American League Division Series

In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determine which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The ALDS consists of two best-of-five series, featuring the three division winners and a wild-card team. The Division Series were created after the 1993 season when Major League Baseball restructured each league into three divisions, but they were first played in 1995 due to the cancellation of the 1994 playoffs. Because of a players' strike in 1981, a split-season format forced a divisional playoff series, where the New York Yankees won the Eastern Division series over the Milwaukee Brewers (who were in the American League until 1998) in five games while the Oakland Athletics swept the Kansas City Royals in three games in the Western Division.

Related Topics:
Major League Baseball - American League - American League Championship Series - Wild-card - 1993 - 1995 - New York Yankees - Milwaukee Brewers - Oakland Athletics - Kansas City Royals

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Typically, the wild-card team is assigned to play the division leader with the best winning percentage in one series, and the other two division leaders play the other series. However, if the wild-card team and the division leader with the best record are from the same division, the wild-card team will plays the second place next to the most winning division leader, and the remaining two division leaders play. In any event, the two series winners move on to the best-of-seven ALCS.

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Since the ALDS's inception, several pairs of opponents have met more than once. The Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox played in 1995, 1998, and 1999, and the Texas Rangers played the New York Yankees in 1996, 1998, and 1999. Also, three matchups have occured twice, all including the Yankees; they played the Oakland Athletics in 2000 and 2001, the Anaheim-LA Angels in 2002 and 2005, and the Minnesota Twins in 2003 and 2004.

Related Topics:
Cleveland Indians - Boston Red Sox - Texas Rangers - New York Yankees - Oakland Athletics - Anaheim-LA Angels - Minnesota Twins

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