American League Baseball
Major League Baseball is one of the premier baseball leagues all over the world. Take note, this is in a global sense, not just in America. And this league is comprised of two of the biggest baseball leagues in America, which are the American League and the National League. But let us concentrate on American League Baseball this time around.
But American League Baseball did not start out as one of the premier leagues in the state. American League Baseball actually started out as just one of the minor leagues. In fact, it was only in 1901 that the American Baseball League became one of the major leagues that comprise today’s MLB. And this was 25 years after the National League was formed as well.
If you are wondering how many baseball teams are there in the American League, the answer to that question would be 14. And because of the size of America, it is also quite inevitable for American League Baseball teams to be grouped into three: American League East, American League Central, and American League West. Let us enumerate each sub-category for this league.
First off would be the baseball teams in American League East. There are actually five teams under this category. These are the Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and the Toronto Blue Jays. Now, there’s something interesting about the Baltimore Orioles. This team was once enfranchised in the year 1894. At that time, the Orioles were once known as the Milwaukee Brewers. But then, in 1902, the team moved to St. Louis. And then in 1954, they finally became today’s Baltimore Orioles. In 1901, it was the Boston Red Sox that was enfranchised, as well as the New York Yankees. And in 1977, it was the Blue Jays from Toronto that became enfranchised. The latest for the American League East to become enfranchised is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, in 1998.
Five teams comprise the American League Central as well. These are the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, the Detroit Tigers, the Kansas City Royals, and the Minnesota Twins. It was in 1894 that the three teams from Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit were enfranchised. At the time, the White Sox were once known as the Sioux City Cornhuskers. The team moved to St. Paul a year after they were enfranchised, and then settled down in Chicago in the year 1900. The Cleveland Indians started out as the Grand Rapids Rustlers, and then settled down in Cleveland also in the year 1900. There’s not much moving that went on for the Detroit Tigers. However, they are currently the champions of the American League! As for the Minnesota Twins, they were enfranchised in the year 1901, but as the Washington Senators first. And then, they settled down in Minneapolis-St. Paul in the year 1961.
As for the American League West, the four remaining teams are comprised of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Oakland Athletics, the Seattle Mariners, and the Texas Rangers. The earliest team that was enfranchised was Oakland Athletics, back in the year 1901. This was in Philadelphia, at first. The team then moved to Kansas City in 1955, and then to Oakland in 1968. In 1961, both the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Texas Rangers got enfranchised. But the Texas Rangers started out as the Washington Senators. It was in 1972 when the Rangers moved to Dallas-Fort Worth and became known as today’s Rangers. And in 1977, the Seattle Mariners became the last team to join American League West.
Now, here’s an interesting piece of trivia for all of you American League Baseball fans out there. In the 2006 season, the teams of the American League were able to win 60 of the total of 102 World Series played.