American League Division Series - Wikipedia

American baseball qualifying series

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In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring each of the two division winners with the best records and the winners of the wild-card play-off.

History

[edit] Main article: Division Series

The Division Series was implemented in 1981 as a one-off tournament because of a midseason strike, with the first place teams before the strike taking on the teams in first place after the strike. In the split 1981 season, the Kansas City Royals reached the postseason with a losing record (50–53) under the first-half/second-half format.[1]

Teams with sub-.500 records have also qualified in later years during expanded formats, including the 2020 Milwaukee Brewers (29–31) and 2020 Houston Astros (29–31).[2][3][4]

In 1994, it was returned permanently when Major League Baseball (MLB) restructured each league into three divisions, but with a different format than in 1981. Each of the division winners, along with one wild card team, qualifies for the Division Series. Despite being planned for the 1994 season, the postseason was cancelled that year due to the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike. In 1995, the first season to feature a division series, the Western Division champion Seattle Mariners defeated the wild card New York Yankees three games to two, while the Central Division champion Cleveland Indians defeated the Eastern Division champion Boston Red Sox in a three-game sweep.

From 1994 to 2011, the wild card was given to the team in the American League with the best overall record that was not a division champion. Beginning with the 2012 season, a second wild card team was added, and the two wild card teams play a single-game playoff to determine which team would play in the ALDS. For the 2020 Major League Baseball season only, there was an expanded playoff format, owing to an abbreviated 60-game regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight teams qualified from the American League: the top two teams in each division plus the next two best records among the remaining teams. These eight teams played a best-of-three-game series to determine placement in the ALDS. The regular format returned for the 2021 season.

The New York Yankees lead all franchises in ALDS appearances and series victories.[5] The Astros had been in the National League through 2012, and had played in the National League Division Series (NLDS) seven times. The Astros are the only team to win the ALDS in six consecutive seasons. The Yankees' record of four consecutive victories was broken by the Astros with their victory in the 2021 ALDS against the Chicago White Sox.

Determining the matchups

[edit]

The ALDS is a best-of-five series where the divisional winner with the best winning percentage in the regular season hosts the winner of the Wild Card Series between the top two wild card teams in one matchup, and the divisional winner with the second best winning percentage hosts the winner of the series between the lowest-seeded divisional winner and the lowest-seeded wild card team.[6] (From 2012 to 2021, the wild card team was assigned to play the divisional winner with the best winning percentage in the regular season in one series, and the other two division winners met in the other series.[7] From 1998 to 2011, if the wild-card team and the division winner with the best record were from the same division, the wild-card team played the division winner with the second-best record, and the remaining two division leaders played each other.) The two series winners move on to the best-of-seven ALCS. According to Nate Silver, the advent of this playoff series, and especially of the wild card, has caused teams to focus more on "getting to the playoffs" rather than "winning the pennant" as the primary goal of the regular season.[8]

From 2012 to 2021, the wild card team that advances to the Division Series was to face the number 1 seed, regardless of whether or not they are in the same division.[9][10][11][12] The two series winners move on to the best-of-seven ALCS. Beginning with the 2022 season, the winner between the lowest-ranked division winner and the lowest-ranked wild card team faces the number 2 seed division winner in the Division Series, while the 4 v. 5 wild card winner still faces the number 1 seed, as there is no reseeding even if the 6-seeded wild card advances. Home-field advantage goes to the team with the better regular-season record (or head-to-head record if there is a tie between two or more teams), except for the wild-card team, which never receives the home-field advantage.[13][14][15]

Beginning in 2003, MLB has implemented a new rule to give the team from the league that wins the All-Star Game with the best regular season record a slightly greater advantage. In order to spread out the Division Series games for broadcast purposes, the two ALDS series follow one of two off-day schedules. Starting in 2007, after consulting the MLBPA, MLB has decided to allow the team with the best record in the league that wins the All-Star Game to choose whether to use the seven-day schedule (1-2-off-3-4-off-5) or the eight-day schedule (1-off-2-off-3-4-off-5). The team only gets to choose the schedule; the opponent is still determined by win–loss records.

Initially, the best-of-5 series was played in a 2–3 format, with the first two games set at home for the lower seed team and the last three for the higher seed.[16][17] Since 1998, the series has followed a 2–2–1 format,[18] where the higher seed team plays at home in Games 1 and 2, the lower seed plays at home in Game 3 and Game 4 (if necessary), and if a Game 5 is needed, the teams return to the higher seed's field. When MLB added a second wild card team in 2012, the Division Series re-adopted the 2–3 format due to scheduling conflicts. However, it reverted to the 2–2–1 format starting the next season, 2013.[19]

Format (since 2022)

[edit]

Under MLB’s expanded 12-team postseason introduced in 2022, each league sends three division winners and three Wild Card teams. The two division winners with the best records receive byes into the Division Series; the remaining division winner (No. 3 seed) and the three Wild Cards (Nos. 4–6) play best-of-three Wild Card Series, hosted entirely by the higher seed. The ALDS then follows a fixed bracket with no reseeding, and is played in a best-of-five, 2–2–1 format with the higher seed hosting Games 1–2 and 5 (if necessary).[20]

Results

[edit] Key

†	Wild card

Year	Winning team	Manager	Games	Losing team	Manager
1981	New York Yankees	Bob Lemon	3–2	Milwaukee Brewers	Buck Rodgers
	Oakland Athletics	Billy Martin	3–0	Kansas City Royals	Dick Howser
1994	No series due to a players' strike.
1995	Cleveland Indians	Mike Hargrove	3–0	Boston Red Sox	Kevin Kennedy
	Seattle Mariners	Lou Piniella	3–2	New York Yankees†	Buck Showalter
1996	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	3–1	Texas Rangers	Johnny Oates
	Baltimore Orioles†	Davey Johnson	3–1	Cleveland Indians	Mike Hargrove
1997	Baltimore Orioles	Davey Johnson	3–1	Seattle Mariners	Lou Piniella
	Cleveland Indians	Mike Hargrove	3–2	New York Yankees†	Joe Torre
1998	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	3–0	Texas Rangers	Johnny Oates
	Cleveland Indians	Mike Hargrove	3–1	Boston Red Sox†	Jimy Williams
1999	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	3–0	Texas Rangers	Johnny Oates
	Boston Red Sox†	Jimy Williams	3–2	Cleveland Indians	Mike Hargrove
2000	Seattle Mariners†	Lou Piniella	3–0	Chicago White Sox	Jerry Manuel
	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	3–2	Oakland Athletics	Art Howe
2001	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	3–2	Oakland Athletics†	Art Howe
	Seattle Mariners	Lou Piniella	3–2	Cleveland Indians	Charlie Manuel
2002	Minnesota Twins	Ron Gardenhire	3–2	Oakland Athletics	Art Howe
	Anaheim Angels†	Mike Scioscia	3–1	New York Yankees	Joe Torre
2003	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	3–1	Minnesota Twins	Ron Gardenhire
	Boston Red Sox†	Grady Little	3–2	Oakland Athletics	Ken Macha
2004	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	3–1	Minnesota Twins	Ron Gardenhire
	Boston Red Sox†	Terry Francona	3–0	Anaheim Angels	Mike Scioscia
2005	Chicago White Sox	Ozzie Guillén	3–0	Boston Red Sox†	Terry Francona
	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Mike Scioscia	3–2	New York Yankees	Joe Torre
2006	Detroit Tigers†	Jim Leyland	3–1	New York Yankees	Joe Torre
	Oakland Athletics	Ken Macha	3–0	Minnesota Twins	Ron Gardenhire
2007	Boston Red Sox	Terry Francona	3–0	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Mike Scioscia
	Cleveland Indians	Eric Wedge	3–1	New York Yankees†	Joe Torre
2008	Boston Red Sox†	Terry Francona	3–1	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Mike Scioscia
	Tampa Bay Rays	Joe Maddon	3–1	Chicago White Sox	Ozzie Guillén
2009	New York Yankees	Joe Girardi	3–0	Minnesota Twins	Ron Gardenhire
	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Mike Scioscia	3–0	Boston Red Sox†	Terry Francona
2010	Texas Rangers	Ron Washington	3–2	Tampa Bay Rays	Joe Maddon
	New York Yankees†	Joe Girardi	3–0	Minnesota Twins	Ron Gardenhire
2011	Texas Rangers	Ron Washington	3–1	Tampa Bay Rays†	Joe Maddon
	Detroit Tigers	Jim Leyland	3–2	New York Yankees	Joe Girardi
2012	Detroit Tigers	Jim Leyland	3–2	Oakland Athletics	Bob Melvin
	New York Yankees	Joe Girardi	3–2	Baltimore Orioles†	Buck Showalter
2013	Detroit Tigers	Jim Leyland	3–2	Oakland Athletics	Bob Melvin
	Boston Red Sox	John Farrell	3–1	Tampa Bay Rays†	Joe Maddon
2014	Baltimore Orioles	Buck Showalter	3–0	Detroit Tigers	Brad Ausmus
	Kansas City Royals†	Ned Yost	3–0	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Mike Scioscia
2015	Toronto Blue Jays	John Gibbons	3–2	Texas Rangers	Jeff Banister
	Kansas City Royals	Ned Yost	3–2	Houston Astros†	A. J. Hinch
2016	Cleveland Indians	Terry Francona	3–0	Boston Red Sox	John Farrell
	Toronto Blue Jays†	John Gibbons	3–0	Texas Rangers	Jeff Banister
2017	Houston Astros	A. J. Hinch	3–1	Boston Red Sox	John Farrell
	New York Yankees†	Joe Girardi	3–2	Cleveland Indians	Terry Francona
2018	Houston Astros	A. J. Hinch	3–0	Cleveland Indians	Terry Francona
	Boston Red Sox	Alex Cora	3–1	New York Yankees†	Aaron Boone
2019	New York Yankees	Aaron Boone	3–0	Minnesota Twins	Rocco Baldelli
	Houston Astros	A. J. Hinch	3–2	Tampa Bay Rays†	Kevin Cash
2020	Tampa Bay Rays	Kevin Cash	3–2	New York Yankees	Aaron Boone
	Houston Astros	Dusty Baker	3–1	Oakland Athletics	Bob Melvin
2021	Boston Red Sox†	Alex Cora	3–1	Tampa Bay Rays	Kevin Cash
	Houston Astros	Dusty Baker	3–1	Chicago White Sox	Tony La Russa
2022	Houston Astros	Dusty Baker	3–0	Seattle Mariners†	Scott Servais
	New York Yankees	Aaron Boone	3–2	Cleveland Guardians	Terry Francona
2023	Texas Rangers†	Bruce Bochy	3–0	Baltimore Orioles	Brandon Hyde
	Houston Astros	Dusty Baker	3–1	Minnesota Twins	Rocco Baldelli
2024	New York Yankees	Aaron Boone	3–1	Kansas City Royals†	Matt Quatraro
	Cleveland Guardians	Stephen Vogt	3–2	Detroit Tigers†	A. J. Hinch
2025	Toronto Blue Jays	John Schneider	3–1	New York Yankees†	Aaron Boone
	Seattle Mariners	Dan Wilson	3–2	Detroit Tigers†	A. J. Hinch

Notable streaks

[edit]

• The Houston Astros advanced out of the ALDS in seven consecutive seasons (2017–2023), reaching the ALCS each year in that span.[21][22]

Appearances by team

[edit]

Apps	Team	Wins	Losses	Win %	Most recentwin	Most recentappearance	Gameswon	Gameslost	Gamewin %
25	New York Yankees	15	10	.600	2024	2025	59	44	.573
14	Boston Red Sox	8	6	.571	2021	2021	26	26	.500
12	Cleveland Guardians	6	6	.500	2024	2024	27	24	.529
9	Athletics	2	7	.222	2006	2020	19	21	.475
8	Houston Astros	7	1	.875	2023	2023	23	9	.719
8	Texas Rangers	3	5	.375	2023	2023	12	18	.400
8	Minnesota Twins	1	7	.125	2002	2023	6	23	.207
7	Los Angeles Angels	3	4	.429	2009	2014	10	15	.400
7	Detroit Tigers	4	2	.667	2013	2025	16	16	.500
7	Tampa Bay Rays	2	5	.333	2020	2021	13	18	.419
6	Seattle Mariners	4	2	.667	2025	2025	13	12	.520
5	Baltimore Orioles	3	2	.600	2014	2023	11	8	.579
4	Chicago White Sox	1	3	.250	2005	2021	5	9	.357
4	Kansas City Royals	2	2	.500	2015	2024	7	8	.467
3	Toronto Blue Jays	3	0	1.000	2025	2025	7	2	.778
1	Milwaukee Brewers[a]	0	1	.000	Never	1981	2	3	.400

Years of appearance

[edit]

In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of wins, then by number of appearances, and finally by year of first appearance. In the "Season(s)" column, bold years indicate winning appearances.

Apps	Team	Wins	Losses	Win %	Season(s)
25	New York Yankees	15	10	.600	1981, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024, 2025
14	Boston Red Sox	8	6	.571	1995, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021
8	Houston Astros	7	1	.875	2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
12	Cleveland Guardians	6	6	.500	1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024
7	Detroit Tigers	4	3	.571	2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2024, 2025
8	Texas Rangers	3	5	.375	1996, 1998, 1999, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2023
7	Los Angeles Angels	3	4	.429	2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014
6	Seattle Mariners	4	2	.667	1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2022, 2025
5	Baltimore Orioles	3	2	.600	1996, 1997, 2012, 2014, 2023
9	Athletics	2	7	.222	1981, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2020
7	Tampa Bay Rays	2	5	.286	2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2019, 2020, 2021
4	Kansas City Royals	2	2	.500	1981, 2014, 2015, 2024
3	Toronto Blue Jays	3	0	1.000	2015, 2016, 2025
8	Minnesota Twins	1	7	.125	2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2019, 2023
4	Chicago White Sox	1	3	.250	2000, 2005, 2008, 2021
1	Milwaukee Brewers[a]	0	1	.000	1981

Frequent matchups

[edit]

Count	Matchup	Record	Years
5	New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins	Yankees, 5–0	2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2019
4	Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels	Red Sox, 3–1	2004, 2007, 2008, 2009
4	Cleveland Guardians vs. Boston Red Sox	Indians/Guardians, 3–1	1995, 1998, 1999, 2016
4	Cleveland Guardians vs. New York Yankees	Tied, 2–2	1997, 2007, 2017, 2022
3	Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees	Yankees, 3–0	1996, 1998, 1999
2	New York Yankees vs. Athletics	Yankees, 2–0	2000, 2001
2	New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels	Angels, 2–0	2002, 2005
2	Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays	Rangers, 2–0	2010, 2011
2	Athletics vs. Minnesota Twins	Tied, 1–1	2002, 2006
2	Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees	Tigers, 2–0	2006, 2011
2	Detroit Tigers vs. Athletics	Tigers, 2–0	2012, 2013
2	Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays	Blue Jays, 2–0	2015, 2016
2	Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays	Red Sox, 2–0	2013, 2021

See also

[edit]

• National League Division Series (NLDS)
• List of American League pennant winners
• List of National League pennant winners
• List of World Series champions
• MLB division winners
• MLB postseason

Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b The Milwaukee Brewers moved to the National League in 1998.

References

[edit]

1. ^ "1981 AL Division Series: Oakland Athletics over Kansas City Royals". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
2. ^ "Brewers 2020 season (29–31)". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
3. ^ Hawkins, Stephen (27 September 2020). "Rangers send Astros to playoffs with losing record". Houston Chronicle (Associated Press). Retrieved 3 October 2025.
4. ^ "Astros to playoffs with losing record after loss to Texas". ESPN. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
5. ^ "World Series and MLB Playoffs: Postseason History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
6. ^ "New MLB postseason format, explained". MLB.com.
7. ^ Kepner, Tyler (2012-03-05). "For No. 1 Seeds, Road to Title Comes With Bumps". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
8. ^ Nate Silver, "Selig's Dream: The Wild Card as Enabler of Pennant Races," in Steven Goldman, Ed., It Ain't Over 'til It's Over (New York: Basic Books): 170-178.
9. ^ Bloom, Barry M. (March 2, 2012). "Addition of Wild Card berths finalized for 2012". MLB.com.
10. ^ "MLB to expand playoffs by two teams to 10". ESPN.com. 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
11. ^ Rudnansky, Ryan. "MLB Playoff Format 2012: Explaining Wild Card, Divisional Series Changes & More". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
12. ^ Kepner, Tyler (2012-10-05). "In Wild-Card Play-In Game, It's Win or You're Out". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
13. ^ "New MLB postseason format, explained". MLB.com. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
14. ^ Kepner, Tyler (2022-10-06). "Baseball's Postseason Is Evolving, for Better or Worse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
15. ^ "Everything you need to know about '22 season". MLB.com. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
16. ^ 1984 NL Championship Series, Baseball-Reference.com
17. ^ 1997 AL Division Series, Baseball-Reference.com
18. ^ Gillette, Gary; Palmer, Pete, eds. (2006). "October Classics: Postseason Series and Playoffs". The 2006 ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia. New York: Sterling Publishing. p. 1656.
19. ^ Sporting News (2012-03-02). "MLB expands playoff field to 10 teams with addition of two wild cards". Retrieved October 28, 2013.
20. ^ Perry, Dayn (5 October 2022). "2022 MLB playoffs: New postseason format explained, and why there are no more Game 163 tiebreakers". CBS Sports. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
21. ^ "Astros close out Twins, advance to ALCS vs. Rangers". ESPN. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
22. ^ "Astros Beat Twins to Win Seventh Straight ALCS, Set Up All-Texas ALCS". Sports Illustrated (Associated Press). 11 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2025.

External links

[edit]

• Baseball-Reference.com - annual playoffs
• MLB.com - MLB's Division Series historical reference - box scores, highlights, etc.

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v t e American League Division Series
1981
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Broadcasters

v t e American League
Organization	Parent league: Major League Baseball Partner league: National League Origins: (History Western League) Presidents
Current teams	East Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Central Chicago White Sox Cleveland Guardians Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Minnesota Twins West Athletics Houston Astros Los Angeles Angels Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers
Former, relocated,and disestablished teams	Baltimore Orioles [original AL] (1901–1902) Kansas City Athletics (1955–1967) Milwaukee Brewers I (1901) Milwaukee Brewers II (1970–1997) Oakland Athletics (1968–2024) Philadelphia Athletics (1901–1954) Seattle Pilots (1969) St. Louis Browns (1902–1953) Washington Senators I (1901–1960) Washington Senators II (1961–1971)
Championship play	Champions Championship Series Division Series Wild Card Game Wild Card winners
Related articles	Professional baseball