(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
If there were any doubts as to which MLB division is strongest, the AL East has reached a whole new level of difficulty in 2023.
All five teams signaled their intentions to compete before the season, and all five have been very competitive.
Not only does the division have the team with the best record in the American League (the Baltimore Orioles, at 65-41), but even the last-place squad, the New York Yankees, are playing over .500.
In fact, according to ESPN Stats & Info, there has only been one season in the Divisional Era in which every team entered August with a positive record.
“This year’s AL East is the second time in the Divisional Era (since 1969) that every team in a division is over .500 entering August. The other was NL East in 2005,” they tweeted.
This year’s AL East is the second time in the Divisional Era (since 1969) that every team in a division is over .500 entering August.
The other was NL East in 2005. pic.twitter.com/S2KYSsDnbA
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 1, 2023
Things have been so competitive in the AL East that the worst team, the Yankees, would lead the AL Central given that the top squad there, the Minnesota Twins, are 54-53.
Math states that at least one of the five AL East organizations will be left out of the playoffs, and it could be two or three depending on how the Wild Card standings shape up at the end of the season.
It would be a shame to see a good baseball club miss out on October baseball, but such is life in the AL East.
Even the Orioles, a 110-loss team as recently as 2021, are quite good: in fact, they are tops in the division and look like a bona fide contender for years to come.
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