TheNew York Yankees are a professionalbaseball team based in New York City,New York in the borough ofThe Bronx. The New York Yankees are members of theAmerican League (AL)East Division inMajor League Baseball (MLB). The Yankees have won theWorld Series 27 times, more than any other MLB team.[1][2] In baseball, thehead coach of a team is called the manager. The duties of the team manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field.[3][4] Since starting to play as theBaltimore Orioles (no relationship to the currentBaltimore Orioles team[5]) in 1901, the team has employed 35managers.[6] The current manager isAaron Boone, the currentgeneral manager isBrian Cashman and the current owner is Hal Steinbrenner, the son ofGeorge Steinbrenner, who first bought the Yankees in 1973.[7][8][9]
The franchise's first manager wasHall of FamerJohn McGraw, who managed the team for one year and part of a second before becoming manager of theNew York Giants.[10] In 1903, the team moved from Baltimore to New York, where it was initially known as the New York Highlanders.[11] Its first manager in New York wasClark Griffith, who managed the team from 1903 to 1908.[6]Miller Huggins was the next manager to manage the team for more than three seasons. Huggins took over the managerial duties in 1918 and led the Yankees to six American League championships and three World Series titles until his death in 1929. Huggins won 1,067 regular season games with the Yankees, which ranks fourth all-time among Yankee managers.[6][12]
Several other managers spent long tenures with the Yankees.Joe McCarthy managed the Yankees from 1931 until midway through the 1946 season. During his tenure, the Yankees won eight American League titles and won the World Series seven times. He won 1,460 regular season games with the Yankees and lost 867, both more than any other Yankee manager.[6][13]Casey Stengel managed the team from 1949 until 1960, winning 10 American League championships, 7 World Series titles, and 1,149 games, which ranks third among Yankee managers.[14] After Stengel was discharged,Ralph Houk managed the Yankees from 1961 through 1963, winning American League titles each season, and winning the World Series twice. He served a second term as Yankee manager from 1966 through 1973.[15]
From 1974 until 1995, no Yankee managerial term lasted as long as three complete seasons.[6]Joe Torre managed the Yankees from 1996 through 2007 and the team made the playoffs each season. He also won six American League championships and four World Series titles. His 1,173 regular season wins are second all-time among Yankees managers. He also has the most playoff appearances, playoff wins and playoff losses of any Yankee manager. Torre was named American LeagueManager of the Year twice, in 1996 and 1998.[16] His predecessor,Buck Showalter, also was named Manager of the Year in 1994.[16] Torre left after the 2007 season and was replaced byJoe Girardi, who managed the Yankees from 2008 to 2017 winning one American League championship and one World Series title.[6][17][18]
Several managers have had multiple tenures with the Yankees.Billy Martin served five terms as Yankee manager.[19][20] Before his death in 1989, Martin was rumored to be in line for a sixth term if the Yankees started the 1990 season poorly.[21]Yogi Berra, Houk,Bob Lemon,Gene Michael,Lou Piniella andDick Howser each served two terms as the Yankees' manager. Howser's first term lasted only a single game, as interim manager in 1978 between Martin's firing and Lemon's hiring.[22] Howser also managed a full season in 1980, leading the team to the playoffs, but was fired after the Yankees failed to advance to the World Series. Howser has the highest careerwinning percentage among all Yankee managers at .632.[6][22]
| # | Number of managers[a] |
| G | Regular season games managed; may not equal sum of wins and losses due to tie games |
| W | Regular season wins |
| L | Regular season losses |
| Win% | Winning percentage |
| PA | Playoff appearances: number of years this manager has led the franchise to theplayoffs |
| PW | Playoff wins |
| PL | Playoff losses |
| Ref | Reference |
| LC | League Championships: number of League Championships, or pennants, achieved by the manager |
| WS | World Series Championships: number of World Series victories achieved by the manager |
| † | Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame primarily as a manager or executive |
| * | Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame primarily as a player |
| #[a] | Manager | Seasons | G | W | L | Win% | PA | PW | PL | LC | WS | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Ralph Houk | 1961–1963 1966–1973 | 1,757 | 944 | 806 | .539 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 2 | [15][41] |
| 20 | Yogi Berra* | 1964,1984–1985 | 342 | 192 | 148 | .565 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | [42][43] |
| 23 | Billy Martin[b] | 1975–1978,1979,1983,1985,1988 | 941 | 556 | 385 | .591 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 1 | [19][46] |
| 24 | Dick Howser[b] | 1978,1980 | 163 | 103 | 60 | .632 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | [22][49] |
| 25 | Bob Lemon*[b][c] | 1978–1979 1981–1982 | 172 | 99 | 73 | .576 | 2 | 15 | 9 | 2 | 1 | [47][48] |
| 26 | Gene Michael[c] | 1981,1982 | 168 | 92 | 76 | .548 | — | — | — | — | — | [50] |
| 28 | Lou Piniella | 1986–1987,1988 | 417 | 224 | 193 | .537 | — | — | — | — | — | [52] |