The Gulf Coast League Yankees (or GCL Yankees) are the Rookie League

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 affiliate of Major League Baseball's

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

. The GCL Yankees play in Tampa

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 at the Yankee Complex. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball

Professional baseball

Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 either as draftees or non-drafted free agent

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

s from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

, Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, and other countries.

The GCL Yankees have won the Gulf Coast League championship four times, in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2011.

History

In 2004

2004 in baseball

-Headline events of the year:*The Boston Red Sox win their first World Series since , ending the Curse of the Bambino.*With 262 hits, Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners breaks George Sisler's record of 257. Suzuki also sets the record for most singles in a season, with 225.*2004 also marked the final...

, the Gulf Coast Yankees swept the Gulf Coast Red Sox to become the 2004 Gulf Coast League

Gulf Coast League

The Gulf Coast League is a minor league baseball league which operates in Florida. It is a Rookie League, with a season running from mid-June to late August. The season is 60 games long and teams in the league are divided into three divisions, East, North and South...

 Champions. In 2005

2005 in baseball

-Headline events of the year:*Chicago White Sox swept the Houston Astros to win the 2005 World Series.*2005 also marked the inaugural season of the Washington Nationals, who relocated from Montreal and were formerly known as the Expos....

, the GCL Yankees swept the Gulf Coast Mets in the best-of-three series to win the Gulf Coast League championship again. In 2007, the GCL Yankees defeated the Gulf Coast Dodgers

Gulf Coast Dodgers

The Arizona League Dodgers are the Rookie Level minor league affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They were formerly known as the Gulf Coast Dodgers and played in Vero Beach, Florida, at Dodgertown . Dodgertown includes Holman Stadium, which is also the former spring training home to the Brooklyn...

 to claim the title again. The team defeated the Gulf Coast Marlins

Gulf Coast Marlins

The Gulf Coast League Marlins are one of the Rookie Level minor league affiliates of the Miami Marlins. The team plays in Jupiter, Florida, at Roger Dean Stadium...

 in the 2011 Gulf Coast League championship series.

Notable alumni

• Brad Ausmus
  Brad Ausmus
  Bradley David "Brad" Ausmus is a former All Star catcher in Major League Baseball, and currently a special assistant for the San Diego Padres....
  
  
• Francisco Cervelli
  Francisco Cervelli
  Francisco Cervelli is a Major League Baseball catcher for the New York Yankees. He was an international signee by the Yankees in and played in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for the Italian team. He is Hispanic of Italian descent...
  
  
• Mariano Rivera
  Mariano Rivera
  Mariano Rivera is a Panamanian right-handed baseball pitcher who has played 17 years in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Mo", Rivera has served as a relief pitcher for most of his career, and since 1997, he has been the Yankees' closer...
  
  
• Derek Jeter
  Derek Jeter
  Derek Sanderson Jeter is an American baseball shortstop who has played 17 years in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. A twelve-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, Jeter's clubhouse presence, on-field leadership, hitting ability, and baserunning have made him a central...
  
  

External links

• Gulf Coast Yankees page at The Baseball Cube