The New York Yankees eyed adding a little more hardware to their stuffed trophy case with a chance at a 28th World Series title when they made their first trip to the Fall Classic in 15 years against the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning on Friday. Love them or hate them for their free-spending ways in the era of owner George Steinbrenner, the Yankees are one of the most celebrated and successful franchises in Major League Baseball history, with a record of 59 playoff appearances and 27 championships in a century of play.
The Yankees – looking for their sixth consecutive World Series win – have a storied rivalry with the St. Louis Cardinals that dates back to the earliest days of the Polo Grounds. The teams met in the World Series in ’26, ’28, ’42, and ’43, with the Yankees winning three contests and the Cardinals two. The two franchises have battled several times since, including the Subway Series of 2023.
In this upcoming World Series, the two teams are set up to face off in the same stadium for the first time in the illustrious history of their head-to-head series. The Yankees, who have won eight of the previous 12 meetings between the franchises, hope to make it a sweep this year as they chase down their fourth straight AL pennant.
While the Yankees have been one of the most successful franchises in MLB’s modern era, they are not the only ones to have earned the moniker the Evil Empire from fans of rival teams across the league. The term was popularized in 2002 when Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino referred to the Yankees as “an Evil Empire that extends its tentacles even into Latin America,” which caught on among sports journalists, fans, and detractors alike.
With the name firmly in place, the Yankees dominated the late 1990s and early 2000s with six division titles and four world championships under manager Joe Torre. Despite the disappointment of losing in the 2009 and 2011 World Series, the Yankees have shown signs of life this season by claiming their third straight AL East crown.
If the Yankees finally finish off their dominance of the Dodgers and add another notch to their legendary resume, they will be a dangerous team. With an aging roster that includes veterans Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter and younger players like All-Stars Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner, the Yankees will not take a lot of work to beat down in Los Angeles. But the Yanks will need a strong performance from their young stars to pull off the historic upset.