Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics (often abbreviated to Oakland A′s) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member club of the West division of the American League (AL) in Major League Baseball (MLB). The club plays its home games at O.co Coliseum. The club has won nine World Series championships, the third most of all current Major League Baseball teams.

One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1901 as the Philadelphia Athletics. They won three World Series championships from 1910 to 1913 and two in a row in 1929 and 1930. The team's owner and manager for its first 50 years was Connie Mack and Hall of Fame players included Chief Bender, Frank "Home Run" Baker, Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Grove. The team left Philadelphia for Kansas City in 1955 and became the Kansas City Athletics before moving to Oakland in 1968. They won three World Championships in a row from 1972 to 1974, led by players including Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, ace reliever Rollie Fingers, and colorful owner Charlie O. Finley. After being sold by Finley to Walter A. Haas, Jr., the team won three consecutive pennants and the 1989 World Series behind the "Bash Brothers", Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, as well as Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley and Rickey Henderson.

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern United States and is the United States' 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border in the Atlantic Ocean with Rhode Island, east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the north and Ontario to the west and north. The state of New York, with an estimated 19.8 million residents in 2015, is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City, the state's most populous city and its economic hub.

With an estimated population of nearly 8.5 million in 2014, New York City is the most populous city in the United States and the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. The New York City Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City is a global city, exerting a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, its fast pace defining the term New York minute. The home of the United Nations Headquarters, New York City is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural and financial capital of the world, as well as the world's most economically powerful city. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State. Two-thirds of the state's population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% live on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th century Duke of York, future King James II of England. The next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany.

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Bronx, New York City, New York, that competes in Major League Baseball (MLB). The Yankees are a member of MLB's American League (AL) East division. The Yankees are one of two Major League clubs based in New York, the other being the New York Mets.

The club began play in the AL in the 1901 season as the Baltimore Orioles (not to be confused with the modern Baltimore Orioles.) Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the franchise (which had ceased operations) and moved it to New York City, renaming the club as the New York Highlanders. The Highlanders were officially renamed as the "Yankees" in 1913.

The team is owned by Yankee Global Enterprises, an LLC controlled by the family of George Steinbrenner, who purchased the team in 1973. Former catcher Joe Girardi is the team's manager, and Brian Cashman is the team's general manager. The team's home games were played at Yankee Stadium from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. In 2009, they moved into a new ballpark of the same name after the previous venue closed. The team is perennially among the leaders in MLB attendance—in 2011, the Yankees had the second-highest attendance.

Oakland, California

Oakland /ˈoʊklənd/ is a major West Coast port city in the U.S. state of California. Oakland is the third largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, the eighth-largest city in California, and the 45th-largest city in the U.S. with a population of 413,775 as of 2014. It serves as a trade center for the San Francisco Bay Area; its Port of Oakland is the busiest port for San Francisco Bay, all of Northern California, and fifth busiest in the United States. Incorporated in 1852, Oakland is the county seat of Alameda County. It is also the principal city of the Bay Area Region known as the East Bay. The city is situated directly across the bay, six miles (9.7 km) east of San Francisco.

Oakland's territory covers what was once a mosaic of coastal terrace prairie, oak woodland, and north coastal scrub. Its land served as a rich resource when its hillside oak and redwood timber were logged to build San Francisco, and Oakland's fertile flatland soils helped it become a prolific agricultural region. In the late 1860s, Oakland was selected as the western terminal of the Transcontinental Railroad. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many San Franciscans relocated to Oakland, enlarging the city's population, increasing its housing stock and improving its infrastructure. It continued to grow in the 20th century with its busy port, shipyards, and a thriving automobile manufacturing industry.

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team, founded in 1969 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member team of the American League (AL) Central division. Since April 10, 1973, the Royals have played at Kauffman Stadium, formerly known as Royals Stadium. The Royals have participated in four World Series, winning in 1985 and 2015, and losing in 1980 and 2014.

The name Royals originates from the American Royal, a livestock show, horse show, rodeo, and championship barbeque competition held annually in Kansas City since 1899. The name also fits into something of a theme for other professional sports franchises in the city, including the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL, the former Kansas City Kings of the NBA, the formerly named Kansas City Wizards of MLS, and the former Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League.

Entering the American League as an expansion franchise in 1969 along with the Seattle Pilots, the club was founded by Kansas City businessman Ewing Kauffman. The franchise was established following the actions of Stuart Symington, then-United States Senator from Missouri, who demanded a new franchise for the city after the Athletics (Kansas City's previous major league team that played from 1955 to 1967) moved to Oakland, California in 1968.