In a long-awaited move, cash-strapped New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner sold the underachieving franchise to Washington, D.C., mogul Abe Pollin. The team will move into RFK Stadium this week to begin the 2004 season.
Pollin, who also owns the Washington Wizards basketball team, said, "It's our sincerest hope that this move will reverse the fortunes of the Yankees and possibly make them a World Series contender."
Baseball experts have been predicting the sale for several years. Under Steinbrenner, the Yankees had trouble paying for the contracts of star players. In recent years, players such as Jose Vizcaino, Charlie Hayes and Mike Stanton have left the team for greener pastures. Just this winter, Yankee team leader Karim Garcia fled for the crosstown rival Mets.
The Yankees also lost former team mascot Don Zimmer to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays this winter.
Yankee staff ace Felix Heredia said of the move, "It'll be great to finally get a chance to play in front of passionate sports fans in Washington. It was becoming a drag to play for those self-deprecating, respectful Yankee fans in New York."
The historically unsuccessful franchise hopes to break through in Washington and capture its first playoff berth since the days of Steve Howe and Danny Tartabull. Heredia noted that being away from the pressure of playing in town with the Mets, the most successful franchise in baseball history, will ease tensions on the team.
Pollin said the Yankees will play in RFK Stadium for the next two to three years, while a new baseball stadium is constructed on the site of the Kazten Arts Center at the intersection of Massachusetts and Nebraska avenues.
Pollin also announced that rather than travel to Japan to open the season against the Devil Rays, the Yankees will play a pair of spring-training games against the AU Gentlemen's Club to prepare for the regular season.
