Where New York Yankees Ownership Situation Ranks Against Cross-Town Rival

The Steinbrenner family has owned the New York Yankees for 52 years, but where does its ownership situation rank amongst their MLB peers?

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Words like tradition, prestige and championships are synonymous with the New York Yankees, whose 27 World Series wins reign supreme in the sport.

The Steinbrenner family has owned the team for 52 years, accounting for seven of those world titles. The one who started it all, George Steinbrenner, led a 12-man group that bought the Yankees from CBS in January of 1973.

According to a financial profile on the organization published in March, 2024, the Yankees were worth an estimated $7.55 billion a little less than a year ago. In that same profile it states Steinbrenner bought the team for $8.8 million.

Not only is that one of the greatest investments of all time, but "The Boss," as George Steinbrenner was affectionally known as, continued New York's unparalleled championship legacy.

The Yankees won 10 pennants and six World Series while Steinbrenner ran the show in the Bronx.
New York was routinely referred to as "The Evil Empire" during that run, largely because he was willing to do whatever it took to win, with no apologies.

Under "The Boss" no free agent was too expensive, and no superstar talent was out of reach. Love him, hate him or envy him Steinbrenner prioritized winning above everything else, which is why the fan base would break out in "Thank you George" chants when he'd appear at the stadium late in his tenure.

Today, Bleacher Report ranked the ownership situation of all 32 MLB teams, placing the Yankees sixth, three spots behind their cross-town rival New York Mets.

"The Boss" passed control of the team to his youngest son, Hal, in 2008. Steinbrenner's children were involved in the business end of the team starting in the 1990s. His sons, Hal and Hank, began taking on more prominent roles in the years leading up to 2008, as their father's health began to decline. "The Boss" passed away in July of 2010.

From his first day to this moment, Hal is far more reserved and business-first than his father was. Simply put, things have never been the same since Hal took over. Not only is the dedication to winning a little reduced, so is the moxie "The Boss" brought to the table.

The Yankees have been successful under Hal's watch, winning two pennants and one World Series title. One of those pennants came last year, when New York lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Los Angeles happened to be ranked first on Bleacher Reports' ownership situation list.

Many Major League Baseball organizations would gladly take two pennants and a world championship over a 16-year stretch. But for the Yankees, that's not good enough, nor is ownership's perceived devotion to winning. In fairness, George Steinbrenner set the bar quite high on that scale.

"The Boss" would not have been happy about any team's ownership situation being ranked ahead of his own, not to mention five of them. Even the Dodgers, who are the only team in the league that can rival New York in tradition and market size, would not have sat well with Steinbrenner.

But the Mets? It's hard to imagine how "The Boss" would have reacted seeing his Yankees ranked sixth while the Mets are second, and knowing deep down that its true. He certainly wouldn't have allowed the cross-town rival to outbid him for a premier talent like Juan Soto.

In fact, since Steven Cohen bought the Mets in 2020, he's gone after big name players and marquee free agents much more like "The Boss" used to.