American League

The American League (or formally the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States of America and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, that eventually aspired to major league status. The A.L. is often called the Junior Circuit because it was elevated to Major League status in 1901, 25 years after the formation of the National League. Initially in 1903, and then annually from 1905, the regular season champions of the two leagues have met in the World Series. (There was also no World Series in 1994, when a strike curtailed the season with no League champion decided.) Through the 2006 season, American League teams have won 60 of the 102 World Series played.

League history

For more details on this topic, see 2007 American League Championship Series.

With the disappearance of the American Association in the 19th century after the 1891 in baseball season, the National League expanded to become a 12-team league. In 1894, the National league hired eight teams for the 1900 season, eliminating its teams in Baltimore, (Maryland),Cleveland, (Ohio), Louisville, Kentucky, and Washington, D.C.Washington. Western League President "Ban" Johnson felt the time was right to challenge the National legue.

The Western League renamed itself the American League on October 11,1899, and placed teams in Cleveland and Chicago. This was done with the approval of the National League, which did not recognize the threat such a move would pose.

During the 1900 season, A.L. was still a minor league. The league did not renew its National Agreement membership when it expired in October of 1900, and on January 28, 1901, officially declared itself a major league. It placed new teams in Baltimore and Boston. The manager and several players from the Kansas City team were transferred to Washington.

In 1961, the league expanded to ten teams for the first time in its history, In 1969 the American League expanded to 12 teams when the Kansas City Royals and the Milwaukee Brewers joined the league.

In 1977, the third expansion came, when the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays joined the American League, which became a 14-team league. Finally, in 1998 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays became the fifteenth team to join the American League. However, the Milwaukee Brewers withdrew from the league to join the National League. The American League remains today at 14 teams.

In 1969, the league reorganized into two divisions of six teams East and West.

Beginning with the 1994 season, the league has been divided into three divisions (East, West, and Central), with the addition of a wild card sports team (the team with the best record among teams finishing in second place) to enable four teams to advance to the preliminary American League Division Series.

In 1973, the league adopted the designated hitter rule whereby a team may choose to designate a tenth player to bat in place of the pitcher.

For the first 96 years, American League teams faced their National League opponents only in exhibition games or in the World Series. Beginning in 1997, interleague games have been played during the regular season and count in the standings.

Through the 2006 season, the Yankees have won the most American League pennants (39), followed by the Athletics (14), Red Sox (11), and Tigers (10). Likewise, the Yankees have also won the most World Series (26), with the Athletics second in the American League with 9 and the Red Sox third in the American League with 6.

Teams

Charter franchises

Starting in 1901, the eight charter teams were the following:

• Baltimore Orioles
• Boston Invaders
• Chicago White Stockings
• Cleveland Blues
• Detroit Tigers
• Milwaukee Brewers
• Philadelphia Athletics
• Washington Senators

Expansion, renaming and relocation summary

• 1902: Milwaukee Brewers move to St. Louis, renamed St. Louis Browns
• 1902: Cleveland Blues renamed Cleveland Bronchos
• 1902: Boston Invaders renamed Boston Somersets
• 1903: Boston Somersets renamed Boston Pilgrims
• 1903: Baltimore Orioles (1901-1902) move to New York, renamed New York Highlanders
• 1903: Chicago White Stockings officially renamed to Chicago White Sox
• 1903: Cleveland Bronchos renamed Cleveland Naps
• 1905: Washington Senators renamed Washington Nationals
• 1907: Boston Pilgrims renamed Boston Red Sox
• 1909: Cleveland Naps renamed Cleveland Molly McGuires
• 1911: Cleveland Molly McGuires renamed Cleveland Indians
• 1913: New York Highlanders renamed New York Yankees
• 1954: St. Louis Browns move to Baltimore, renamed Baltimore Orioles
• 1955: Philadelphia Athletics move to Kansas City
• 1957: Washington Nationals renamed Washington Senators
• 1961: Washington Senators move to Minneapolis-St. Paul, renamed Minnesota Twins
• 1961: Los Angeles Angels and Washington Senators enfranchised
• 1965: Los Angeles Angels renamed California Angels in mid-season on September 2, 1965.
• 1968: Kansas City Athletics move to Oakland
• 1969: Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots enfranchised
• 1970: Seattle Pilots move to Milwaukee, renamed Milwaukee Brewers
• 1972: Washington Senators move to Dallas-Fort Worth, renamed Texas Rangers
• 1973: Oakland Athletics officially renamed Oakland A's
• 1977: Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays enfranchised
• 1980: Oakland A's officially renamed Oakland Athletics
• 1997: California Angels renamed Anaheim Angels
• 1998: Tampa Bay Devil Rays representing Tampa-St. Petersburg enfranchised
• 1998: Milwaukee Brewers withdraw from the American League to join the National League
• 2005: Anaheim Angels renamed Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Current teams

American League East

• Baltimore Orioles enfranchised 1894 as the Milwaukee Brewers, moved to St. Louis (1902) and to Baltimore (1954)
• Boston Red Sox enfranchised 1901*
• New York Yankees enfranchised 1901* as the Baltimore Orioles, moved to New York (1903)
• Tampa Bay Devil Rays enfranchised 1998
• Toronto Blue Jays enfranchised 1977

American League Central

• Chicago White Sox enfranchised 1894 as the Sioux City Cornhuskers, moved to St. Paul (1895) and to Chicago (1900)
• Cleveland Indians enfranchised 1894 as the Grand Rapids Rustlers, moved to Cleveland (1900)
• Detroit Tigers enfranchised 1894
• Kansas City Royals enfranchised 1969
• Minnesota Twins enfranchised 1901* as the Washington Senators, moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul (1961)

American League West

• Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim enfranchised 1961
• Oakland Athletics enfranchised 1901* in Philadelphia, moved to Kansas City (1955) and to Oakland (1968)
• Seattle Mariners enfranchised 1977
• Texas Rangers enfranchised 1961 as the Washington Senators, moved to Dallas-Fort Worth (1972)

(*)See commentary on Western League page. The Buffalo, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Minneapolis teams were replaced by teams in Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington in 1901, but it is unclear and disputed as to which team went where. It is generally believed, however, that the Minneapolis Millers of 1900 became the Baltimore Orioles of 1901 and that the Kansas City Blues of 1900 became the Washington Senators of 1901.

AL presidents 1901-1999

• Ban Johnson 1901-1927
• Ernest Barnard 1927-1931
• Will Harridge 1931-1959
• Joe Cronin 1959-1973
• Lee MacPhail 1973-1984
• Bobby Brown 1984-1994
• Gene Budig 1994-1999

Office was eliminated in 1999, although Jackie Autry, former owner of the Angels, currently holds the title of honorary American League president.

Other leagues

Several other sports have had leagues called "American League", usually with the sport name as a qualifier, such as the "American Football League" (which eventually merged with the National Football League, adopting the latter's name for the combination). The American Hockey League is the top minor league in North American professional ice hockey.

Sources

• The National League Story, Lee Allen, Putnam, 1961.
• The American League Story, Lee Allen, Putnam, 1962.
• The Baseball Encyclopedia, published by MacMillan, 1968 and later.

See also

• American League pennant winners 1901-68
• American League Championship Series (ALCS)

External links

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