The Yankees are the latest team to be featured on “This Week in Baseball,” which is back for a 29th season with a brand-new format.
The popular band, Taking Back Sunday, pays a visit to Yankee Stadium to soak in the history, and they take TWIB along for the ride.

Band members Mark O’Connell and Eddie Reyes take TWIB on a trip to the Bronx, where the two New York natives receive a tour of the legendary ballpark from Yankee Stadium tour guide Tony Morante, who takes them to the dugout and into Monument Park.

During the first part of the show, O’Connell and Reyes recall their favorite moments growing up as Yankees fans, discussing players from Don Mattingly to Mariano Rivera.

TWIB also hears from Johnny Damon, who had some fun with the fact that he had to “clean up” his style to fit in with the Yankees. Derek Jeter talks about the competition in the tough AL East, while Bernie Williams talks about his new role with the team this season.

In typical Yankees style, the first act ends with one of the latest in a long line of great Yankees moments: Jorge Posada’s walk-off home run against the Rangers.

The two band members return for the second part of the show, as they go through a Top 5 of fun facts you may not know about the Yankees.

Power hitters are the subject of this week’s “Pepsi’s Pitch, Hit and Run” segment, the weekly feature which highlights a different skill, as told from the perspective of the game’s top players.

The “Front Row Fans” segment features rapper and actor Fat Joe, who will join other Yankees fans to show his love of the Bronx Bombers.

Fat Joe talks about his New York roots growing up in the Bronx, just a few short blocks from the House That Ruth Built, where he would spend many days sitting in the bleachers. He also explains how today he enjoys going to the game because he can be just a regular fan, cheering on and rooting for his favorite players, including Jeter.

In the “Pitch, Hit and Run” segment, TWIB highlights the game’s best power hitters and breaks down what makes them so good.

TWIB takes a look at, among others, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, David Ortiz and Jim Thome, hearing from the sluggers and their teammates, opposing players, managers and coaches from around the league, to find out what makes these guys tick.

As always, the show closes with the “How ‘Bout That” segment, a tribute to former Yankees broadcaster Mel Allen. The highlight-driven piece will be set to Taking Back Sunday’s new single, “Make Damn Sure.”

September
Wang returned with a strong start after missing two months, giving the Yankees another healthy arm. With the divisional race getting tight, the Big Unit and Giambi led the Yanks to a crucial win over the Red Sox on Sept. 11, putting New York in position to win the AL East. Bubba Crosby did his part, too, beating the Orioles with a walk-off home run. A-Rod tied Joe D. with his 46th homer, then passed the Hall of Famer with No. 47. Small’s magical season was capped off with one more win, as he finished with a perfect 10-0 record.

October
It took until Game 161, but the Yankees clinched the AL East with a win over Boston. After falling behind 2-1 in the ALDS against the Angels, the Yankees won Game 4 to force a Game 5 back in Anaheim. But the Halos ended the Yankees’ season, as A-Rod took a lot of the blame for the early postseason exit. Giambi earned Comeback Player of the Year honors, completing his storybook season. Mel Stottlemyre announced his departure as pitching coach, but Torre decided to return and Brian Cashman signed a new contract.

November
Jeter won his second consecutive Gold Glove, kicking off the awards season. Cano finished second to Huston Street in Rookie of the Year voting, while Rivera was the runner-up to Bartolo Colon in the Cy Young Award race. The Yankees finally took home some hardware when A-Rod won his second AL MVP Award, after which he spoke to MLB.com in an exclusive Q&A. Larry Bowa, Lee Mazzilli, Tony Pena and Ron Guidry were added to Torre’s coaching staff. With a deadline looming, the Yankees came to an agreement with Hideki Matsui on a new four-year contract.

December
With Tom Gordon bolting for the Phillies, the Yankees bolstered their bullpen with the signing of Kyle Farnsworth as Rivera’s new setup man. Top prospect Eric Duncan earned MVP honors in the Arizona Fall League, receiving the award at the Winter Meetings. The Yankees had some business of their own at the meetings as well, signing Mike Myers, trading Tony Womack, offering Bernie Williams arbitration. Later in the month, the Yanks acquired Ron Villone from the Marlins.

Then on Dec. 23, Yankees fans got an early holiday gift as Johnny Damon slipped on his No. 18 pinstriped jersey for the first time.

Damon was officially introduced as the Yankees’ new center fielder at a Yankee Stadium press conference, as the former face of the Red Sox swapped in his “Idiot” look for a Yankees hat, which sat atop his nicely trimmed hair and clean-shaven face.

May
With the team off to a slow start, the Yankees brought up Robinson Cano as part of a roster shakeup. Things got worse before they got better, bottoming out after an 11-19 start. Tino enjoyed a resurgence with homers in five straight games, while the Yankees rattled off a nine-game winning streak to breathe some life back into the Bronx. The Yanks beat the Mets and Pedro Martinez in the first Subway Series. With Jaret Wright and Kevin Brown on the disabled list, Chien-Ming Wang made an immediate impact in his first month with the club. After reflecting on the 10-year anniversary of his big-league debut, Derek Jeter began his second decade in the Majors. Rodriguez earned player of the month honors.

June
New York drafted C.J. Henry in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft, adding a young, energetic player to the system. A-Rod added to his impressive resume, becoming the youngest player in history to reach 400 home runs. Later in the week, Joe Torre chewed out his team, but the Yankees responded the following week with a six-game winning streak, including a sweep of the Cubs, as the two teams met in New York for the first time since 1938. It will be the last time they meet at the current ballpark in the Bronx, as the Bombers announced plans for a new Yankee Stadium. Jeter made some history of his own, hitting his first career grand slam after 135 career at-bats with the bases loaded. For the second time in 2005, the Yankees broke out for a 13-run inning against the Devil Rays, staging a remarkable comeback. George Steinbrenner ended speculation about the future of the club when he tabbed Steve Swindal as his successor.

July
Pavano’s first season in New York ended early, as he landed on the DL and didn’t pitch again for the Yankees. A-Rod, Rivera and Gary Sheffield represented the Yankees on the AL All-Star team, but there was no sign of Jeter in Detroit. The Yankees, still battling injuries in the rotation, traded for Al Leiter, who defeated the Red Sox in his first start for the Yanks. Aaron Small also pitched in, becoming an unlikely hero for the Yankees. Brown joined Pavano on the DL, ending his season — and tenure with the Yankees — in the process. With few options at the trade deadline, the Yankees acquired Shawn Chacon to bolster the rotation.

August
The Yankees got some good news on the injury front, as Wright returned to the rotation after four months on the DL. New York got a close-up look at the White Sox, as the Big Unit served up six homers to the eventual World Series champs. Giambi’s comeback heated up again with a pair of two-homer games that proved he was as dangerous as ever. With his 40th home run, A-Rod became the first right-handed Yankee since Joe DiMaggio to reach that mark. Rodriguez was named player of the month for the second time in 2005.

The Yankees took quite a roller coaster ride in 2005, starting with 19 losses in their first 30 games before surging for an eighth consecutive American League East title.
Alex Rodriguez had a monster year and Mariano Rivera showed that closers can dominate at the age of 35, while Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang injected some youth into the veteran ballclub.

Here’s a month-by-month look at the year in baseball for the 2005 Yankees:

January
With the roster taking shape, the Yankees re-signed Tanyon Sturtze to strengthen the bullpen. But the biggest move came a week later, when Randy Johnson officially became a Yankee after weeks of speculation.

February
After a long winter of controversy, Jason Giambi broke his silence and turned his focus back to baseball. Once Spring Training began, the Yankees and Red Sox made news off the field, as several Boston players waged a one-sided war of words against Alex Rodriguez. As the newest Yankee adjusted to life in pinstripes, Randy Johnson sat down for a Q&A with MLB.com to discuss his move to New York.

March
Another high-profile newcomer took the field for the first time, as Carl Pavano made his spring debut. The Yankees and Red Sox met for the first time since the 2004 ALCS, as Giambi homered for the first time in the New York win. With the regular-season opener drawing closer, the Big Unit was tabbed to start on Opening Day against David Wells and the Red Sox.

April
With a sellout crowd on hand, Johnson beat the Red Sox on Opening Night. Tino Martinez had a happy homecoming, returning to the Yankees after three years away. Mariano Rivera got off to a tough start after two blown saves against the Sox, but he had some fun with the Fenway faithful when the Yanks visited Boston the next week. Pavano received a scare when he was drilled in the head by a line drive, though he would make his next start. The Yankees showed their offensive firepower with a 13-run inning against Tampa Bay, while A-Rod went deep three times and drove in 10 runs in a win against Bartolo Colon and the Angels.