3 Exciting Races in the American League
(Getty Images, The Ringer Illustration)
American League East
The Orioles are 95-59, only 1.5 games ahead of division rival Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East division crown. Baltimore is in Cleveland this week for two games, before they host the Nationals and the Red Sox to finish out the regular season. Tampa hosts Toronto this weekend and then they’re on the road to Boston and Toronto til the end of the year. It’s fair to say Baltimore has the softer schedule here, but anything can happen in a sample size this small. If you’re wondering, the Rays have division titles in 2008, 2010, 2020, and 2021. Since 1998, Baltimore only has one division title from 2014, when they lost the ALCS to the Kansas City Royals.
2. The AL Wild Card Race
Both TB and Baltimore have secured playoffs berths for 2023; the division loser will get the #1 Wild Card seed. The other two spots will go to two of the four remaining teams competing: Rangers, Astros, Mariners, and the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto is a game up in the Wild Card race right now. They’re in Tampa this weekend, before hosting the Yankees and the Rays next week. The Mariners are in Texas, before hosting the Astros and the Rangers. The Astros have the Royals right now and end with the Diamondbacks, so they have a less challenging schedule next week. Texas has a series in Anaheim, where they need to take two of three to build on their edge in the AL West.
3. American League West
Whoever can win this division gets a buy and avoids the 1st round of the playoffs. The AL west winner face the victor of the Twins/ WC #3 series, which is a spot currently held by the Astros. The Mariners are only a half game back right now, so that series in Seattle will be critical next week. Since these AL west teams are all playing one another in the final week, they have ample opportunity to control their own destiny. Houston has won the AL West 5 times in the last 6 years, and the A’s won it in 2020 if you can believe it. The Mariners haven’t won the division since Ichiro’s rookie season in 2001 and the Texas Rangers haven’t won since 2016 when Cole Hamels was still an All Star. A change of pace might be nice– Who are you rooting for in the West?
*Stats are as of 9/22/23