The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball either as selections from the Major League Baseball draft or as non-drafted free agents. The team plays its home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Yankees, and fielded two squads in several seasons, differentiated by suffixes. The team (or one of its two squads) has won the league championship 13 times, most recently in 2022.
History The Yankees originally fielded a team in the Sarasota Rookie League and the Florida Rookie League in 1964 and 1965, which were direct predecessors to the Gulf Coast League (GCL). The team competed in the GCL during 1966, then was absent from the league through 1979. Since 1980, the team has fielded at least one squad in the league each season.
In 2013, the Yankees began fielding two squads in the league, originally differentiated by "1" and "2" suffixes. The suffixes were changed to "East" and "West" in 2016, as the squads played in the Northeast and Northwest division, respectively. In 2019, both teams moved into the North Division. The Yankees returned to fielding a single squad in 2021.
Season-by-season
Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs SRL Yankees1964 24–35 4th Bill Shantz FRL Yankees1965 17–42 6th Chuck Boone GCL Yankees1966 32–16 1st Dick Berardino League Champs No playoffs until 19831980 27–35 7th Carlos Tosca 1981 30–29 7th Carlos Tosca 1982 42–21 1st Carlos Tosca League Champs 1984 28–35 8th Jack Gillis 1985 43–18 1st Carlos Tosca League ChampsPlayoff game vs. GCL Rangers rained out.Yankees declared champions based on record1986 33–29 4th (t) Fred Ferreira 1987 31–32 7th Fred Ferreira 1988 45–18 1st Brian Butterfield League Champsvs. GCL Royals (1 game to 0) 1989 41–22 1st Jack Gillis League Champsvs. GCL Dodgers (2 games to 1) 1990 32–30 8th (t) Glenn Sherlock 1991 27–32 11th Ken Dominguez 1992 31–28 6th Gary Denbo 1993 30–29 9th Glenn Sherlock 1994 26–32 8th Hector Lopez 1995 32–26 8th (t) Hector Lopez 1996 37–21 2nd Ken Dominguez League Champs vs. GCL Rangers (2 games to 0)Won in 1st roundvs. GCL Expos (1 game to 0) 1997 40–20 2nd Ken Dominguez Lost in 1st roundvs. GCL Mets (1 game to 0) 1998 34–26 3rd (t) Ken Dominguez 1999 32–28 5th Ken Dominguez 2000 38–22 3rd Derek Shelton Lost League Finalsvs. GCL Rangers (2 games to 1)Won in 1st round vs. GCL Marlins (1 game to 0) 2001 35–25 4th Derek Shelton League Champsvs. GCL Dodgers (2 games to 1)Won in 1st round vs. GCL Red Sox (1 game to 0) 2002 36–24 3rd Manny Crespo 2003 26–31 8th Dan Radison 2004 36–23 1st Oscar Acosta League Champsvs. GCL Red Sox (2 games to 0) 2005 33–20 2nd Oscar Acosta League Champsvs. GCL Mets (2 games to 0)Won in 1st round vs. GCL Red Sox (1 game to 0) 2006 33–20 3rd Matt Martin 2007 42–17 2nd Jody Reed League Champsvs. GCL Dodgers (2 games to 1)Won in 1st round vs. GCL Twins (1 game to 0) 2008 31–27 7th Jody Reed 2009 33–27 4th Tom Slater Lost in 1st roundvs. GCL Marlins (1 game to 0) 2010 24–32 12th (t) Tom Slater 2011 37–23 3rd Carlos Mendoza League Champsvs. GCL Marlins Won in 1st roundvs. GCL Orioles (1 game to 0) 2012 35–25 4th Tom Nieto GCL Yankees 1 (2013–2020)2013 28–32 8th (t) Tom Nieto 2014 38–22 1st Travis Chapman Lost League title vs. GCL Red Sox (2 games to 1)Won in 1st round vs. GCL Yankees 2 (1 game to 0) 2015 26–32 12th Julio Mosquera 2016 19–36 17th Raúl Domínguez 2017 33–27 6th Luis Sojo League Champsvs. GCL Nationals (2 games to 1)Won in 1st round vs. GCL Phillies (1 game to 0)2018 19-35 17th Edgar Gonzalez 2019 18-29 15th Dan Fiorito 2020 N/A N/A N/A Season Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemicGCL Yankees 2 (2013–2020)2013 36–24 2nd Mario Garza Lost in 1st roundvs. GCL Red Sox (1 game to 0) 2014 35–25 5th Pat Osburn Lost in 1st round vs. GCL Yankees 1 (1 game to 0)2015 26–34 13th Marc Bombard 2016 24–31 12th (t) Marc Bombard 2017 32–27 7th Marc Bombard 2018 25-27 11th David Adams 2019 22-27 12th Nick Ortiz 2020 N/A N/A N/A Season Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemicFCL Yankees (2021–present)2021 36–16 2nd Tyson BlaserJulio Borbón Postseason canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
Roster
Notable alumni Hall of Famers: Mariano Rivera (Inducted 2019) Derek Jeter (Inducted 2020)
References
External links GCL Yankees Roster