In my opinion Yankees are the best team and the best player of all time has got to be Derek Jeter. Construction on yankee stadium started on May 5,1922. On April 18, 1923 Babe Ruth hits the first home run in Yankee stadium.1936 The Yanks win their eighth pennant and their fifth World Series, beating their former landlords, the Giants. They begin a string of a then-record four world championships. Gehrig belts 49 homers and wins MVP honors. Rookie centerfielder Joe DiMaggio hits .323. The Bronx Bombers hit a record 182 homers and boast six regular players who hit over .300: Bill Dickey (.362, a record for AL catchers), Gehrig (.354), DiMaggio, Red Rolfe (.319), George Selkirk (.308) and Jake Powell (.306). The Yanks also become the first team to have five men with at least 100 RBI: Gehrig (152), DiMaggio (125), Tony Lazzeri (109), Dickey (107) and Selkirk (107). "1937 The Yanks outdistance second-place Detroit by 13 games. DiMaggio leads the league in homers (46) and Gehrig paces the team in batting (.351). Gomez (21-11) and Ruffing (20-7) are the only AL pitchers to win 20 games. Once again the Giants are their opponents in the Series. This time they fall in five games. Following the Series, second baseman Tony Lazzeri is released. Seven times he had 100 or more RBI. 1938 The Yanks win the AL by 91/2 games and sweep the Cubs in the Fall Classic. After missing spring training and the first 12 games of the season, DiMaggio agrees to a $25,000 contract, which makes him the third highest-paid player in the game. Gehrig's salary, at $39,000 per year, is highest. 1939 The Yanks win a record 11th pennant and become the first team to win four straight world crowns. They sweep the Reds in the World Series. During this unprecedented four-year run Dickey, the best defensive catcher of his era, averages over .300 with more than 20 homers and 100 RBI. DiMaggio leads the AL in batting (.381) and is the league's MVP. He carries a .408 average as late as Sept. 8, but a hand injury causes a slump. The team goes 106-45 (.702) and becomes the only team in history, besides the 1927 Yanks, with a .700 or better winning percentage. But the season is costly. Lou Gehrig is diagnosed with a deadly disease that will take his life in 1941. In May, he removes himself from the lineup after having played in 2,130 consecutive games (a record that stood 56 years). Yankee Stadium is packed for Lou Gehrig Day, July 4, 1939. The ailing slugger closes his speech with the memorable words, "... All in all, I can say that today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth." 1940 The Yanks finish third, two games behind the pennant-winning Tigers and one behind Cleveland. It is their worst finish in 10 years, when they were also third. 1941 New York goes 101-53 and wins the AL by 17 games. DiMaggio hits safely in a record 56 straight games (which has yet to be broken), leads the AL in RBI (125) and is the league's MVP. In June, the Yanks homer in a still-unequaled 25 consecutive games. They victimize Brooklyn, 4-1, in the Series. 1942 The Yanks win their second straight AL crown and fifth in the past six seasons, but fall to the Cardinals in the Fall Classic. It is their first World Series loss since losing to the Cardinals in 1926. Second baseman Joe Gordon hits .322 and wins the MVP award. It is also the last season before their ranks are depleted by players serving in the armed forces during World War II. 1943 Once again the Yanks are AL champs. Spud Chandler goes 20-4 and wins the MVP award, and the Yanks win their 10th World Series crown, beating the Cardinals in five games. 1944-46 With most of their stars in the service, the Yanks finish, third, fourth and third, respectively. 1947 With the war over and their veterans all stateside for a full season, the Yanks return to their winning ways. They win the AL by 12 games and beat the Dodgers in the World Series. DiMaggio wins the league MVP by one point over Ted Williams, who wins the Triple Crown. Allie Reynolds, who was acquired from Cleveland for second baseman Joe Gordon, is the staff ace (19-8) and Joe Page is the dean of relievers (14 wins and 17 saves). 1948 The Yanks finish third, behind AL champ Cleveland, who beat out Boston in a special playoff after the two teams finished tied for first. Joe D. leads the league in homers (39) and RBI (155). 1949 An injury-plagued team holds first place from the beginning of the season until Sept. 26, when they're supplanted by the Red Sox. But Boston, leading the Yanks by one game with two remaining, is swept by New York at the Stadium, and the Yanks begin a still-unequaled string of five consecutive world championships. 1950 The Yanks win their 17th pennant by three games over second-place Detroit. Rizzuto bats .324 and wins the MVP award. DiMaggio has 32 homers and 122 RBI. Rookie southpaw pitcher Whitey Ford goes 9-1. The Yanks sweep the Phillies in the World Series. 1951 The Yanks win their third consecutive pennant by five games over Cleveland. Berra socks 27 homers and has 88 RBI and is named AL MVP. Eddie Lopat and Raschi are 21 game winners. Although first-year outfielder Mickey Mantle gets all the press, third baseman Gil McDougal takes AL Rookie of the Year honors. In the Fall Classic, the Giants fall in six games. 1952 A fourth-straight pennant and world championship are in the cards, as the Yanks match the record set by the '36-'39 squads. Reynolds goes 20-8 and Mantle hits .311 as New York edges Cleveland by two games for the AL flag. In the Series against Brooklyn, they're extended to seven games. 1953 New York wins a record fifth-straight pennant and world championship, beating Cleveland by 81/2 for the AL crown, then besting the Dodgers in the Series 4-2. Mantle's prodigious homers give birth to the term, "tape-measure shots," as he blasts home runs that leave several ballparks. 1954 The Yanks have their best record in 12 years (103-51) but finish second behind Cleveland, which sets a still-unmatched record of 111-43. New York's winning percentage of .669 remains the highest for a second-place club. Berra wins the MVP. Both he and Mantle hit over .300 and drive in over 100 runs. Bob Grim leads the staff with a 20-6 record and cops AL Rookie of the Year honors. 1955 The Yanks return to the top of the AL as Berra wins his second MVP Award. Mantle leads the league in homers, and Ford is the league's top winner. But the season ends on a sour note as the Yanks fall in seven games to the Dodgers. 1956 The '56 campaign is one New York fans won't soon forget. Mantle wins the Triple Crown, is named MVP and establishes himself as the best player in the game. Ford is the AL leader in ERA, and Berra has another excellent year at the plate. But a journeyman pitcher steals the show in the World Series. In Game 5 against Brooklyn, Don Larsen fires the first and only perfect game in Series history. The Yanks take Brooklyn in seven games. 1957 The Bronx Bombers roll to another pennant, but are stunned by Milwaukee in the World Series, falling in seven games. Mantle again is named AL MVP. 1958 The Yanks win their fourth-consecutive pennant and again face Milwaukee for the world championship, but this time take the crown in seven games. Mantle leads the AL in homers, and Bob Turley wins the Cy Young Award. 1959 The '59 campaign is an off-year for virtually the entire team. Although the Yanks finish third, their 79-75 record is their worst since 1925 (69-85). But in a December deal with the Kansas City A's, they get outfielder Roger Maris, a left-handed hitter with a rifle arm. 1960 New York rebounds and wins pennant No. 25. New rightfielder Maris hits 39 homers, drives in 112 runs and is named the league MVP. Mantle takes the home run title with 40. However, the season ends with a crushing defeat as Bill Mazerowski's home run to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7 gives Pittsburgh the Series. After the Series, Stengel is fired and replaced by Ralph Houk. 1961 Maris and Mantle, the "M & M Boys," lead the team to its second-highest win total (109-53), another AL crown and a world championship. Maris belts a record 61 homers, Mantle finishes second with 54 as the team hits a record 240 round trippers. Maris wins his second straight MVP award. Whitey Ford (25-4) takes Cy Young honors. He is complemented by reliever Luis Arroyo, who leads the league in saves (29). In the Fall Classic, Cincinnati falls in five games. 1962 The team overcomes several injuries to win the third consecutive pennant and 27th overall. Mantle takes MVP honors, and Maris has another fine year. Pitcher Ralph Terry leads the league in wins (23-12), and goes the distance and wins Game 7 of the Series against San Francisco, 1-0. 1963 The '63 campaign is both sweet and sour. Mantle joins DiMaggio as a $100,000 a year player. The team finishes with its fifth-highest win total (104-57) to claim their fourth consecutive AL pennant. Howard is the MVP, and Mantle, who played just 65 games, hits .314. The staff boasts two 20-game winners: Ford (24-7) and Jim Bouton (21-7). The Fall Classic against Los Angeles features excellent pitching on both sides, but the Dodgers are better and sweep New York for the first time since 1922. After the Series, Berra retires and is named manager. Houk becomes the GM. 1964 The Yanks win their fifth consecutive AL flag, tying the mark set by the '49-53 Bronx Bombers. But it's no cakewalk. They are in third place, six games out in late August. But a late surge, including an 11-game winning streak in late September, gives them the pennant by one game over Chicago and two games better than Baltimore. It is the last great season for Mantle who, along with Howard, Joe Pepitone and Maris, leads the comeback. A key to the club's late-season success is the acquisition of relief pitcher Pedro Ramos from Cleveland. Ramos has one win and eight saves in September. In their last World Series appearance during the five decades of dominance, the Yanks are beaten by the Cardinals in seven games. St. Louis ace Bob Gibson wins two games (6 and 7) and strikes out 31 batters in 27 innings. A day after the Series, Berra is fired and soon replaced by St. Louis skipper Johnny Keanne. Berra is soon hired as a coach by his former boss, Stengel, who manages the crosstown Mets. During the offseason, the Yanks fire longtime announcer Mel Allen. The greatest and longest dynasty in sports history has come to an end. 1965 The five-time defending AL champs slide to sixth place, their worst record and finish in 40 years. Age and injuries take their toll, and the team finishes 25 games out. 1966 The '66 edition bears no resemblance to the squad that extended St. Louis to seven games in the World Series two years earlier. New York finishes in the cellar for the first time since 1912. Houk replaces Keanne as manager. 1967 A ninth-place team is led by top hitter Horace Clarke (.272). 1968 Signs of hope as the Yanks finish above .500 for the first time in four years (.512) ... In his last season, Mantle leads the team in homers (18) ... Mel Sottelmyer has a fine year on the mound (21-12). 1969 Stottelmyer (20-14) is the staff ace on a team that finishes fifth (80-81) in the new six-team AL East. 1970 The Yanks finish second (93-69) ... Catcher Thurman Munson bats .302 and is named AL Rookie of the Year ... Fritz Peterson leads the staff (20-11) and Lindy McDaniel saves 29 in relief. 1971 New York slips to fourth place, but centerfielder Bobby Murcer finishes second in batting (.331) . 1972 Murcer belts 33 homers and bats .292 to lead the Yanks in a late-season chase of Detroit, but the team finishes fourth ... Sparky Lyle's 35 saves lead the league. 1973 A group of 12 businessmen, headed by George M. Steinbrenner, buy the Yankees from CBS ... Murcer (.304) and Munson (.301) are offensive leaders ... Yankee Stadium begins a much-needed renovation. 1974 The Yanks, now playing their home games at Shea Stadium, challenge for the pennant but finish second, two games behind Baltimore ... Three players, Ron Blomberg (.311), Lou Pinella (.305) and Elloit Maddox (.303) lead the attack ... Murcer's average drops 30 points, and his home run total also falls, and he's traded in the offseason for San Francisco outfielder Bobby Bonds. 1975 Free-agent Catfish Hunter (23-14) leads the third-place Yanks ... Bonds hits 32 homers and steals 30 bases ... Munson hits a career high .318 and is the first Yankee in 11 years to drive in more than 100 RBI (102). 1976 The Yanks reopen Yankee Stadium and win the AL East by 101/2 games and take the AL crown against Kansas City when Chris Chambliss leads off the bottom of the ninth of Game 5 with a solo homer for a 7-6 win. Munson is the team leader, batting .305 with 100 RBI, and is named league MVP. Graig Nettles leads the AL in homers (32), and Lyle is league-high in saves (23). In the World Series, they fall in four straight to Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine." 1977 The Yanks sign free-agent slugger Reggie Jackson and begin the first of two tumultuous seasons. Nettles belts 37 homers, Jackson has 32. Nettles, Jackson, Munson and Chambliss all drive in over 100 runs. Mickey Rivers leads the team in batting (.326), and Sparky Lyle (13-5, 26 saves) wins the Cy Young Award. They win the AL East and again need ninth-inning heroics in Game 5 of the playoffs to beat Kansas City. Against the Dodgers in the World Series, Jackson belts three homers on three pitches in the deciding Game 6 as the Yanks win their first world championship since 1962. 1978 In a one-game playoff at Fenway Park, shortstop Bucky Dent's three-run homer sends the Yanks past Boston 5-4. New York had trailed Boston by 14 games in late July. Ron Guidry (25-3) wins the Cy Young Award and free-agent Goose Gossage (27 saves) is the top reliever. Once again the Yanks beat Kansas City and Los Angeles in the postseason and claim their second straight world championship. 1979 The Yanks slip to fourth, but the team and all of baseball is devastated by the tragic loss of Munson, who dies in an airplane crash in August. 1980 A retooled team rebounds (103-59) and takes the East, but is swept by Kansas City in the playoffs. Jackson has his best season as a Yank, leads the league in homers (41), drives in 111 runs and bats a career-high .300. Southpaw Tommy John (22-7) has his second straight 20-game season, and Gossage has a league-high 33 saves. 1981 The season is interrupted by a players' strike. The Yanks qualify for the playoffs and beat Milwaukee and Oakland for the AL flag. But after taking a 2-0 lead against the Dodgers, they lose four straight. 1982-94 The next 12 years are ones of unfulfilled promise and crushing disappointment. The team boasts some of the best offensive firepower in the game, but a lack of pitching prevents them from winning pennants from 83-86 (they finish third twice and second twice) ... Don Mattingly, a lifetime .307 hitter, is among the best fielding first baseman of his era and wins the MVP in 1985... Dave Winfield is a consistent run producer at the plate and a Gold Glove winner in both left and right fields ... During his brief stint in New York, Rickey Henderson is the best leadoff hitter in the game ... The consistent meddling of Steinbrenner produces a merry-go-round of managers and a steady parade of free agents who fail to produce, as the Yanks endure their longest postseason drought (82-94) since the arrival of Babe Ruth. 1995 The season is shortened to 144 games following a players strike that delays opening day ... In his final season as manager, Buck Showalter leads the club to a 79-65 record ... Wade Boggs (.324) Paul O'Neill (.300) and Bernie Williams (.307) lead the offense ... Boggs also wins a Gold Glove ... David Cone is aquired in July and goes 9-2 ... The Wild Card is introduced to Major League Baseball and the Yanks make their first postseason appearance since 1981 by earning a Wild Card berth ... New York takes a 2-0 lead but drops a dramatic five-game series to the Mariners in the first round of playoffs ... Two of the games end in extra innings. In Game 2, Jim Leyritz hits a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 15th at the Stadium as the Bombers become the first team in postseason history to overcome four deficits ... Game 5 ends in the 11th inning as Edgar Martinez doubles home the tying and winning runs at the Kingdome ... In the only postseason appearance of his career, Don Mattingly bats .417 and drives in six runs. He retires after 13 seasons in the Bronx, having hit .300 or better seven times ... "Donnie Baseball" also drives in 100 runs or more five times ... Yankees legend Mickey Mantle, beset by health problems, dies in August at the age of 63 after a brief battle with cancer. 1996 Former Yankee Bob Watson is named GM, and Joe Torre takes the reigns as manager and guides the Yanks (92-70) to their first pennant in 15 seasons and their first world championship since 1978 ... Doc Gooden tosses a no-hitter in May ... Centerfielder Bernie Williams is a standout at the plate and in the field ... Tino Martinez replaces Mattingly at first base and drives in 117 runs ... The infield of Boggs at third, Derek Jeter at shortstop, Mariano Duncan at second and Martinez at first averages over .300 ... Jeter is the top AL rookie ... Second-year pitcher Andy Pettitte wins 21 games ... The bullpen tandem of Mariano Rivera and John Wetteland is lethal as the Yankees go 86-1 when leading after eight innings ... Texas and Baltimore fall in the playoffs ... After falling behind 2-0 to defending champion Atlanta in the World Series, the Yanks sweep Games 3 through 6 for the title ... Wetteland is named Series MVP ... The Bronx Bombers now have won 34 pennants and 23 world championships, both records. 1997 The Yankees post a 96-66 record and make their third consecutive trip to the playoffs ... Williams (.328, 21 HR, 100 RBI), O'Neill (.324, 21, 117) and Martinez (.296, 44, 141) lead the offensive ... Pettitte (18-7) and David Wells (16-10) anchor the pitching staff ... In his first season as closer, Mariano Rivera notches 43 saves ... Japanese pitching phenom Hideki Irabu is a disappointing 4-4 with a 7.63 ERA ... The Bombers finish two games behind Baltimore and settle for a Wild Card spot .... In another dramatic first-round playoff series, New York loses to Cleveland in five games ... The Yanks take the opener, 8-6, and in the sixth inning Tim Raines, O'Neill and Jeter hit back-to-back-to-back home runs ... The momentum shifts in Game 4 as Sandy Alomar Jr. hits an opposite field home run with two out in the eighth inning to tie the game at 2. The Indians add another run in the ninth to force a fifth and final game ... The season ends for New York after Cleveland takes Game 5, 4-3. 1998 The Bombers won an AL record 114 games in the '98 season ... David Wells pitched a perfect game, becoming the first Yankee pitcher to do so since Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series ... Bernie Williams led the AL in hitting with a .339 average and also captured a Gold Glove award ... David Cone won 20 games, posting a 20-7 record ... The Yanks capped a record-breaking season with a near-flawless postseason ... The Bombers swept Texas in the Division Series then beat Cleveland in six games in the ALCS and then swept the San Diego Padres to capture the franchise's 24th World Series championship ... Including the postseason, they won a total of 125 games ... Scott Brosius went 8-for-17 (.471) with two home runs and six RBI to earn MVP honors of the Fall Classic ... His two homers in Game 3, the second coming off vaunted closer Trevor Hoffman, destroyed whatever chance the Padres had of turning the tide of the Series. 1999 On March 8, Joe DiMaggio died at age 84 in Hollywood, Florida. In late April, a monument in DiMaggio's honor was unveiled in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park... On "Yogi Berra Day," David Cone tossed the 15th perfect game in baseball history, one season after David Wells accomplishes the feat. Coincidentially, Don Larsen, who tossed a perfect game in the 1956 World Series, threw out the game's first pitch... In the last game of the century, the Yankees completed a four-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves to capture their 25th World Championship. The 4-1 win was also the club's 12th straight in World-Series play, tying the record of the 1927, 1928 and 1932 Yankees. 2000 The Yankees beat the Mets in the first Subway Series in 44 years." For complete coverage go to newsday.com I got this info from Newsday.com
