The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a

best-of-seven playoff There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly ...

and one of two

League Championship Series The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, an ...

comprising the penultimate round of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

's (MLB)

postseason The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. It is contested by the two winners of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL)

Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series" date ...

. The winner of the ALCS wins the AL pennant and advances to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, MLB's championship series, to play the winner of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

's (NL) Championship Series. The ALCS began in 1969 as a best-of-five playoff and used this format until 1985, when it changed to its current best-of-seven format.

History

Prior to 1969, the American League champion (the " pennant winner") was determined by the best win–loss record at the end of the regular season. There was one ''ad hoc'' single-game playoff held, in , due to a tie under this formulation. The ALCS started in 1969, when the AL reorganized into two divisions,

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. The winners of each division played each other in a best-of-five series to determine who would advance to the World Series. In 1985, the format changed to best-of-seven. In 1981, a

division series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series" date ...

was held due to a split season caused by a players' strike. In 1994, the league was restructured into three divisions, with the three division winners and a Wild Card team advancing to a best-of-five postseason round, known as the

American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...

(ALDS). The winners of that round then advanced to the best-of-seven ALCS. The playoffs were expanded in 2012 to include a second Wild Card team and in 2022 to include a third Wild Card team. The ALCS and NLCS, since the expansion to best-of-seven, are always played in a 2–3–2 format: Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 are played in the stadium of the team that has

home field advantage In team sports, the term home advantage – also called home ground, home field, home-field advantage, home court, home-court advantage, defender's advantage or home-ice advantage – describes the benefit that the home team is said to ga ...

, and Games 3, 4, and 5 are played in the stadium of the team that does not. The series concludes when one team records its fourth win. Since 1998, home field advantage has been given to the team that has the better regular season record, except a division champion would always get home advantage over a Wild Card team. If both teams have identical records in the regular season, then home field advantage goes to the team that has the winning head-to-head record. From 1969 to 1993, home-field advantage alternated between the two divisions, and from 1995 to 1997 home-field advantage was determined before the season. Eight managers have led a team to the ALCS in three consecutive seasons; however, the most consecutive ALCS appearances by one manager is

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

, who led the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

to four straight from 1998 to 2001. The Houston Astros (2017-present) are the only team in the American League to have made six consecutive American League Championship Series appearances. The Milwaukee Brewers, an American League team between 1969 and 1997, and the Houston Astros, a National League team between 1962 and 2012, are the only franchises to play in both the ALCS and NLCS. The Astros are the only team to have won both an NLCS ( 2005) and an ALCS (

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, and

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). Every current American League franchise has appeared in the ALCS.

Championship Trophy

The

William Harridge Trophy Major League Baseball presents a variety of annual awards and trophies to recognize both its teams and its players. Three team trophies are awarded annually: one each to the National League and American League champions, and one of the champion of ...

is awarded to the ALCS champion.

Will Harridge William Harridge (October 16, 1883 – April 9, 1971) was an American executive in professional baseball whose most significant role was as president of the American League (AL) from 1931 to 1959. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by th ...

served as American League president from 1931 to 1959.

Most Valuable Player Award

:''See: League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award#American League winners'' The Lee MacPhail Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is given to the outstanding player in the ALCS. No MVP award is given for Division Series play. Although the National League began its LCS MVP award in 1977, the American League did not begin its LCS MVP award till 1980. The winners are listed in several locations: * in the below ALCS results table, in the "Series MVP" column * in the article

League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award The League Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players deemed to have the most impact on their teams' performances in each of the two respective League Championship Series tha ...

* on the MLB websiteLeague Championship Series Most Valuable Players
(MLB.com/News/Awards/History/ ). MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved August 31, 2009.

Results

Appearances by team

Years of appearance

In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of wins, then by number of appearances, and finally by year of first appearance. In the "Season(s)" column, bold years indicate winning appearances.

Recurring matchups

Notes

References

External links

League Championship Series History
at

Baseball Almanac Baseball Almanac is an interactive baseball encyclopedia with over 500,000 pages of baseball facts, research, awards, records, feats, lists, notable quotations, baseball movie ratings, and statistics. Its goal is to preserve the history of baseba ...

World Series and MLB Playoffs
at

Baseball-Reference.com Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

Post-Season Games Directory
at

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a nonprofit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores from every major ...

{{American League Recurring sporting events established in 1969 Annual events in Major League Baseball