| League | American League |
|---|---|
| Sport | Major League Baseball |
| Founded | 1969 |
| No. of teams |
|
| Most recent champions | Toronto Blue Jays (2025; 7th title) |
| Most titles | New York Yankees (21) |
TheAmerican League East is one ofMajor League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, theAmerican League (AL) andNational League (NL). This division was created before the start of the1969 season[1] along with theAmerican League West. Before that time, each league consisted of 10 teams without any divisions.
Four of the division's five teams are located in theEastern United States, with the other team, theToronto Blue Jays, inEastern Canada. 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 sixplayoff spots.[a]
Baseball writers have long posited that the American League East is the toughest division in MLB;[2][3] during its 50-year existence, an AL East team has gone on to play in theWorld Series 28 times, and 16 of those teams have been crowned World Series champions. Since the1995 season, when thewild-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 the1969 season, the American League, unlike theNational League, split its 12 teams strictly on geography. The six teams then located in theEastern Time Zone were all placed in the AL East, with the other six teams making up the AL West.
In September 1971, American League owners approved the move of the secondWashington Senators franchise toArlington, Texas, to become theTexas Rangers.[4] With the Rangers moving to the AL West, the owners then debated whether theChicago White Sox orMilwaukee Brewers 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.
TheOakland Athletics (formerly fromKansas City andPhiladelphia) objected to moving theWhite Sox to the East; ownerCharlie Finley was aChicago native who wanted to continue to make three trips per season with his club to the Second City. TheMinnesota Twins 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 theAtlanta Braves 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 theNational Football League'sDallas Cowboys played (and still do play) in theNFC East despite being far from theNortheast.
The White Sox' pleas notwithstanding, the Brewers, who began as theSeattle Pilots in1969 and had to endure long divisional road trips to Oakland andAnaheim (and vice-versa) in the AL West, were moved to the AL East.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: history after 1972. You can help byadding to it.(September 2021) |
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| AL East Division[A] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 |
| Baltimore Orioles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland Indians[D] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Detroit Tigers[E] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New York Yankees | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington Senators[B] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee Brewers[B][D] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toronto Blue Jays[C] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AL East Division[A] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Baltimore Orioles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New York Yankees | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toronto Blue Jays | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays | Tampa Bay Rays[F] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team not in division Division Won World Series Division Won AL Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* – The Yankees and Red Sox finished with exact records, tied for the division championship; the Yankees won aone-game tie-breaker.
† – Due to the1981 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 the1994–95 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.[b]
††† – Due to theCOVID-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.
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.
* – From 2012 to 2019, and in 2021, the Wild Card was expanded to two teams. Those teams faced each other in theWild Card Game to determine the final participant in theAmerican 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.
** In2013, theTexas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays finished the season with the identical records of 91–71. Aone-game playoff was held and the Rays won it 5–2 over the Rangers to capture the second Wild Card berth.
*** In2016, 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 theCOVID-19 pandemic, the season was shortened to 60 games.
***** In2021, 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.
****** In2025, the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees finished the season with the identical records of 94–68. However, the Blue Jays clinched the American League East division title by winning the season series 8–5, relegating the Yankees to the first wild-card spot.
| (#) | Denotes team that won theWorld Series |
| (#) | Denotes team that won theAmerican League pennant, but lost World Series |
| (#) | Denotes team that qualified for theMLB postseason |
| Season | Team (record) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | |
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| 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) | |
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| 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) | |
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| 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) |
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| 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) |
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| 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) | ||
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| 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) | ||
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| 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) | ||
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| 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) | ||
| Team | Division championships | Postseason records[c] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Year(s) | Most recent | Wild Card[d] | 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[e] | 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 |
* – 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
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