The American League East Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions (East, Central and West divisions for the American League and National League, respectively). It was created before the start of the 1969 season along with the West Division. Before that time the American League had existed as a single group of teams. Four of its five teams are located in the Eastern United States and one in Eastern Canada. At the end of the MLB season, the team with the best record in the division earns one of the American League's four playoff spots. The most recent team to win this division was the New York Yankees in 2009. During its 40-year existence, an East Division team has gone on to play in the World Series 25 times, and 14 of those teams have been crowed World Series Champions. Since the 1995 season when the wild-card playoff birth was introduced, the AL East has produced the wild-card team for the American League in 11 out of the 15 years (Central - 1, West - 3). The New York Yankees have traditionally dominated the Division. [edit] Current members [edit] Former members [edit] Division lineups | Time period | Lineup | Changes from previous setup | | 1969-1971 | Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Washington Senators | Creation of division due to 1969 expansion | | 1972-1976 | Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees | Washington franchise moved to Dallas/Ft. Worth, became Texas and moved into AL West, trading divisions with Milwaukee | | 1977-1993 | Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays | Toronto added in 1977 expansion | | 1994-1997 | Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays | Due to 1994 realignment, Cleveland and Milwaukee moved to newly-created AL Central | | 1998-present | Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Toronto Blue Jays | Tampa Bay added in 1998 expansion with Detroit moving to AL Central | [edit] AL East champions by year | Year | Winner | Record | % | Playoffs | | 1969 | Baltimore Orioles | 109-53 | .673 | Lost World Series to New York, 4-1 | | 1970 | Baltimore Orioles | 108-54 | .667 | Won World Series over Cincinnati, 4-1 | | 1971 | Baltimore Orioles | 101-57 | .639 | Lost World Series to Pittsburgh, 4-3 | | 1972 | Detroit Tigers | 86-70 | .551 | Lost ALCS to Oakland, 3-2 | | 1973 | Baltimore Orioles | 97-65 | .599 | Lost ALCS to Oakland, 3-2 | | 1974 | Baltimore Orioles | 91-71 | .562 | Lost ALCS to Oakland, 3-1 | | 1975 | Boston Red Sox | 95-65 | .594 | Lost World Series to Cincinnati, 4-3 | | 1976 | New York Yankees | 97-62 | .610 | Lost World Series to Cincinnati, 4-0 | | 1977 | New York Yankees | 100-62 | .617 | Won World Series over Los Angeles, 4-2 | | 1978 | New York Yankees‡ | 100-63 | .613 | Won World Series over Los Angeles, 4-2 | | 1979 | Baltimore Orioles | 102-57 | .642 | Lost World Series to Pittsburgh, 4-3 | | 1980 | New York Yankees | 103-59 | .636 | Lost ALCS to Kansas City, 3-0 | | 1981 | New York Yankees* | 59-48 | .551 | Lost World Series to Los Angeles, 4-2 | | 1982 | Milwaukee Brewers | 95-67 | .586 | Lost World Series to St. Louis, 4-3 | | 1983 | Baltimore Orioles | 98-64 | .605 | Won World Series over Philadelphia, 4-1 | | 1984 | Detroit Tigers | 104-58 | .642 | Won World Series over San Diego, 4-1 | | 1985 | Toronto Blue Jays | 99-62 | .615 | Lost ALCS to Kansas City, 4-3 | | 1986 | Boston Red Sox | 95-66 | .590 | Lost World Series to New York, 4-3 | | 1987 | Detroit Tigers | 98-64 | .605 | Lost ALCS to Minnesota, 4-1 | | 1988 | Boston Red Sox | 89-73 | .549 | Lost ALCS to Oakland, 4-0 | | 1989 | Toronto Blue Jays | 89-73 | .549 | Lost ALCS to Oakland, 4-1 | | 1990 | Boston Red Sox | 88-74 | .543 | Lost ALCS to Oakland, 4-0 | | 1991 | Toronto Blue Jays | 91-71 | .562 | Lost ALCS to Minnesota, 4-1 | | 1992 | Toronto Blue Jays | 96-66 | .593 | Won World Series over Atlanta, 4-2 | | 1993 | Toronto Blue Jays | 95-67 | .586 | Won World Series over Philadelphia, 4-2 | | 1994 (through August 11) | New York Yankees§ | 70-43 | .619 | No Playoffs | | 1995 (starting April 25, 144 G) | Boston Red Sox | 86-58 | .597 | Lost ALDS to Cleveland, 3-0 | | 1996 | New York Yankees | 92-70 | .568 | Won World Series over Atlanta, 4-2 | | 1997 | Baltimore Orioles | 98-64 | .605 | Lost ALCS to Cleveland, 4-2 | | 1998 | New York Yankees | 114-48 | .704 | Won World Series over San Diego, 4-0 | | 1999 | New York Yankees | 98-64 | .605 | Won World Series over Atlanta, 4-0 | | 2000 | New York Yankees | 87-74 | .540 | Won World Series over New York, 4-1 | | 2001 | New York Yankees | 95-65 | .594 | Lost World Series to Arizona, 4-3 | | 2002 | New York Yankees | 103-58 | .640 | Lost ALDS to Anaheim, 3-1 | | 2003 | New York Yankees | 101-61 | .623 | Lost World Series to Florida, 4-2 | | 2004 | New York Yankees | 101-61 | .623 | Lost ALCS to Boston, 4-3 | | 2005 | New York Yankees†† | 95-67 | .586 | Lost ALDS to Los Angeles, 3-2 | | 2006 | New York Yankees | 97-65 | .599 | Lost ALDS to Detroit, 3-1 | | 2007 | Boston Red Sox | 96-66 | .593 | Won World Series over Colorado, 4-0 | | 2008 | Tampa Bay Rays | 97-65 | .599 | Lost World Series to Philadelphia, 4-1 | | 2009 | New York Yankees | 103-59 | .636 | Won World Series over Philadelphia, 4-2 | ‡ - In 1978, the New York Yankees ended up in a tie with the Boston Red Sox for the division championship, and won a 1-game playoff against Boston. * - Due to the players' strike, the season was split. New York won the first half and defeated second-half champion Milwaukee (62-45) in the postseason. § - Due to the players' strike starting August 12, no official winner was awarded. New York was leading at the strike. †† - The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees finished the 2005 season tied for first place with identical records. New York won the season series against Boston and was awarded the tie-breaker; Boston was awarded the wild card berth. Had a team from another division won the wild card, a one game playoff would have decided the division champion. The Cleveland Indians were the only team to not win the AL East before the 1994 division realignment. [edit] AL East statistics [edit] Wild-Card winners produced - See List of American League Wild Card winners (since 1994)
| Year | Winner | Record | % | GB | Playoffs | | 1995 | New York Yankees | 79-65 | .549 | 7 | Lost ALDS to Seattle, 3-2 | | 1996 | Baltimore Orioles | 88-74 | .543 | 4 | Lost ALCS to New York, 4-1 | | 1997 | New York Yankees | 96-66 | .593 | 2 | Lost ALDS to Cleveland, 3-2 | | 1998 | Boston Red Sox | 92-70 | .568 | 22 | Lost ALDS to Cleveland, 3-1 | | 1999 | Boston Red Sox | 94-68 | .580 | 4 | Lost ALCS to New York, 4-1 | | 2003 | Boston Red Sox | 95-67 | .586 | 6 | Lost ALCS to New York, 4-3 | | 2004 | Boston Red Sox | 98-64 | .605 | 3 | Won World Series over St. Louis, 4-0 | | 2005 | Boston Red Sox | 95-67 | .586 | 0 | Lost ALDS to Chicago, 3-0 | | 2007 | New York Yankees | 94-68 | .580 | 2 | Lost ALDS to Cleveland, 3-1 | | 2008 | Boston Red Sox | 95-67 | .586 | 2 | Lost ALCS to Tampa Bay, 4-3 | | 2009 | Boston Red Sox | 95-67 | .586 | 8 | Lost ALDS to Los Angeles,3-0 | [edit] See also [edit] References |
