new york yankees history
new york yankees history
New York Yankees tickets to home games at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York are always hard to come by. Evidence of that can be found in the fact that in 2005 the team set an American League Home Attendance Record of 4,090,696. The Yankees are the most successful franchise in the history of professional sports. They have won 14 American League Eastern Division titles and 39 American League pennants, leading to 26 World Series Championships. A roster of their famous players would be too long to list. Simply think Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, and Maris.
George Steinbrenner has owned the Yankees since 1973 and, “the boss”, as he is often referred to, believes Yankee fans deserve a winner every year. He spares little expense to achieve this goal. The off-season of 2005 proved to be no different as the Yankees snatched centerfielder Johnny Damon out from under the very noses of Division archrival, the Boston Red Sox. Damon joins a line-up loaded with superstars and award winning talent. Third baseman Alex Rodriguez was the League’s MVP in 2005, hitting .321 with 48 homeruns and 130 RBI’s. First baseman Jason Giambi was Comeback Player of the Year with 32 homers of his own and shortstop Robinson Cano was Rookie of the Year runner-up providing solid defense and a batting average just under the magical .300 mark. Shortstop and team captain, Derek Jeter continues to rack up impressive offensive numbers as well as providing defensive gems that always find their way onto highlight reels of sports networks both locally and nationally. Hidecki Matsui and Gary Sheffield share the outfield with Damon. Both put up impressive power numbers last season with 23 and 34 homers respectively. Career Yankee Bernie Williams will become the team’s designated hitter.
Veteran catcher, Jorge Posada, will once again call pitches for one of the most talented pitching staffs in baseball. Right-handed ace Randy Johnson hopes his second season with the Yankees will be his breakout year. Mike Mussina returns and is optimistic as always. Carl Pavano and Jared Wright also return. Last year when Pavano, Wright, and rookie Chien Ming Wang all went down with injuries, the Yankees were in deep trouble pitching-wise. They got help in the form of Shawn Chacon,traded from the Colorado Rockies. The right-hander went 7-3 in 12 starts with the team. But the most amazing performance came when they brought journeyman pitcher Aaron Small up from the minors. Small went an incredible 10-0 down the stretch. More than anything it was the pitching of Chacon and Small that helped push the Yankees past the Boston Red Sox and win the Eastern Division title by means of a head to-head tiebreaker rule. Then there’s “Mo”, closer Mariano Rivera. He had another phenomenal season with an almost invisible ERA of 1.38. and 43 saves. Tenth year manager Joe Torre is blessed with enormous wealth indeed, or is it Steinbrenner’s wealth?
In any case Yankee fans better hurry and scoop up whatever Yankees tickets might be left for what could be another Championship season.
