AL East Division
(Redirected from AL Eastern Division)
The American League East Division, often abbreviated AL East, was created in 1969 when Major League Baseball expanded and split the American League and National League into two division each. The AL East division has had the following constructs:
1969-1971: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, and Washington Senators.
1972-1976: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Yankees.
1977-1993: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays.
1994-1997: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays.
1998-2007: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays.
2008-present: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays.
Division Champions[edit]
Notes:
- Season shortened by the 1972 strike; as a result, the Detroit Tigers won the Division title by only 1/2 game over the Boston Red Sox.
- The New York Yankees won a one-game playoff with the Boston Red Sox for the Division title.
- Split-season format adopted because of the 1981 strike. The New York Yankees won the first-half title and the Milwaukee Brewers won the second half title. The Yankees defeated the Brewers in the Division Series to represent the AL East in the 1981 ALCS.
- The 1994 postseason was cancelled because of the 1994 strike; first season played under three-division format.
- The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox finished with identical records, but New York was awarded the Division title due to its better head-to-head record against Boston.
- Season shortened by the Coronavirus pandemic; a special Postseason format was used.
Wild Cards[edit]
Since the realignment in 1994 the division has consistently been one of the strongest in baseball. Since that season, a team from the AL East has won an AL Wild Card slot 28 times:
- 1995 New York Yankees
- 1996 Baltimore Orioles
- 1997 New York Yankees
- 1998 Boston Red Sox
- 1999 Boston Red Sox
- 2003 Boston Red Sox
- 2004 Boston Red Sox Won World Series over St. Louis Cardinals
- 2005 Boston Red Sox
- 2007 New York Yankees
- 2008 Boston Red Sox
- 2009 Boston Red Sox
- 2010 New York Yankees
- 2011 Tampa Bay Rays
- 2012 Baltimore Orioles
- 2013 Tampa Bay Rays
- 2015 New York Yankees
- 2016 Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays
- 2017 New York Yankees
- 2018 New York Yankees
- 2019 Tampa Bay Rays
- 2020 New York Yankees (2nd place) and Toronto Blue Jays (Wild Card)
- 2021 Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees
- 2022 Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays
- 2023 Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays
- 2024 Baltimore Orioles
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