The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. Also known as "the Bronx Bombers" and "the Pinstripers",[1][2] the Yankees play in the East Division of Major League Baseball's (MLB) American League (AL). In its 122 MLB seasons, the franchise has won 27 World Series championships, the most of any MLB team and 16 more than the second-place St. Louis Cardinals.[3] The Yankees played home games in Yankee Stadium from 1923 to 2008, except for a stint at Shea Stadium from 1974 to 1975 while Yankee Stadium was undergoing renovations.[4] In 2009, the team moved into a new ballpark, which is also called Yankee Stadium.[5]
The Baltimore Orioles began play in the AL in 1901.[6] After two seasons, the Orioles were replaced by a club in New York; it is unclear whether it was an expansion team or a relocated version of the Orioles.[7] Frank Farrell and William S. Devery purchased the franchise, naming it the New York Highlanders.[8] In 1913, the team changed its name to the Yankees.[8] From 1921 to 1964, the Yankees were the most successful MLB franchise, winning 20 World Series titles and 29 AL pennants. This period included streaks of four consecutive championships from 1936 to 1939 and five straight titles from 1949 to 1953.
Following an 11-year playoff drought, the club appeared in the playoffs five times in a six-year period and won back-to-back World Series championships in 1977 and 1978. The Yankees won the World Series again in 1996, and in 1998 began a run of three consecutive titles. From 1995 to 2007, the Yankees made the playoffs each year; their 13-season postseason streak was the second-longest in MLB history.[9] After missing the playoffs in 2008, they won another World Series in 2009, their 27th championship and fifth in 14 seasons. Since 2009, they have reached the postseason in all but four seasons, and returned to the World Series for the first time since then in 2024, when they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Series after winning the club's 41st pennant. Overall, the Yankees' .569 regular season winning percentage is the highest of any MLB team, and they have the eighth-most regular season wins, behind seven clubs founded in the 19th century.[10]