The New York Yankees are a Major League Baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in
href="http://www.freebase.com:80/view/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000002f8906">New York City. The team's name is often shortened to "the Yanks", and their most prominantly used nickname is "the Bronx Bombers", or simply "the Bombers". The organization is sometimes referred to by detractors as "the Bronx Zoo" and, more prominantly, "the Evil Empire", although both terms are embraced by some fans.
One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles, moving to New York in 1903 to become the New York Highlanders. From 1923 to the present, the Yankees have played at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have been Major League Baseball's most storied franchise, winning 26 World Series titles and 39 American League Pennants. Their 26 titles make them the most successful franchise in North American professional sports history, passing the Montreal Canadiens' 24 titles in 1999. They are also the only team represented in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at every position. Notably, they have faced every winner of the National League pennant in the World Series except for the Houston Astros, who won their first pennant in 2005. No other team has come close to matching this feat.
The Yankees also have one of the longest standing and most storied rivalries in North American sports with the nearby Boston Red Sox. The Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry has centered around the supposed Curse of the Bambino, and has gained even more signficance with the creation of the Wild Card in 1995, which allowed the two teams to meet in the playoffs.