American League
The American League 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. Beginning with the 1903 season, the regular season champions of the two leagues have met annually in the
World Series, with the exception of 1904 and 1994.
Encyclopedia
The
American League 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. Beginning with the 1903 season, the regular season champions of the two leagues have met annually in the
World Series, with the exception of 1904 and 1994. Through the 2005 season, American League teams have won 60 and lost 41 of the 101 World Series played.
League history
With the demise of the American Association after the 1891 season, the National League expanded to become a 12-team circuit with monopoly status for the rest of the decade. The league became embroiled in internal conflicts, including a plan supported by some owners to form a "trust," wherein there would be one common ownership of all N.L. teams. In 1894, the N.L. established a $2,400 limit on annual player wages. Then, the league contracted to eight teams for the 1900 season, eliminating its teams in
Baltimore,
Cleveland,
Louisville, and
Washington. Western League President Bancroft "Ban" Johnson felt the time was right to challenge the N.L. monopoly.
The Western League renamed itself the
American League on October 11, 1899, and placed teams in the abandoned Cleveland market as well as on the south side of
Chicago. This was done with the approval of the
National League, which did not immediately recognize the potential threat such a move would pose to its monopoly.
During the 1900 season, the rechristened A.L. was still a minor league circuit subject to the National Agreement. They ended the season as follows:
| Team Name | Record |
| Chicago White Stockings | 82-53 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 79-58 |
| Indianapolis Hoosiers | 71-64 |
| Detroit Tigers | 71-67 |
| Kansas City Blues | 69-70 |
| Cleveland Lake Shores | 63-73 |
| Buffalo Bisons | 61-78 |
| Minneapolis Millers | 53-86 |
The league declined to 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,
Philadelphia, and
Boston. The manager and several players from the Kansas City team were transferred to Washington. Baltimore and Washington had both been victims of the N.L. contraction. The other two cities were chosen to compete head-to-head with the older league, as in Chicago. The new league began to hire disgruntled National League players. A roster war was on.
The older National League at first refused to recognize the new league, but reality set in as talent and money drained away to the new league. After two years of bitter contention a new version of the National Agreement was signed in 1903. This meant formal acceptance of each league by the other as an equal partner in major league baseball. During the baseball "war" however, the American League moved its Milwaukee franchise to
St. Louis in 1902 and the Baltimore franchise to
New York in 1903, thus competing with the N.L. in those markets as well.
The American League consisted of the same eight teams from 1903 through 1954, when the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and were rechristened the
Baltimore Orioles. In 1955, the
Philadelphia Athletics moved to
Kansas City . In 1961, the Washington Senators moved to
Minneapolis-St. Paul and became the
Minnesota Twins.
In 1961, the league expanded to ten teams for the first time in its history when the
Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators joined the league, the latter replacing the original Washington Senators franchise which had just relocated to Minnesota. The Los Angeles Angels went through several name changes and are now formally known as the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The second Washington franchise moved to
Dallas-Fort Worth in 1972 and became the Texas Rangers.
In 1969 the American League expanded to 12 teams when the
Kansas City Royals and
Seattle Pilots joined the league. . With the addition of these teams, the league reorganized into two divisions of six teams , with the division champions meeting in the American League Championship Series, an additional round of postseason competition, for the right to advance to the World Series. Beginning with the 1994 season, the league has been divided into three divisions , with the addition of a wild card team to enable four teams to advance to the preliminary American League Division Series.
The league adopted the designated hitter rule in 1973 whereby a team may choose to designate a tenth player to bat in place of the pitcher. Contrary to popular belief, use of the DH is not mandatory. Though maligned by some critics, use of the DH rule has spread to almost every amateur and professional league, the two most notable exceptions being the National League and Japan's
Central League.
The third expansion came in 1977, when the
Seattle Mariners and
Toronto Blue Jays joined the A.L., which thus became a 14-team league. Finally, in 1998 the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays became the fifteenth team to join the American League. Concurrently, however, the Milwaukee Brewers withdrew from the league to join the National League. The simultaneous expansion and contraction kept the A.L. a 14-team league, which it remains today.
For the first 96 years of its existence, American League teams faced their National League counterparts only in exhibition games or in the World Series. Beginning in 1997, however,
interleague games have been played during the regular season and count in the standings.
Through the 2005 season, the Yankees have won the most American League pennants , followed by the Athletics and Red Sox . Likewise, the Yankees have also won the most World Series . The Athletics are second with 9, having won five while based in Philadelphia and four after their move to Oakland. The Red Sox raised their total number of titles to 6 after winning their first World Series Championship in 86 years in 2004.
Teams
Charter franchises
Starting in 1901, the eight charter teams were the following:
Expansion, renaming and relocation summary
The
Milwaukee Brewers are a Major League Baseball [i] team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin [i]. ...
move to St. Louis, renamed
St. Louis BrownsThe
Milwaukee Brewers are a Major League Baseball [i] team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin [i]. ...
enfranchised
The
Milwaukee Brewers are a Major League Baseball [i] team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin [i]. ...
move to Milwaukee, renamed
Milwaukee BrewersThe
Milwaukee Brewers are a Major League Baseball [i] team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin [i]. ...
withdraw from the American League to join the National League
Current teams
American League East
American League Central
American League West
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
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" .
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
