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The American League East is one of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
(AL) and
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
(NL). This division was created before the start of the along with the
American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball'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 cu ...
. Before that time, each league consisted of 10 teams without any divisions. Four of the division's five teams are located in the
Eastern United States The Eastern United States, often abbreviated as simply the East, is a macroregion of the United States located to the east of the Mississippi River. It includes 17–26 states and Washington, D.C., the national capital. As of 2011, the Eastern ...
, with the other team, the
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
, in
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. It is currently the only division that contains a non-American team. At the end of the Major League Baseball season, the team with the best record in the division earns one of the AL's six
playoff 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 ...
spots.


History

Baseball writers have long posited that the American League East is the toughest division in MLB; during its 50-year existence, an AL East team has gone on to play in the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
28 times, and 16 of those teams have been crowned World Series champions. Since the , when the wild-card playoff berth was introduced, the AL East has produced 20 of the 32 wild-card teams for the American League, with the AL West sending seven teams, and only five coming from the AL Central. When MLB split into divisions for the , the American League, unlike the
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
, split its 12 teams strictly on geography. The six teams then located in the
Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 U.S. states, states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five ...
were all placed in the AL East, with the other six teams making up the AL West.


Realignment of 1972

In September 1971, American League owners approved the move of the second Washington Senators franchise to
Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...
, to become the Texas Rangers. With the Rangers moving to the AL West, the owners then debated whether the
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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
or
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
should move to the AL East for 1972. The White Sox requested they be moved to the East under the argument of being an original AL franchise and playing most of their longtime rival teams, of which five were in the East. The
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...
(formerly from Kansas City and Philadelphia) objected to moving the White Sox to the East; owner
Charlie Finley Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 – February 19, 1996), nicknamed "Charlie O" or "Charley O", was an American businessman who owned Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas ...
was a Chicago native who wanted to continue to make three trips per season with his club to the Second City. The
Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
went a step further and objected to switching either the White Sox or Brewers out of fear of losing their closest geographic rivals and the Twins, citing the National League's lack of geographic accuracy (which placed the
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
in the NL West) in forming its divisions as a reason why the Rangers should not have been shifted out of the East. The Twins also argued that the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
's
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
played (and still do play) in the
NFC East The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It has four members: the Dallas Cowboys, New Yo ...
despite being far from the
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. The White Sox' pleas notwithstanding, the Brewers, who began as the
Seattle Pilots The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington, during the 1969 Major League Baseball season. During their single-season existence, the Pilots played their home games at Sick's Stadium and were a me ...
in and had to endure long divisional road trips to Oakland and
Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...
(and vice-versa) in the AL West, were moved to the AL East.


Division membership


Current members

*
Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...
– Founding member *
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
– Founding member *
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
– Founding member *
Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...
– Joined in 1998 as an expansion team. Known as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays before 2008 *
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
– Joined in 1977 as an expansion team.


Former members

*
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
, founding member, moved to the newly created AL Central in 1994 *
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
, founding member, moved to the AL Central in 1998 to make room for the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays *
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
, 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

: AL East was formed with six teams due to the 1969 expansion, as the AL grew from 10 teams to 12. : 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. : The Toronto Blue Jays were added in the 1977 expansion, becoming the seventh team of the AL East. : As part of the 1994 realignment, Cleveland and Milwaukee were moved to the newly created
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 al ...
, reducing the AL East to five teams. : 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. : 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 1981 Major League Baseball strike was the first work stoppage in Major League Baseball since the 1972 Major League Baseball strike that resulted in regular season games being cancelled. Overall, it was the fourth work stoppage since 1972, bu ...
, 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 COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, 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.


Other postseason teams

Since the advent of the Wild Card, AL East teams have faced each other in the ALCS 5 times, the ALDS 4 times, and the Wild Card twice. :''See
List of American League Wild Card winners The Major League Baseball wild card, wild card was established for Major League Baseball's playoffs in with the intention of helping the best teams that did not win their division to still have a chance to win the World Series. The restructuring ...
(since 1994)'' * – From 2012 to 2019, and in 2021, the Wild Card was expanded to two teams. Those teams faced each other in the
Wild Card Game The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. A single wild card game was instituted in 2012. This became a best ...
to determine the final participant in the American League Division Series. In 2020 only, eight teams, including the three division winners, played in a best-of-three Wild Card Series, with the winners advancing to the Division Series. Starting in 2022, the Wild Card field was increased to three teams, and along with the lowest-ranked division winner, qualified for the best-of-three Wild Card Series to determine the remaining two slots in the Division Series. ** In , the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays finished the season with the identical records of 91–71. A
one-game playoff A one-game playoff, sometimes known as a pennant playoff, tiebreaker game or knockout game, is a tiebreaker in certain sports—usually but not always professional—to determine which of two teams, tied in the final standings, will qualify for a ...
was held and the Rays won it 5–2 over the Rangers to capture the second Wild Card berth. *** In , the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles finished the season with the identical records of 89–73. However, the Blue Jays won the right to host the Wild Card Game by virtue of their 10–9 regular-season record against the Orioles. **** Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the season was shortened to 60 games. ***** In , the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees finished the season with the identical records of 92–70. However, the Red Sox won the right to host the Wild Card Game by virtue of their 10–9 regular-season record against the Yankees. Beginning in 2022, the postseason has expanded to three division leaders and three wild cards per league.


Season results

;Notes and Tiebreakers * 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. * 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 The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...
of the
American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball'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 cu ...
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. * Boston and
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
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 al ...
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. * Tampa Bay and
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
of the
American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball'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 cu ...
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. * 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. * 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.


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.''


Rivalries

* Rays–Red Sox rivalry * Yankees–Red Sox rivalry


See also

*
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 al ...
*
American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball'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 cu ...
*
National League East The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central, it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. After having internal, informal divisions for ...
*
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 Le ...
*
National League West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created for the 1969 season when the National League (baseball), National League (NL) expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montr ...


Notes


References


External links


MLB Final Standings By Year
at shrpsports.com {{Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball divisions 1969 establishments in the United States