The American League West is one 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 six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams currently only reside along the west coast and in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, historically the division has had teams as far east as

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. From 1998 (when the NL West expanded to five teams) to 2012, the AL West was the only MLB division with four teams. The current champion of this division is the Houston Astros. In 2013, the Houston Astros went from the

National League Central The National League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the National League West (the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros) and three teams from the National League ...

to the AL West. That move gives all six MLB divisions an equal five teams and both leagues an equal 15 teams each.

Division membership

Current members

* Houston Astros - Joined in 2013; formerly from the

NL West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

(1969–1993) and

NL Central The National League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the National League West (the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros) and three teams from the National League ...

(1994–2012) *

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

The Angels were formerly known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. – Founding member (as the California Angels) * Oakland Athletics – Founding member *

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

– Joined in 1977 as an expansion team * Texas Rangers – Joined in 1972; formerly of the

AL East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

(as the 1961–1971 Washington Senators)

Former members

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

– Founding member; moved to the

AL Central The American League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from the American League West and two teams from the American League East. Its teams are all loc ...

in 1994 * Kansas City Royals – Founding member; moved to the

in 1994 * Minnesota Twins – Founding member; moved to the

in 1994 * Milwaukee Brewers – Founding member (as Seattle Pilots); moved to the AL East in 1972, then to the AL Central in 1994. Eventually moved to the NL Central in 1998.

Division members

::::: Place cursor over year for division champion or World Series team. : Creation of division due to 1969 expansion, Kansas City and Seattle added. : Seattle franchise moved to Milwaukee, becoming the Brewers. : Washington Senators moved to Dallas–Fort Worth, became Texas Rangers and switched divisions with Milwaukee, which moved to the

. : Seattle added in the 1977 league expansion. : Chicago, Kansas City, and Minnesota moved into the newly created

due to the 1994 realignment. : In 1997, California Angels become Anaheim Angels. In 2005, Anaheim Angels become Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In 2016, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim become Los Angeles Angels. : Houston switches leagues from the

Champions by year

* Team names link to the season in which each team played † – Due to the players' strike, the season was split in two. The Athletics won the first half and defeated the second-half winner, the Kansas City Royals (50 – 53 overall record) to win the division.
§ – Due to the

1994–95 Major League Baseball strike The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike was the eighth and longest work stoppage in baseball history, as well as the fourth in-season work stoppage in 22 years. The strike began on August 12, 1994, and resulted in the remainder of that seaso ...

, starting on August 12, no official winner was declared. The Texas Rangers were leading in winning percentage at time of the strike.
* – Seattle defeated the California Angels in a one-game playoff for the division title, 9 – 1.
†† – Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the season was shortened to 60 games. By virtue of the eight-team postseason format used for that season, division runner-up

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

(29–31, .483) also qualified for the playoffs.

Season results

;Notes and Tiebreakers * Seattle and California were tied for the division championship and played in a tie-breaker game. The Mariners won 9–1 to claim the division crown. * Anaheim and

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

of the

American League Central The American League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from the American League West and two teams from the American League East. Its teams are all lo ...

were tied for the second and third seed but the Angels claimed the second seed by winning the season series 5–4. * Los Angeles and New York of the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

were tied for the second and third seed but the Angels claimed the second seed by winning the season series 6–4. * Texas and

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...

of the

were tied for the second wild-card berth and played in a tie-breaker game. The Rangers lost 5–2 and were eliminated from postseason contention.

AL West statistics

References

External links

MLB final standings by year
{{Texas Rangers 1969 establishments in the United States Major League Baseball divisions Sports in the Western United States