Texan Mosaic

by BRITTNY STEGALL//Staff Writer

The New York Yankees are a team that has experienced ups and downs throughout the year, causing fans to have mixed emotions with their performances.

In 1903, Frank Farrell and Bill Devery bought the Baltimore Orioles and moved them to Manhattan, New York, renaming them the Highlanders. But in 1913, they became the New York Yankees. Despite the franchise’s indecisiveness, the Yankees have built a reputation that is hard to keep up with and a legacy that will never be topped.

The New York Yankees have the most championships in Major League Baseball history, winning 27 World Series. It’s hard not to love them with that many wins. Although they have been to the World Series 40 times, with their first appearance being in 1921, they did not win their first World Series until 1923.

The Yankees have won an impressive number of awards, not only as a team, but individually as well. They have 45 Hall of Famers. The first one, Frank “HR” Baker, played with the Yankees from 1916-1919 and 1921-1922. They also have four Triple Crown winners. A Triple Crown winner is a player who leads the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI) during the same season. They also have had three managers of the year, eight rookies of the year, five Cy Young winners, 21 MVPs, eight League Championship Series MVPs, and 17 World Series MVPs. The Yankees are known for winning, and that makes for the best team in the league.

The Yankees pitchers have recorded 10 no-hitters and two perfect games. A no-hitter game is when a team has batted nine innings with no recorded hits, while a perfect game is when the pitcher does not allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any other player to reach the base safely, or, as they say, “27 up, 27 down.” The Yankees’ best recorded season was in 1998, with a record of 114-48 losses. But the Yankees were not always up to par, as their worst recorded season was in 1908, with 51 wins and 103 losses. The Yankees have an impressive history from the number of wins, to their players. Legends such as Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantel, and Joe DiMaggio make the Yankees great.

The Yankees had a tough start to this season, but are making a major comeback after sweeping out the old players to be replaced by newcomers. At this writing, they are two games out of the playoffs with 76 wins and 67 losses. This year alone, they have traded more than eight players, with one major player retiring. Alex Rodriguez, “Arod,” announced his retirement on Aug. 7 and his final game was Aug.12. Although Arod did not have his best season this year, he was a major contributor to the team. With the “Great Bambino,” Babe Ruth, too legendary “Captain,” Derek Jeter, they have continued to impress their fans.

Growing up in West Texas, seeing a Yankee fan is odd. But for me, I’ve been a fan for as long as I can remember. My dad, his dad and even his dad were Yankee fans. I grew up falling in love with the Yankees while watching their games. You either love them or you hate them, but I definitely love them.