The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York. The Yankees are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Baltimore, Maryland in by: 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles, moved to New York City in by: 1903, then becoming known as the New York Highlanders as well as the New York Yankees, and becoming solely known as the "Yankees" in by: 1913. From by: 1923 to by: 2008, the Yankees' home was Yankee Stadium. In 2009, they are scheduled to move into a new stadium, also to be called "Yankee Stadium".

The Yankees lead Major League Baseball with 26 World Series championships and 39 American League Pennants. They have more championships than any other North American franchise in professional sports history, passing the 24 Stanley Cup championships by the Montreal Canadiens in by: 1999.

Franchise history

Main: History of the New York Yankees

(1901–1902) Origins: the Baltimore Era

At the end of by: 1900, Western League president Ban Johnson reorganized the league, adding teams in three Eastern cities, forming the American League. Plans to put a team in New York City were blocked by the National League's New York Giants, who had enough political power to keep the AL out. Instead, a team was put in Baltimore, Maryland, a city which had been abandoned when the NL contracted from 12 to 8 teams in 1900.

The team, known as the Baltimore Orioles, began playing in by: 1901, which was managed by and owned in part by John McGraw. In the middle of the by: 1902 season, the Giants, aided and abetted by McGraw, who was feuding with Johnson and who secretly had jumped to the Giants, gained controlling interest of the team and began raiding it for players, until the AL stepped in and took control of the team. In January by: 1903, a "peace conference" was held between the two leagues to settle disputes and try to coexist. One of the results of the conference was that the NL agreed to let the "junior circuit" establish a franchise in New York. The Orioles' new owners, Frank J. Farrell and William S. Devery, found a ballpark location not blocked by the Giants, and Baltimore's team moved to New York.

(1903–1912) Move to New York: the Highlanders Era

The new ballpark was constructed in northern Manhattan, at one of the island's highest points, between 165th and 168th Streets. Hilltop Park, (formally known as "American League Park") was much smaller than the Polo Grounds, the Giants' home just a few blocks away. The team came to be known as the New York Highlanders for two reasons: a reference to the team's elevated location and to the noted British military unit The Gordon Highlanders, which made sense, as the team's president from by: 1903 to by: 1906 was Joseph Gordon. As was common with all members of the American League, the team was also referred to as the New York Americans. The club was also being called the New York Yankees as early as 1904.