AL Playoffs: Beasts of the East Have Dominated Since Playoff Expansion

The Minnesota Twins have won their sixth divisional title. This is Ron Gardenhire's sixth title in nine years as the manager of the Twins.

Currently sitting at 92-60, the Twins have the best record in baseball. At 8-2 over the past 10 games, the Twins have been the hottest team in the American League since the All-Star break.

This is the 12th time in Twins history they have exceeded 90 wins. Incredibly for Gardenhire, this is the fifth time he has accomplished it.

The New York Yankees (92-61) and the Tampa Bay Rays (93-61) are right on their heels. 

For the Texas Rangers, currently sitting with 84 wins, they will have to go 6-4 to end the season and join the AL 90-win club. 

Here are some interesting facts and stats from the American League since the current divisional format was put in place in 1994. 

The divisional champions have won an average of 93.1 games.

The AL East champion has the highest average at 95 games.

Compare that to the AL West champion with an average of 91.9, while the AL Central champion averages 91.7.

In the 15 years since the wild card was introduced, the team has come out of the AL East 12 times.

Boston, with only two division titles, has won the wild card seven times, more than any other team in the American League.

At 92.1 wins, the average record of the wild card team exceeds the average for both the West and Central division champions.

The first year of divisional play the season was canceled due to a players' strike. In the 15 World Series since, the American League representative has come out of the East division 10 times. 

All the more proof that the AL East is one of the best, if not THE best division in baseball.

Only three teams have failed to win a division title since 1994—the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and the Toronto Blue Jays. 

The Tigers made it to the World Series as the wild card in 2006, leaving only the Jays and Royals to be shut out from a divisional playoff series.

The New York Yankees have won the most division titles with 12.

The Cleveland Indians are second with seven, and with their 2010 AL Central title, the Minnesota Twins are third with six.

So what does all of this mean?

Not a whole lot. As with securities, past performance does not guarantee future returns. 

But it probably means whoever aspires to make it to the World Series will have to beat at least one AL East team to get there.  

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