American League Division Series
The American League Division Series (ALDS) is part of the play-offs in Major League Baseball . It is used to determine which two American League (AL) teams compete against each other in the American League Championship Series , which in turn determines the AL representative in the World Series . The series consists of two best-of-five series in which the winners of the three AL divisions and the winner of the wildcard play. The wildcard is awarded to the team that has the best ratio of wins and losses, but which could not win any of the AL divisions (East, Central, West).
history
The Division Series was created in 1993 as a permanent part of the play-offs after the MLB had divided each of its two leagues (American League and National League ) into three divisions. However, due to the players' strike in 1994, the first edition did not take place until 1995. Previously, the 1981 strike had required a play-off series within the divisions. The winners of the Eastern Division of the AL were the New York Yankees , who won against the Milwaukee Brewers , who were still playing in the AL at the time. The Western Division was won by the Oakland Athletics , who defeated the Kansas City Royals in three games. Currently, the New York Yankees have the most appearances (18) in the Division Series.
Determination of the fixtures
Since 1998, the team that won the wildcard has been playing against the division winner who achieved the highest percentage of wins outside of their own division. The other two division winners compete against each other in the second series. However, if the winner of the wild card and the division winner with the best win rate come from the same division, the wildcard team plays against the division winner with the second best win rate, while the two remaining teams play against each other. The winners of the two series then play in the American League Championship Series and determine the winner of the AL in best-of-seven mode.
The participants of the two series play the two games in their own stadium (if a fourth game is required). If there is a fifth and decisive game, it will take place in the stadium of the team that has achieved the better win rate in the regular season. This so-called home field advantage (three instead of only two games in their own stadium) does not benefit the wildcard team.
Recurring encounters
| number | encounter | year |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | New York Yankees versus Minnesota Twins | 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2019 |
| 4th | Boston Red Sox versus Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009 |
| 4th | Cleveland Indians versus Boston Red Sox | 1995, 1998, 1999, 2016 |
| 3 | Texas Rangers versus New York Yankees | 1996, 1998, 1999 |
| 3 | Cleveland Indians versus New York Yankees | 1997, 2007, 2017 |
| 2 | New York Yankees versus Oakland Athletics | 2000, 2001 |
| 2 | New York Yankees versus Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 2002, 2005 |
| 2 | Oakland Athletics versus Minnesota Twins | 2002, 2006 |
| 2 | Detroit Tigers versus New York Yankees | 2006, 2011 |
| 2 | Texas Rangers versus Tampa Bay Rays | 2010, 2011 |
| 2 | Detroit Tigers versus Oakland Athletics | 2012, 2013 |
| 2 | Texas Rangers versus Toronto Blue Jays | 2015, 2016 |
Results
| year | winner | loser | Victories | Defeats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | New York Yankees | Milwaukee Brewers | 3 | 2 | |
| Oakland Athletics | Kansas City Royals | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1994 | No ALDS because of the players' strike. | ||||
| 1995 | Cleveland Indians | Boston Red Sox | 3 | 0 | |
| Seattle Mariners | New York Yankees (toilet) | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1996 | New York Yankees | Texas Rangers | 3 | 1 | |
| Baltimore Orioles (toilet) | Cleveland Indians | 3 | 1 | ||
| 1997 | Baltimore Orioles | Seattle Mariners | 3 | 1 | |
| Cleveland Indians | New York Yankees (toilet) | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1998 | New York Yankees | Texas Rangers | 3 | 0 | |
| Cleveland Indians | Boston Red Sox (toilet) | 3 | 1 | ||
| 1999 | New York Yankees | Texas Rangers | 3 | 0 | |
| Boston Red Sox (toilet) | Cleveland Indians | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2000 | Seattle Mariners (toilet) | Chicago White Sox | 3 | 0 | |
| New York Yankees | Oakland Athletics | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2001 | New York Yankees | Oakland Athletics (WC) | 3 | 2 | |
| Seattle Mariners | Cleveland Indians | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2002 | Minnesota Twins | Oakland Athletics | 3 | 2 | |
| Anaheim Angels (toilet) | New York Yankees | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2003 | New York Yankees | Minnesota Twins | 3 | 1 | |
| Boston Red Sox (toilet) | Oakland Athletics | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2004 | New York Yankees | Minnesota Twins | 3 | 1 | |
| Boston Red Sox (toilet) | Anaheim Angels | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2005 | Chicago White Sox | Boston Red Sox (toilet) | 3 | 0 | |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | New York Yankees | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2006 | Detroit Tigers (toilet) | New York Yankees | 3 | 1 | |
| Oakland Athletics | Minnesota Twins | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2007 | Boston Red Sox | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 3 | 0 | |
| Cleveland Indians | New York Yankees (toilet) | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2008 | Boston Red Sox (toilet) | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 3 | 1 | |
| Tampa Bay Rays | Chicago White Sox | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2009 | New York Yankees | Minnesota Twins | 3 | 0 | |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Boston Red Sox (toilet) | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2010 | Texas Rangers | Tampa Bay Rays | 3 | 2 | |
| New York Yankees (toilet) | Minnesota Twins | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2011 | Detroit Tigers | New York Yankees | 3 | 2 | |
| Texas Rangers | Tampa Bay Rays (toilet) | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2012 | Detroit Tigers | Oakland Athletics | 3 | 2 | |
| New York Yankees | Baltimore Orioles (toilet) | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2013 | Detroit Tigers | Oakland Athletics | 3 | 2 | |
| Boston Red Sox | Tampa Bay Rays (toilet) | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2014 | Baltimore Orioles | Detroit Tigers | 3 | 0 | |
| Kansas City Royals (toilet) | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2015 | Kansas City Royals | Houston Astros (toilet) | 3 | 2 | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | Texas Rangers | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2016 | Cleveland Indians | Boston Red Sox | 3 | 0 | |
| Toronto Blue Jays (toilet) | Texas Rangers | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | New York Yankees (toilet) | Cleveland Indians | 3 | 2 | |
| Houston Astros | Boston Red Sox | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2018 | Boston Red Sox | New York Yankees (toilet) | 3 | 1 | |
| Houston Astros | Cleveland Indians | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | Houston Astros | Tampa Bay Rays (toilet) | 3 | 2 | |
| New York Yankees | Minnesota Twins | 3 | 0 | ||
|
(WC) = Wildcard team (since 1995) |
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Web links
- Baseball-Reference.com - Annual play-offs
- MLB.com - MLB's Division Series historical reference