Yankees History

Ehn Nishioka                                                                                Nishioka 1

Period 1

1/9/12

History of the Yankees

Of all the sports that have ever graced the stadiums of the world none is more majestic than the game of baseball.  It has created not only some of the greatest athletes of all time, but has also been the foundation that children have used to get ahead in the world by providing them with the necessary skills needed to succeed in today’s ever-changing world.  No matter how much the world changes around us, or how much time is elapsed, the game of baseball will always remain the same.  One team has stood out among all others since its fruition.  The New York Yankees have been an icon in the baseball world outshining all other teams with their 27 World Series championships.  Their players have graced the hall of fame with so many illustrious names and feats.  They have influenced generations of people and have become a household name and a powerhouse in the sport.  As their legacy continues to prosper so will their flourishing fan base of diehard Yankee fans.

        The Yankees created a revolution as they surged to the top of the baseball world.  They have become a dominant force that no team can compete with.  The members of the New York Yankees are the icons of the sports world and have been printed across pages of magazines and books.  Their legendary and heralded feats covered by countless reporters who illustrated reports about their amazing actions both on and off the field, however, this legendary franchise was not always what it is today.  From a humbling origin they became the most heralded franchise in the history of baseball.  People had no interest in this once storied team, and the teams in those years were as lackluster as the fan's interest. The owner of the Yankees at that time was CBS and they couldn't wait to pass the Yankees on to someone. Mr. Steinbrenner took over the organization from CBS and had a plan to turn the whole team around. With some bold moves and using the new free agency rule to his advantage, Steinbrenner returned the Yankees to glory in only three years, as the 1976 Yankees won the American League Pennant for the first time in 12 years.  Steinbrenner had become one of the biggest names in the sports world as he had taken the once trash team to a whole new level that every owner wished for.  In addition to his already great team he brought about some of the greatest names in baseball to his already impressive roster.  This list included names such as; Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Reggie Jackson.  These huge names are what made the Yankees such an amazing team.  One of the most eventful and most memorable was Lou Gehrig’s speech after he was diagnosed with a life threatening disease.  Gehrig’s speech that he announced to a sold out crowd at Yankee stadium is immortalized in all history books as it touched millions of lives and broke so many more hearts to hear that one of their most beloved and favorite players was about to lose their life but would never be forgotten as long as his name lived on in the game of baseball.  "Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.”  His speech changed the game of baseball from the already loved sport to something that now touched the hearts of people outside the game that didn’t even know how the sport was played, but they now knew who the men were that played it and it brought about a new found respect for the game.  From there baseball moved and changed from city to city as it continued to increase in fans and popularity, as it grew many new names were added to the Yankees roster.  Of those names the probably most heralded and legendary Yankees to ever grace a diamond, Derek Jeter, put on a Yankee uniform for the first time and changed the game in a whole new way again.  His actions on the field revolutionized the game all together as it changed how the game was played and took every play to a whole new level.  He heightened the level of play every-where he went and became an instant household name.  Throughout his legendary career he accomplished many accolades but none other than his 3000th hit is more mesmerizing than any other hallowed achievement in any player’s career as he hit a homerun into the left field stands for his 3000th.  Jeter was an innovator in the game as he brought about a whole new generation to the Yankees legacy.  He’s led the way for the Yankees as they marched on to win numerous World Series championships.  To this day he is the face of the Yankees and the face of baseball.