<P> On June 18, 2007 the Yankees broke new ground by signing the first two professional baseball players from the People's Republic of China to the MLB, and became the first team in MLB history to sign an advertising deal with a Chinese company . The Yankees' streak of nine straight AL East division titles ended in 2007, but they still reached the playoffs with the AL Wild Card . For the third year in a row, the team lost in the first round of the playoffs, as the Cleveland Indians defeated the Yankees in the 2007 ALDS . After the series, Joe Torre declined a reduced - length and compensation contract offer from the Yankees and returned to the National League as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers . </P> <P> After Torre's departure the Yankees signed former catcher Joe Girardi to a three - year contract to manage the club . The 2008 season was the last season played at Yankee Stadium . To celebrate the final year and history of Yankee Stadium, the 2008 Major League Baseball All - Star Game was played there on July 15, 2008 . The final regular - season game at Yankee Stadium was played on September 21, 2008 . After the game, Jeter addressed the crowd, thanking them for their support over the years, and urging them to "take the memories of this field, add them to the new memories that will come at the new Yankee Stadium and continue to pass them on from generation to generation ." Despite multiple midseason roster moves, the team was hampered by injuries and missed the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons . </P> <P> During the off - season, the Yankees retooled their roster with several star free agent acquisitions, including CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and A.J. Burnett . At the beginning of the 2009 season, the Yankees opened the new Yankee Stadium, located just a block north on River Avenue from their former home . The Yankees set a major league record by playing error - free ball for 18 consecutive games from May 14 to June 1, 2009 . The Yankees finished first in the AL East . In the ALDS they defeated the Twins in a sweep before moving on to the ALCS where the Yankees defeated Angels in six games . They defeated the defending champions, the Philadelphia Phillies, in Game 6 of the World Series 7--3, to take the series 4--2, their 27th World Series title . </P> <P> The 2010 season featured the rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox being revived to start and end the season . The Yankees and the Red Sox started and finished the season against each other at Fenway Park . This was the first time since 1950 this had happened . In June, Joe Torre's Dodgers played games against the Yankees for the first time since he became manager of the Dodgers, with the Yankees taking two out of three games in the series . During the 2010 All - Star break, Pennsylvania announcer Bob Sheppard and principal owner George Steinbrenner died . Eight days later, another longtime Yankee icon, former player and manager Ralph Houk, died . The Yankees won the American League Wild Card . They swept the Minnesota Twins in the 2010 American League Division Series, but lost to the Texas Rangers in the 2010 American League Championship Series 4 games to 2 . </P>

When is the last year the yankees won the world series