SafekipediaAmerican League East
Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience
The American League East is one of Major League Baseball’s six divisions. Major League Baseball has two leagues, the American League and the National League, each split into East, Central, and West divisions. The American League East was created before the 1969 season along with the American League West. Before this, each league had only 10 teams with no divisions.
Four of the teams in this division are from the Eastern United States, and one team, the Toronto Blue Jays, is from Eastern Canada. This makes the American League East the only division with a team from outside the United States. At the end of each baseball season, the team with the best record in the division gets one of the American League’s six spots in the playoff.
History
The American League East is often called the toughest division in Major League Baseball (MLB). In its 50 years, teams from this division have played in the World Series 28 times, and 16 of them have won. Since 1995, when a special playoff spot called the wild-card was added, the AL East has sent 20 teams to the wild-card round.
MLB started dividing its teams into groups in 1969. The American League split its 12 teams based on where they were located. The six teams in the Eastern Time Zone joined the AL East, while the others formed the AL West.
In 1972, the Washington Senators moved to Texas and became the Texas Rangers, joining the AL West. This caused some debate about which team should move to the AL East. Eventually, the Milwaukee Brewers were moved to the AL East, while the Chicago White Sox stayed in the AL West.
Division membership
The American League East is a group of baseball teams that play against each other. It started in 1969 with six teams, and has changed over time.
Current members
- Baltimore Orioles – Founding member
- Boston Red Sox – Founding member
- New York Yankees – Founding member
- Tampa Bay Rays – Joined in 1998 as an expansion team. Known as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays before 2008
- Toronto Blue Jays – Joined in 1977 as an expansion team.
Former members
- Cleveland Indians, founding member, moved to the newly created AL Central in 1994
- Detroit Tigers, founding member, moved to the AL Central in 1998 to make room for the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays
- Milwaukee Brewers, joined from the AL West in 1972 to replace the Texas Rangers, moved to the newly created AL Central in 1994
- Washington Senators, founding member, moved to the AL West as the Texas Rangers in 1972
Membership timeline
A AL East was formed with six teams due to the 1969 expansion, as the AL grew from 10 teams to 12.
B Following the 1971 season, the Washington Senators franchise relocated and became the Texas Rangers of the AL West; the Milwaukee Brewers moved to the AL East to maintain an equal number of teams in each division.
C The Toronto Blue Jays were added in the 1977 expansion, becoming the seventh team of the AL East.
D As part of the 1994 realignment, Cleveland and Milwaukee were moved to the newly created AL Central, reducing the AL East to five teams.
E The Tampa Bay Devil Rays were added in the 1998 expansion while Detroit moved to the AL Central, maintaining the AL East at five teams.
F Entering the 2008 season, Tampa Bay's team name changed from Devil Rays to Rays.
Champions by year
- Team names link to the season in which each team played
– The Yankees and Red Sox finished with exact records, tied for the division championship; the Yankees won a one-game tie-breaker.
† – Due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike, the season was split. The Yankees won the first half and defeated the second-half champion Brewers (62–45) in the postseason.
†† – Due to the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike starting August 12, the season was not played to completion. The Yankees were leading at the time of the strike.
+ – The Red Sox and Yankees finished tied for first place with identical records. The Yankees were declared division winners, due to having won the season series against the Red Sox, and the Red Sox received the wild card berth.
††† – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was shortened to 60 games. By virtue of an expanded eight-team postseason format, the division runner-up Yankees also qualified for the playoffs.
++ – The Blue Jays and Yankees finished tied for first place with identical records. The Blue Jays were declared division winners, due to having won the season series against the Yankees, and the Yankees received the first wild card berth.
Other postseason teams
Since the Wild Card began, teams from the American League East have played each other five times in the ALCS, four times in the ALDS, and twice in the Wild Card.
From 2012 to 2019, and in 2021, two teams competed in the Wild Card Game to decide who would join the American League Division Series. In 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was shorter and eight teams played in a best-of-three Wild Card Series. Starting in 2022, three teams competed in the Wild Card Series to decide the last two spots in the Division Series.
Sometimes teams finish the season with the same record. In 2013, the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays had the same record, so they played a one-game playoff. The Rays won 5–2 to earn the Wild Card spot.
In 2016, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles finished with the same record. The Blue Jays won the right to host the Wild Card Game because they had beaten the Orioles 10 times during the regular season, compared to the Orioles' 9 wins.
In 2021, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees finished with the same record. The Red Sox won the right to host the Wild Card Game because they had beaten the Yankees 10 times during the regular season, compared to the Yankees' 9 wins.
Beginning in 2022, the postseason included three division winners and three wild cards per league.
In 2025, the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees finished with the same record. The Blue Jays won the American League East division by beating the Yankees 8 times during the regular season, compared to the Yankees' 5 wins, so the Yankees took the first wild-card spot.
See List of American League Wild Card winners (since 1994)
Season results
Notes and Tiebreakers
- a New York and Boston were tied for the division championship and played in a tie-breaker game. The Yankees won 5–4 to claim the division crown.
- b New York and Boston were tied for the division championship and wild-card berth, but the Yankees claimed the division crown by winning the season series 10–9, relegating Boston to the wild-card spot. New York and Los Angeles Angels of the American League West were also tied for the second and third seed, but the Yankees were relegated to the third seed by losing the season series 6–4.
- c Boston and Cleveland of the American League Central were tied for the first and second seed, but the Red Sox claimed the top overall seed by winning the season series 5–2, relegating Cleveland to the second seed.
- d Tampa Bay and Texas of the American League West were tied for the second wild-card berth and played in a tie-breaker game. The Rays won 5–2 to claim the second wild-card spot.
- e Toronto and Baltimore were tied for both wild-card berths, but the Blue Jays claimed the first wild-card spot by winning the season series 10–9, relegating Baltimore to the second wild-card spot.
- f Boston and New York both finished with identical records, but the Red Sox claimed the first wild-card spot by winning the season series 10–9, relegating the Yankees to the second wild-card spot.
- g Toronto and New York were tied for the division championship, but the Blue Jays claimed the division crown by winning the season series 8–5, relegating the Yankees to the first wild-card spot.
| (#) | Denotes team that won the World Series |
| (#) | Denotes team that won the American League pennant, but lost World Series |
| (#) | Denotes team that qualified for the MLB postseason |
| Season | Team (record) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | |
1969: The American League East was formed with six inaugural members: the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Washington Senators. | |||||||
| 1969 | Baltimore (109–53) | Detroit (90–72) | Boston (87–75) | Washington (86–76) | N.Y. Yankees (80–81) | Cleveland (62–99) | |
| 1970 | Baltimore (108–54) | N.Y. Yankees (93–69) | Boston (87–75) | Detroit (79–83) | Cleveland (76–86) | Washington (70–92) | |
| 1971 | Baltimore (101–57) | Detroit (91–71) | Boston (85–77) | N.Y. Yankees (82–80) | Washington (63–96) | Cleveland (60–102) | |
1972: The Washington Senators relocated to Arlington, Texas as the Texas Rangers and left to join the American League West. The Milwaukee Brewers joined from the American League West. | |||||||
| 1972 | Detroit (86–70) | Boston (85–70) | Baltimore (80–74) | N.Y. Yankees (79–76) | Cleveland (72–84) | Milwaukee (65–91) | |
| 1973 | Baltimore (97–65) | Boston (89–73) | Detroit (85–77) | N.Y. Yankees (80–82) | Milwaukee (74–88) | Cleveland (71–91) | |
| 1974 | Baltimore (91–71) | N.Y. Yankees (89–73) | Boston (84–78) | Cleveland (77–85) | Milwaukee (76–86) | Detroit (72–90) | |
| 1975 | Boston (95–65) | Baltimore (90–69) | N.Y. Yankees (83–77) | Cleveland (79–80) | Milwaukee (68–94) | Detroit (57–102) | |
| 1976 | N.Y. Yankees (97–62) | Baltimore (88–74) | Boston (83–79) | Cleveland (81–78) | Detroit (74–87) | Milwaukee (66–95) | |
1977: An expansion team, Toronto Blue Jays, joined the division. | |||||||
| 1977 | N.Y. Yankees (100–62) | Baltimore (97–64) | Boston (97–64) | Detroit (74–88) | Cleveland (71–90) | Milwaukee (67–95) | Toronto (54–107) |
| 1978 | N.Y. Yankees[a] (100–63) | Boston (99–64) | Milwaukee (93–69) | Baltimore (90–71) | Detroit (86–76) | Cleveland (69–90) | Toronto (59–102) |
| 1979 | Baltimore (102–57) | Milwaukee (95–66) | Boston (91–69) | N.Y. Yankees (89–71) | Detroit (85–76) | Cleveland (81–80) | Toronto (53–109) |
| 1980 | N.Y. Yankees (103–59) | Baltimore (100–62) | Milwaukee (86–76) | Detroit (84–78) | Boston (83–77) | Cleveland (79–81) | Toronto (67–95) |
1981: Due to the player's strike, the season was split and a Division Series was created to pit the first and second half champions from each division. The New York Yankees won the first half and the Milwaukee Brewers won the second half. The Yankees won the ALDS 3–2 to claim the American League East championship. | |||||||
| 1981 | Milwaukee (62–47) | Baltimore (59–46) | N.Y. Yankees (59–48) | Detroit (60–49) | Boston (59–49) | Cleveland (52–51) | Toronto (37–69) |
| 1982 | Milwaukee (95–67) | Baltimore (94–68) | Boston (89–73) | Detroit (83–79) | N.Y. Yankees (79–83) | Cleveland (78–84) | Toronto (78–84) |
| 1983 | Baltimore (98–64) | Detroit (92–70) | N.Y. Yankees (91–71) | Toronto (89–73) | Milwaukee (87–75) | Boston (78–84) | Cleveland (70–92) |
| 1984 | Detroit (104–58) | Toronto (89–73) | N.Y. Yankees (87–75) | Boston (86–76) | Baltimore (85–77) | Cleveland (75–87) | Milwaukee (67–94) |
| 1985 | Toronto (99–62) | N.Y. Yankees (97–64) | Detroit (84–77) | Baltimore (83–78) | Boston (81–81) | Milwaukee (71–90) | Cleveland (60–102) |
| 1986 | Boston (95–66) | N.Y. Yankees (90–72) | Detroit (87–75) | Toronto (86–76) | Cleveland (84–78) | Milwaukee (77–84) | Baltimore (73–89) |
| 1987 | Detroit (98–64) | Toronto (96–66) | Milwaukee (91–71) | N.Y. Yankees (89–73) | Boston (78–84) | Baltimore (67–95) | Cleveland (61–101) |
| 1988 | Boston (89–73) | Detroit (88–74) | Milwaukee (87–75) | Toronto (87–75) | N.Y. Yankees (85–76) | Cleveland (78–84) | Baltimore (54–107) |
| 1989 | Toronto (89–73) | Baltimore (87–75) | Boston (83–79) | Milwaukee (81–81) | N.Y. Yankees (74–87) | Cleveland (73–89) | Detroit (59–103) |
| 1990 | Boston (88–74) | Toronto (86–76) | Detroit (79–83) | Cleveland (77–85) | Baltimore (76–85) | Milwaukee (74–88) | N.Y. Yankees (67–95) |
| 1991 | Toronto (91–71) | Boston (84–78) | Detroit (84–78) | Milwaukee (83–79) | N.Y. Yankees (71–91) | Baltimore (67–95) | Cleveland (57–105) |
| 1992 | Toronto (96–66) | Milwaukee (92–70) | Baltimore (89–73) | Cleveland (76–86) | N.Y. Yankees (76–86) | Detroit (75–87) | Boston (73–89) |
| 1993 | Toronto (95–67) | N.Y. Yankees (88–74) | Baltimore (85–77) | Detroit (85–77) | Boston (80–82) | Cleveland (76–86) | Milwaukee (69–93) |
1994: The Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers left to join the American League Central. Due to the player's strike, the remainder of the season was cancelled on August 12. The postseason and World Series was also cancelled. | |||||||
| 1994 | N.Y. Yankees (70–43) | Baltimore (63–49) | Toronto (55–60) | Boston (54–61) | Detroit (53–62) | ||
| 1995 | (2) Boston (86–58) | (4) N.Y. Yankees (79–65) | Baltimore (71–73) | Detroit (60–84) | Toronto (56–88) | ||
| 1996 | (2) N.Y. Yankees (92–70) | (4) Baltimore (88–74) | Boston (85–77) | Toronto (74–88) | Detroit (53–109) | ||
| 1997 | (1) Baltimore (98–64) | (4) N.Y. Yankees (96–66) | Detroit (79–83) | Boston (78–84) | Toronto (76–86) | ||
1998: The Detroit Tigers left to join the American League Central. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined as an expansion franchise. | |||||||
| 1998 | (1) N.Y. Yankees (114–48) | (4) Boston (92–70) | Toronto (88–74) | Baltimore (79–83) | Tampa Bay (63–99) | ||
| 1999 | (1) N.Y. Yankees (98–64) | (4) Boston (94–68) | Toronto (84–78) | Baltimore (78–84) | Tampa Bay (69–93) | ||
| 2000 | (3) N.Y. Yankees (87–74) | Boston (85–77) | Toronto (83–79) | Baltimore (74–88) | Tampa Bay (69–92) | ||
| 2001 | (2) N.Y. Yankees (95–65) | Boston (82–79) | Toronto (80–82) | Baltimore (63–98) | Tampa Bay (62–100) | ||
| 2002 | (1) N.Y. Yankees (103–58) | Boston (93–69) | Toronto (78–84) | Baltimore (67–95) | Tampa Bay (55–106) | ||
| 2003 | (1) N.Y. Yankees (101–61) | (4) Boston (95–67) | Toronto (86–76) | Baltimore (71–91) | Tampa Bay (63–99) | ||
| 2004 | (1) N.Y. Yankees (101–61) | (4) Boston (98–64) | Baltimore (78–84) | Tampa Bay (70–91) | Toronto (67–94) | ||
| 2005 | (3) N.Y. Yankees[b] (95–67) | (4) Boston (95–67) | Toronto (80–82) | Baltimore (74–88) | Tampa Bay (67–95) | ||
| 2006 | (1) N.Y. Yankees (97–65) | Toronto (87–75) | Boston (86–76) | Baltimore (70–92) | Tampa Bay (61–101) | ||
| 2007 | (1) Boston[c] (96–66) | (4) N.Y. Yankees (94–68) | Toronto (83–79) | Baltimore (69–93) | Tampa Bay (66–96) | ||
2008: The Tampa Bay Devil Rays rebranded as the Tampa Bay Rays. | |||||||
| 2008 | (2) Tampa Bay (97–65) | (4) Boston (95–67) | N.Y. Yankees (89–73) | Toronto (86–76) | Baltimore (68–93) | ||
| 2009 | (1) N.Y. Yankees (103–59) | (4) Boston (95–67) | Tampa Bay (84–78) | Toronto (75–87) | Baltimore (64–98) | ||
| 2010 | (1) Tampa Bay (96–66) | (4) N.Y. Yankees (95–67) | Boston (89–73) | Toronto (85–77) | Baltimore (66–96) | ||
| 2011 | (1) N.Y. Yankees (97–65) | (4) Tampa Bay (91–71) | Boston (90–72) | Toronto (81–81) | Baltimore (69–93) | ||
| 2012 | (1) N.Y. Yankees (95–67) | (5) Baltimore (93–69) | Tampa Bay (90–72) | Toronto (73–89) | Boston (69–93) | ||
| 2013 | (1) Boston (97–65) | (5) Tampa Bay[d] (92–71) | N.Y. Yankees (85–77) | Baltimore (85–77) | Toronto (74–88) | ||
| 2014 | (2) Baltimore (96–66) | N.Y. Yankees (84–78) | Toronto (83–79) | Tampa Bay (77–85) | Boston (71–91) | ||
| 2015 | (2) Toronto (93–69) | (4) N.Y. Yankees (87–75) | Baltimore (81–81) | Tampa Bay (80–82) | Boston (78–84) | ||
| 2016 | (3) Boston (93–69) | (4) Toronto[e] (89–73) | (5) Baltimore (89–73) | N.Y. Yankees (84–78) | Tampa Bay (68–94) | ||
| 2017 | (3) Boston (93–69) | (4) N.Y. Yankees (91–71) | Tampa Bay (80–82) | Toronto (76–86) | Baltimore (75–87) | ||
| 2018 | (1) Boston (108–54) | (4) N.Y. Yankees (100–62) | Tampa Bay (90–72) | Toronto (73–89) | Baltimore (47–115) | ||
| 2019 | (2) N.Y. Yankees (103–59) | (4) Tampa Bay (96–66) | Boston (84–78) | Toronto (67–95) | Baltimore (54–108) | ||
2020: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was shortened to 60 games. The postseason field was expanded to eight teams and the wild-card round became a best-of-three series. | |||||||
| 2020 | (1) Tampa Bay (40–20) | (5) N.Y. Yankees (33–27) | (8) Toronto (32–28) | Baltimore (25–35) | Boston (24–36) | ||
| 2021 | (1) Tampa Bay (100–62) | (4) Boston (92–70) [f] | (5) N.Y. Yankees (92–70) | Toronto (91–71) | Baltimore (52–110) | ||
| 2022 | (2) N.Y. Yankees (99–63) | (4) Toronto (92–70) | (6) Tampa Bay (86–76) | Baltimore (83–79) | Boston (78–84) | ||
| 2023 | (1) Baltimore (101–61) | (4) Tampa Bay (99–63) | (6) Toronto (89–73) | N.Y. Yankees (82–80) | Boston (78–84) | ||
| 2024 | (1) N.Y. Yankees (94–68) | (4) Baltimore (91–71) | Boston (81–81) | Tampa Bay (80–82) | Toronto (74–88) | ||
| 2025 | (1) Toronto (94–68) [g] | (4) N.Y. Yankees (94–68) | (5) Boston (89–73) | Tampa Bay (77–85) | Baltimore (75–87) | ||
AL East statistics
* – Won division via tiebreaker
^ indicates no longer in division since 1972
† indicates no longer in division since 1994
# indicates no longer in division since 1994, and no longer part of AL since 1998
§ indicates no longer in division since 1998
Totals updated through conclusion of the 2024 postseason.
| Team | Division championships | Postseason records | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Year(s) | Most recent | Wild Card | ALWC | ALDS | ALCS | World Series | |
| Current Teams in Division | ||||||||
| New York Yankees | 21 | 1976–1977, 1978*, 1980–1981, 1996, 1998–2006, 2009, 2011–2012, 2019, 2022, 2024 | 2024 | 8 | 4–2 | 15–9 | 12–7 | 7–5 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 10 | 1969–1971, 1973–1974, 1979, 1983, 1997, 2014, 2023 | 2023 | 3 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 5–5 | 2–3 |
| Boston Red Sox | 10 | 1975, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1995, 2007, 2013, 2016–2018 | 2018 | 9 | 1–1 | 8–6 | 6–6 | 4–2 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 7 | 1985, 1989, 1991–1993, 2015, 2025 | 2025 | 4 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 3–5 | 2–1 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 4 | 2008, 2010, 2020–2021 | 2021 | 5 | 3–2 | 2–5 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| Former Teams in Division | ||||||||
| Detroit Tigers§ | 3 | 1972, 1984, 1987 | 1987 | — | — | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Milwaukee Brewers# | 1 | 1982 | 1982 | — | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Cleveland Indians† | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Washington Senators^ | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Total | 55 | 1969–1993, 1995–present | 2024 | 28 | 9–9 | 31–23 | 30–25 | 16–14 |
Rivalries
The American League East has some exciting rivalries between its teams. Two of the most famous are the Rays–Red Sox rivalry and the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry. These matches are often very close and full of energy, making them fun to watch!
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on American League East, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.