title: mysql search by year from date string
body: <p>I have a large database with over 3 million records. I want to search the by date but the date field is stored as a sting in this format 2014-01-20 00:00</p>
  
  <p>I am looking to search the database in the quickest possible way.</p>
  
  <p>I am looking for something LIKE :</p>
  
  <pre><code>SELECT * FROM TableName WHERE Date &gt; 2012 AND Date &lt; 2014 
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Any pointers as I dont know where to start </p>
  
  <p>thanks in advance </p>