The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the American League's East Division. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles. The team moved to New York City in 1903 as the New York Highlanders, taking the Yankees as their official name in 1913. From 1923 to 2008, the Yankees' home ballpark was Yankee Stadium; in 2009, they moved into a new ballpark, also called Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees have won 27 World Series championships and 40 American League pennants, both MLB records. Forty-three Yankees players and eleven Yankees managers have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra. In pursuit of winning championships, the franchise has utilized a large payroll to recruit talent, particularly under former owner George Steinbrenner.

Due in part to their success, the Yankees have garnered widespread popularity and a dedicated fanbase. The Yankees brand is recognized worldwide.

Masahiro Tanaka (田中 将大, Tanaka Masahiro^?, born November 1, 1988 in Itami, Hyōgo, Japan) is a Japanese starting pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Tanaka led his team to a championship in the National High School Baseball tournament as a junior for Komazawa University Tomakomai High School in 2005 and a runner-up berth in the same tournament as a senior in 2006. The Eagles' first-round pick in the 2006 NPB high school draft, he is seen as the expansion team's future staff ace.

Tanaka was born in Itami, a city in Hyōgo, Japan. He began playing baseball in the first grade as a catcher for the Koyanosato Tigers (a Little League team) alongside current Yomiuri Giants shortstop Hayato Sakamoto, who was then ironically the team's ace pitcher and Tanaka's batterymate. Tanaka and Sakamoto hit third and fourth in the lineup, respectively. He went on to play for the Takarazuka Boys while attending Itami Municipal Matsuzaki Junior High School, being used at both pitcher and catcher because of his strong throwing arm. He was chosen to the Junior All-South Kansai team in his third year of junior high (the equivalent of ninth grade in the United States).

Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury ( /dʒəˈkoʊbi/ jə-KOH-bee; born September 11, 1983) is an American professional baseball center fielder with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball.

Ellsbury attended Madras High School, where he was a 4-year letterman in football and baseball, and played varsity basketball his sophomore through senior years. Ellsbury's career batting average of .567 and being caught stealing only once are Oregon High School State Records. He also holds the Oregon record for stolen bases in a game, with 7. Ellsbury was first drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 23rd round of the 2002 MLB Draft, but did not sign. He was then drafted 23rd overall by Boston in 2005, after three years at Oregon State University. Ellsbury is the only Red Sox player in history to join the 30-30 club, a feat he accomplished on September 25, 2011, against the Yankees.

Ellsbury is officially enrolled as a member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes and is the first Native American of Navajo descent to reach the Major Leagues. As of 2008, he was one of only three active non-Hispanic Native American players in Major League Baseball, along with Kyle Lohse of the St. Louis Cardinals and Joba Chamberlain of the New York Yankees. Ellsbury is English and German on his paternal side.

Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian right-handed baseball pitcher who has played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Mo", Rivera has served as a relief pitcher for most of his career, and since 1997, he has been the Yankees' closer. A 12-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, he is MLB's all-time leader in saves (608) and games finished (892). His accolades include five American League (AL) Rolaids Relief Man Awards, the 1999 World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, and the 2003 AL Championship Series MVP Award.

Rivera was signed by the Yankees organization in 1990 as an amateur free agent in Panama, and he debuted in the major leagues in 1995. Initially a starting pitcher, he struggled in the role and was consequently converted to a relief pitcher. After a breakthrough season in 1996 as a setup man, he became the Yankees' closer in 1997. In the following years, he established himself as one of baseball's top relievers, leading the major leagues in saves in 1999, 2001, and 2004. Rivera's presence in the late innings of games to record the final outs has contributed to the Yankees' success in the late-1990s and 2000s, particularly in the postseason where he has set numerous records, including lowest earned run average (ERA) (0.70) and most saves (42). His pitching repertoire consists primarily of one pitch, a sharp-breaking, mid-90s mile per hour (mph) cut fastball that has been called an all-time great pitch.

Hideki Matsui (松井 秀喜, Matsui Hideki^?, born June 12, 1974) is a Japanese Major League Baseball designated hitter and outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed.

After playing the first ten seasons of his career for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, he played the next seven seasons, from 2003–2009, for the New York Yankees of North America's Major League Baseball. As a free agent, Matsui has had one-year stints with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Oakland Athletics, and in April of 2012 signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays. Matsui has been successful in both leagues, winning the Central League Most Valuable Player Award three times in Japan, as well as the World Series Most Valuable Player Award in the United States.

Hideki Matsui was born in Neagari, Ishikawa, Japan (later merged into Nomi, Ishikawa). According to an interview on YES Network's "CenterStage", Matsui originally batted right-handed as a child. However, when he started playing with his older brother and his friends, Matsui was such a good hitter that his embarrassed brother insisted that he bat left-handed or stop playing with them. Matsui soon became an overpowering left-handed batter, thereafter batting left-handed.