandler P
1947 Joe DiMaggio OF
1950 Phil Rizzuto SS
1951 Yogi Berra C
1954 Yogi Berra C
1955 Yogi Berra C
1956 Mickey Mantle OF
1957 Mickey Mantle OF
1960 Roger Maris OF
1961 Roger Maris OF
1962 Mickey Mantle OF
1963 Elston Howard C
1976 Thurman Munson C
1985 Don Mattingly 1B
2005 Alex Rodriguez 3B
2007 Alex Rodriguez 3B
New York Yankees Rookies of the Year
Year Name Position
1951 Gil McDougald 3B
1954 Bob Grim P
1957 Tony Kubek SS/OF
1962 Tom Tresh SS/OF
1968 Stan Bahnsen P
1970 Thurman Munson C
1981 Dave Righetti P
1996 Derek Jeter SS
2017 Aaron Judge OF
New York Yankees Retired Numbers
# Name Position
1 Billy Martin M
2 Derek Jeter SS
3 Babe Ruth OF
4 Lou Gehrig 1B
5 Joe DiMaggio OF
6 Joe Torre M
7 Mickey Mantle OF
8 Yogi Berra C
8 Bill Dickey C
9 Roger Maris OF
10 Phil Rizzuto SS
15 Thurman Munson C
16 Whitey Ford P
20 Jorge Posada C
21 Paul O'Neill RF
23 Don Mattingly 1B
32 Elston Howard C
37 Casey Stengel M
42 Mariano Rivera P
42 Jackie Robinson 2B
44 Reggie Jackson OF
46 Andy Pettitte P
49 Ron Guidry P
51 Bernie Williams OF
New York Yankees Batting Champions
Year Name #
1924 Babe Ruth .378
1934 Lou Gehrig .363
1939 Joe DiMaggio .381
1940 Joe DiMaggio .352
1945 Snuffy Stirnweiss .309
1956 Mickey Mantle .353
1984 Don Mattingly .343
1994 Paul O'Neill .359
1998 Bernie Williams .339
Yankees ERA Champions
Year Name #
1920 Bob Shawkey 2.45
1927 Wilcy Moore 2.28
1934 Lefty Gomez 2.33
1937 Lefty Gomez 2.33
1943 Spud Chandler 1.64
1947 Spud Chandler 2.46
1952 Allie Reynolds 2.06
1953 Ed Lopat 2.42
1956 Whitey Ford 2.47
1957 Bobby Shantz 2.45
1958 Whitey Ford 2.01
1978 Ron Guidry 1.74
1979 Ron Guidry 2.78
1980 Rudy May 2.46
2023 Gerrit Cole 2.63
New York Yankees Home Run Champions
Year Name #
1916 Wally Pipp 12
1917 Wally Pipp 9
1920 Babe Ruth 54
1921 Babe Ruth 59
1923 Babe Ruth 41
1924 Babe Ruth 46
1925 Bob Meusel 33
1926 Babe Ruth 47
1927 Babe Ruth 60
1928 Babe Ruth 54
1929 Babe Ruth 46
1930 Babe Ruth 49
1931 Lou Gehrig 46
" Babe Ruth 46
1934 Lou Gehrig 49
1936 Lou Gehrig 49
1937 Joe DiMaggio 46
1944 Nick Etten 22
1948 Joe DiMaggio 39
1955 Mickey Mantle 37
1956 Mickey Mantle 52
1958 Mickey Mantle 42
1960 Mickey Mantle 40
1961 Roger Maris 61
1976 Graig Nettles 32
1980 Reggie Jackson 41
2005 Alex Rodriguez 48
2007 Alex Rodriguez 54
2009 Mark Teixeira 39
2017 Aaron Judge 52
2022 Aaron Judge 62
New York Yankees Strikeout Champions
Year Name #
1932 Red Ruffing 190
1933 Lefty Gomez 163
1934 Lefty Gomez 158
1937 Lefty Gomez 194
1951 Vic Raschi 164
1952 Allie Reynolds 160
1964 Al Downing 217
2022 Gerrit Cole 257
New York Yankees Wild Cards
Year Record Manager
1995 79-65 Buck Showalter
1997 96-66 Joe Torre
2007 94-68 Joe Torre
2010 95-67 Joe Girardi
2017 91-71 Joe Girardi
2018 100-62 Aaron Boone
2021 92-70 Aaron Boone
New York Yankees East Division Titles
Year Record Manager
1976 97-62 Billy Martin
1977 100-62 Billy Martin
1978 100-63 Billy Martin
" " Bob Lemon
1980 103-59 Dick Howser
1981 59-48 Gene Michael
" " Bob Lemon
1994 70-43 Buck Showalter
1996 92-70 Joe Torre
1998 114-48 Joe Torre
1999 98-64 Joe Torre
2000 87-74 Joe Torre
2001 95-65 Joe Torre
2002 103-58 Joe Torre
2003 101-61 Joe Torre
2004 101-61 Joe Torre
2005 95-67 Joe Torre
2006 97-65 Joe Torre
2009 103-59 Joe Girardi
2011 97-65 Joe Girardi
2012 95-67 Joe Girardi
2017 91-71 Joe Girardi
2019 103-59 Aaron Boone
2022 99-63 Aaron Boone
New York Yankees A.L. Pennants
Year Record Manager
1921 98-55 Miller Huggins
1922 94-60 Miller Huggins
1923 98-54 Miller Huggins
1926 91-63 Miller Huggins
1927 110-44 Miller Huggins
1928 101-53 Miller Huggins
1932 107-47 Joe McCarthy
1936 102-51 Joe McCarthy
1937 102-52 Joe McCarthy
1938 99-53 Joe McCarthy
1939 106-45 Joe McCarthy
1941 101-53 Joe McCarthy
1942 103-41 Joe McCarthy
1943 98-56 Joe McCarthy
1947 97-57 Bucky Harris
1949 97-57 Casey Stengel
1950 98-56 Casey Stengel
1951 98-56 Casey Stengel
1952 95-59 Casey Stengel
1953 99-52 Casey Stengel
1955 97-57 Casey Stengel
1956 97-57 Casey Stengel
1957 98-56 Casey Stengel
1958 92-62 Casey Stengel
1960 97-57 Casey Stengel
1961 109-53 Ralph Houk
1962 96-66 Ralph Houk
1963 104-57 Ralph Houk
1964 99-63 Yogi Berra
1976 97-62 Billy Martin
1977 100-62 Billy Martin
1978 100-63 Billy Martin
    Bob Lemon
1981 59-48 Gene Michael
    Bob Lemon
1996 92-70 Joe Torre
1998 114-48 Joe Torre
1999 98-64 Joe Torre
2000 87-74 Joe Torre
2001 95-65 Joe Torre
2003 101-61 Joe Torre
2009 103-59 Joe Girardi
New York Yankees World Championships
Year Opponent M.V.P.
1923 New York n/a
1927 Pittsburgh n/a
1928 St. Louis n/a
1932 Chicago n/a
1936 New York n/a
1937 New York n/a
1938 Chicago n/a
1939 Cincinnati n/a
1941 Brooklyn n/a
1943 St. Louis n/a
1947 Brooklyn n/a
1949 Brooklyn n/a
1950 Philadelphia n/a
1951 New York n/a
1952 Brooklyn n/a
1953 Brooklyn n/a
1956 Brooklyn Don Larsen
1958 Milwaukee Bob Turley
1961 Cincinnati Whitey Ford
1962 San Francisco Ralph Terry
1977 Los Angeles Reggie Jackson
1978 Los Angeles Bucky Dent
1996 Atlanta John Wetteland
1998 San Diego Scott Brosius
1999 Atlanta Mariano Rivera
2000 New York Derek Jeter
2009 Philadelphia Hideki Matsui

Baltimore Orioles Team Statistics Tool
Includes Hitting, Pitching & Fielding Stats

New York Highlanders Team Statistics Tool
Includes Hitting, Pitching & Fielding Stats

New York Yankees Team Statistics Tool
Includes Hitting, Pitching & Fielding Stats

Baltimore Orioles Standings & Managers

George Steinbrenner Biography

New York Highlanders Standings & Managers

New York Yankees Attendance Analysis

New York Yankees Captains

New York Yankees Forum

New York Yankees News

New York Yankees Records

New York Yankees Standings & Managers

New York Yankees Quotations

Team-vs-Team Wins & Losses

The Pinstripe Press

Yankee Stadium

Yankees Franchise Facts At-A-Glance | Research by Baseball Almanac
baseball almanac flat baseball