Editing American League

{{Short description|League within Major League Baseball}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox sports league
| name            = American League
| title           = 
| logo            = American League logo.svg
| pixels          = 200
| sport           = [[Baseball]]
| founder         = [[Ban Johnson]]
| founded         = {{start date and age|1901|1|28}} in [[Milwaukee|Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]
| divisions       = 3
| teams           = 15
| champion        = [[New York Yankees]] (41st title)
| most_champs     = [[New York Yankees]] (41) <!-- refers to AL championships, not World Series titles -->
| countries       = {{Plainlist|
* United States (14 teams)
* Canada (1 team)}}
| president       = ''vacant'' (honorary)
}}

The '''American League of Professional Baseball Clubs''', known simply as the '''American League''' ('''AL'''), is the younger of two [[sports leagues|leagues]] constituting [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]. It developed from the [[Western League (original)|Western League]], a minor league based in the [[Great Lakes region|Great Lakes states]], which eventually aspired to [[Major League Baseball|major league]] status. It is sometimes called the '''Junior Circuit''' because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season, 25 years after the formation of the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] (the "Senior Circuit").

Since 1903, the American League champion has played in the [[World Series]] against the National League champion with only two exceptions: 1904, when the NL champion [[New York Giants (baseball)|New York Giants]] refused to play their AL counterpart, and 1994, when a [[1994–95 Major League Baseball strike|players' strike]] resulted in the cancellation of the Series. Through 2024, American League teams have won 68 of the 120 World Series played since 1903. The [[New York Yankees]] have won 27 World Series and 41 American League titles, the most in major league history. The [[Oakland Athletics|Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics]] have won the second most AL titles with 15, followed by the [[Boston Red Sox]] with 14.

For decades, Major League baseball clubs only played teams from their own league during the regular season and playoffs, with only the two [[pennant (baseball)|pennant winners]] meeting in the World Series. The AL and NL also employed and trained their own [[Umpire (baseball)|umpires]], who only worked regular season games in their own league. These differences resulted in the leagues developing slightly different strategies and styles of play. The American League was usually regarded as the less "traditional" league during the 20th century, a reputation most exemplified by the introduction of the [[designated hitter]] rule in 1973, which encouraged AL managers to largely abandon "[[Small ball (baseball)|smallball]]" tactics. However, with the advent of [[Free agency (Major League Baseball)|free agency]] in the 1970s allowing for more player movement between leagues, the introduction of regular season [[interleague play]] in 1997, umpires working games across MLB beginning in 1999, and the NL's adoption of the designated hitter rule in 2022, the difference in play between the two major leagues has diminished considerably.

Though both leagues agreed to be jointly governed by a [[Commissioner of Baseball|commissioner]] in 1920, they remained separate business entities with their own presidents and management. This was the case until after the 1999 season, when the American League legally merged with the National League under the auspices of Major League Baseball, which now operates much like other North American professional sports leagues, albeit with two "leagues" instead of "conferences".

==History==
{{Main|History of the American League}}
[[File:Teams of the American League (2350728586).jpg|right|thumb|upright|American League President and founder [[Ban Johnson]], in center, surrounded by the portraits of the league's eight teams in 1907.]]
Originally a [[Minor League Baseball|minor league]] known as the [[Western League (1885-1899)|Western League]], which existed from 1885 to 1899 with teams in mostly [[Great Lakes]] states, the league changed its name to the American League for the 1900 season and the next year developed into a second major league as a competitor to the older [[National League (baseball)|National League]]. This was prompted by the NL dropping four teams following the 1899 season after having absorbed its previous rival, the [[American Association (1882–1891)|American Association]], which disbanded in 1891 after ten seasons.

In its early history of the late 1880s, the minor Western League struggled until 1894, when [[Ban Johnson]] became the president of the league. Johnson pushed the league to rise to major league status, after the name change to the American League was decided in a league meeting in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]], at the former Republican Hotel. A historical marker is at the intersection of North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and West Kilbourn Avenue where the hotel once stood.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=30351|title=Birthplace of the American League Historical Marker|website=www.hmdb.org|access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref>

In March 1904, Johnson moved the league's headquarters from Chicago to New York.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=March 16, 1904 |title=Move to New York: American League to Transfer its Headquarters to Gotham|url= |work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|page=6}}</ref>

[[Babe Ruth]], noted as one of the most prolific hitters in [[Major League Baseball]] history, spent the majority of his career in the American League with the [[Boston Red Sox]] and the [[New York Yankees]]. From 1973 to 2022 The American League had one notable difference versus the rival [[National League (baseball)|National League]], as it had the [[designated hitter]] rule. Under the rule, a team may use a [[batter (baseball)|batter]] in its [[Batting order (baseball)|lineup]] who is not in the field defensively, replacing the [[pitcher]] in the batting order, compared to the old rule that made it mandatory for the pitcher to bat. In the last two decades, the season schedule has allowed occasional interleague play. In 1969, the AL (and NL) were divided into East and West divisions, with a postseason playoff series for the pennant and the right to play in the World Series.

[[File:Walter Johnson and Calvin Coolidge shake hands FINAL.jpg|thumb|[[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Calvin Coolidge]] (1872–1933, served 1923–1929), and [[History of the Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] pitcher [[Walter Johnson]] (1887–1946, played 1907–1927, managed 1929–1932 for Senators; managed Cleveland Indians 1933–1935), shake hands following the Senators' 1924 American League championship at [[Griffith Stadium]], [[Washington, D.C.]]]]

Until the late 1970s, league umpires working behind home plate wore large, balloon-style chest protectors worn outside the shirt or coat, while their colleagues in the National League wore chest protectors inside the shirt or coat. In 1977, new umpires (including [[Steve Palermo]]) had to wear the inside chest protector, although those on staff wearing the outside protector could continue to do so. Most umpires made the switch to the inside protector, led by [[Don Denkinger]] in 1975 and [[Jim Evans (umpire)|Jim Evans]] the next year, although several did not, including [[Bill Haller]], [[Russ Goetz]], [[George Maloney]], [[Bill Kunkel (baseball)|Bill Kunkel]] and [[Jerry Neudecker]], who became the last full-time MLB umpire to use the outside protector in 1985.

In 1994, the league, along with the National League, reorganized again, this time into three divisions (East, West, and [[American League Central|Central]]) and added a third round to the playoffs in the form of the [[American League Division Series]], with the best second-place team advancing to the playoffs as a wild-card team, in addition to the three divisional champions. In 1998, the newly franchised [[Tampa Bay Rays|Tampa Bay Devil Rays]] joined the league, and the [[Arizona Diamondbacks]] joined the National League: i.e., each league added a fifteenth team. An odd number of teams per league meant that at least one team in each league would have to be idle on any given day, or alternatively, that odd team out would have had to play an [[interleague play|interleague game]] against its counterpart in the other league. The initial plan was to have three five-team divisions per league with inter-league play year-round—possibly as many as 30 interleague games per team each year.

For various reasons, it soon seemed more practical to have an even number of teams in both leagues. The [[Milwaukee Brewers]] agreed to change leagues to become the National League's 16th team, moving from the AL Central to the NL Central. At the same time, the [[Detroit Tigers]] were moved from the AL East to the AL Central, making room for the Devil Rays in the East. Even after expansion, the American League then continued with 14 teams. This situation changed again in 2013 when the [[Houston Astros]] moved from the National League Central division to the American League West. The Astros had been in the NL for 51 years since beginning as an expansion team in 1962. Since their move, both leagues now consist of 15 teams.

===Interleague play, and merger===
For the first 96 years, American League teams faced their National League counterparts only in exhibition games or in the World Series. Beginning in 1997, interleague games have been played during the regular season and count in the standings. As part of the agreement instituting interleague play, the designated-hitter rule was used only in games where the American League team is the home team, until the 2022 season, when the universal DH rule was implemented. 
In 2023, American League teams played 46 regular season interleague games against all 15 National League teams, 23 at home and 23 on the road.

In 2000, the American League ended its status as a legally independent entity when the American and National Leagues were both merged into the legal entity Major League Baseball (MLB).<ref>{{cite web|title=Year In Review: 2000 National League|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/yearly/yr2000n.shtml|website=Baseball-Almanac.com|access-date=April 29, 2023}}</ref> This left MLB as a single league, divided into two parts, also called leagues. This change in legal status had no effect on play, scheduling, and so forth.

==Teams==

===Charter franchises===
There were eight charter teams in 1901, the league's first year as a major league, and
the next year the original [[Milwaukee Brewers (1894–1901)|Milwaukee Brewers]] (not to be confused with the current [[Milwaukee Brewers]]) moved to St. Louis to become the [[St. Louis Browns]], and the year after the [[New York Yankees|New York Highlanders]] replaced the disbanded original Baltimore Orioles. Those eight franchises constituted the league for 52 seasons until the Browns moved to Baltimore and took up the Orioles name. The eight original teams and their counterparts in the "Classic Eight" were:

*Original [[Baltimore Orioles (1901–1902)|Baltimore Orioles]] (not to be confused with the current [[Baltimore Orioles]], see Milwaukee Brewers) folded after the 1902 season,<ref name=baltimore>{{cite web|title=Bankrupt Orioles |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/blog/2014/07/1901-02-orioles-removed-from-yankees-history/ |website=Baseball-Reference |access-date=July 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140723231519/http://www.sports-reference.com/blog/2014/07/1901-02-orioles-removed-from-yankees-history/ |archive-date=July 23, 2014  }}</ref> and was replaced by the New York team that began play in 1903. The New York franchise was nicknamed "Highlanders", "Americans", and "[[New York Yankees|Yankees]]" until the latter became official in 1913.
*Boston Americans (became the [[Boston Red Sox]] in 1908)
*[[Chicago White Sox|Chicago White Stockings]] (name shortened to White Sox in 1904)
*[[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland Blues]]<ref>Officially "Bluebirds", a form seldom used</ref> (became the [[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland Indians]] in 1915 and the [[Cleveland Guardians]] in 2022)
*[[Detroit Tigers]] (name and locale unchanged from 1894 forward)
*Original [[Baltimore Orioles|Milwaukee Brewers]] (became the [[St. Louis Browns]] in 1902 and the current [[Baltimore Orioles]] in 1954)
*[[Philadelphia Athletics]] (became the [[Kansas City Athletics]] in 1955, the [[Oakland Athletics]] in 1968, and the [[Athletics (Major League Baseball team)|Athletics]] in 2025)
*Original [[Washington Senators (1901–1960)|Washington Senators]] (became the [[Minnesota Twins]] in 1961)<ref name=chicago>{{cite web|title=American League|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/sports/baseball/american-league-15007001.topic|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=August 25, 2013}}</ref>

===Expansion, renaming, and relocation summary===
{{see also|Major League Baseball relocation of 1950s–1960s}}
*1902: Original [[Milwaukee Brewers (1894–1901)|Milwaukee Brewers]] moved to St. Louis, renamed [[St. Louis Browns]]
*1902: [[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland Bluebirds/Blues]] players attempted to adopt the nickname [[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland Bronchos]], which failed to catch on
*1903: [[New York Yankees|New York Highlanders]] replaced original Baltimore Orioles; dubbed "Highlanders" by press after their field, [[Hilltop Park]], and "Yankees" as an alternate form of "Americans"
*1903: [[Chicago White Sox|Chicago White Stockings]] officially renamed [[Chicago White Sox]]
*1903: [[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland Blues/Bronchos]] renamed [[Cleveland Naps]] via newspaper poll, after star [[Nap Lajoie]]
*1905: [[Washington Senators (1901–1960)|Washington Senators]] renamed [[Washington Senators (1901–1960)|Washington Nationals]]; Senators name continued to be used by media
*1908: [[Boston Red Sox|Boston Americans]] (informal nickname) formally named [[Boston Red Sox]]
*1913: [[New York Yankees|New York Highlanders]] nickname dropped in favor of already-established alternative, [[New York Yankees]]
*1915: [[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland Naps]] renamed [[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland Indians]]
*1954: [[St. Louis Browns]] move to Baltimore, renamed [[Baltimore Orioles]]
*1955: [[Philadelphia Athletics]] move to Kansas City
*1957: [[Washington Senators (1901–1960)|Washington Nationals/Senators]] formally renamed [[Washington Senators (1901–1960)|Washington Senators]]
*1961: [[Washington Senators (1901–1960)|Washington Senators]] move to Minneapolis-St. Paul, renamed [[Minnesota Twins]]
*1961: [[Los Angeles Angels]] and ''new'' [[Washington Senators (1961–1971)|Washington Senators]] enfranchised.
*1965: [[Los Angeles Angels]] renamed [[Los Angeles Angels|California Angels]] in late-season on September 2, 1965. For the following season, the Angels moved within the Los Angeles metropolitan area from the city of Los Angeles to the [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] suburb of Anaheim.
*1968: [[Kansas City Athletics]] move to Oakland
*1969: [[Kansas City Royals]] and [[Seattle Pilots]] enfranchised.
*1970: [[Seattle Pilots]] move to Milwaukee, renamed [[Milwaukee Brewers]]. (Four years earlier, in 1966, the National League's Milwaukee Braves had moved to Atlanta.)
*1972: [[Washington Senators (1961–1971)|Washington Senators]] move to the [[Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex]], renamed [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]]
*1973: [[Oakland Athletics]] renamed [[Oakland Athletics|Oakland A's]]
*1977: [[Seattle Mariners]] and [[Toronto Blue Jays]] enfranchised
*1980: [[Oakland Athletics|Oakland A's]] officially renamed [[Oakland Athletics]]
*1997: [[Los Angeles Angels|California Angels]] renamed [[Los Angeles Angels|Anaheim Angels]]. The change came more than 30 years after the team's move to Anaheim.
*1998: [[Tampa Bay Rays|Tampa Bay Devil Rays]], representing Tampa-St. Petersburg, enfranchised
*1998: [[Milwaukee Brewers]] transfer from the American League to the National League. (See above.)
*2005: [[Los Angeles Angels|Anaheim Angels]] renamed [[Los Angeles Angels|Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim]]
*2008: [[Tampa Bay Rays|Tampa Bay Devil Rays]] renamed [[Tampa Bay Rays]]
*2013: [[Houston Astros]] moved from the National League.
*2016: [[Los Angeles Angels|Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim]] renamed [[Los Angeles Angels]]
*2022: [[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland Indians]] renamed [[Cleveland Guardians]]
*2025: [[Oakland Athletics]] renamed [[A's|Athletics]] following temporary relocation to [[West Sacramento, California]]

===Current teams===
====American League East====
{{main|American League East}}
*[[Baltimore Orioles]] enfranchised 1901 as the Milwaukee Brewers, moved to St. Louis (1902) and to Baltimore (1954)
*[[Boston Red Sox]] enfranchised 1901, nicknamed the Americans<ref>To distinguish them from Boston's National League team, then called the Red Stockings or the Nationals</ref> (adopted name Red Sox in 1908)
*[[New York Yankees]] enfranchised 1903, replacing the [[Baltimore Orioles (1901–1902)|original Baltimore Orioles]], nicknamed the Highlanders<ref>after their home, Hilltop Park, and a pun on their owner's name, Gordon's Highlanders, referencing the famous Scottish regiment.</ref> ("Highlanders" dropped out of use after move to the [[Polo Grounds]] in 1913; officially adopted alternate nickname Yanks/Yankees by 1923)<ref>Sources recently have dissociated the 1902–1903 Baltimore Orioles from the Highlanders/Yankees. [https://www.sports-reference.com/blog/2014/07/1901-02-orioles-removed-from-yankees-history/ Sports Reference.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140723231519/http://www.sports-reference.com/blog/2014/07/1901-02-orioles-removed-from-yankees-history/ |date=July 23, 2014 }} and sources cited on that page. Retrieved July 23, 2014.</ref>
*[[Tampa Bay Rays]] enfranchised 1998 as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (team name changed in 2008)
*[[Toronto Blue Jays]] enfranchised 1977<ref name=mlb>{{cite web|author=Edgarf|title=Baltimore Orioles History – American League East|url=http://mlbbaseballbetting.com/baltimore-orioles-history-american-league-east/|publisher=MLB Baseball Betting|access-date=August 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610123121/http://mlbbaseballbetting.com/baltimore-orioles-history-american-league-east/|archive-date=June 10, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====American League Central====
{{main|American League Central}}
*[[Chicago White Sox]] enfranchised 1894 as the Sioux City Cornhuskers, moved to St. Paul (1895) and to Chicago (1900)
*[[Cleveland Guardians]] enfranchised 1896 as the Columbus Buckeyes, moved to Grand Rapids (July 1899) and to Cleveland (1900)
*[[Detroit Tigers]] enfranchised 1894
*[[Kansas City Royals]] enfranchised 1969
*[[Minnesota Twins]] enfranchised 1894 as the Kansas City Blues, moved to Washington (1901), and to Minneapolis-St. Paul (1961)

====American League West====
{{main|American League West}}
*[[Athletics (baseball)|Athletics]] enfranchised 1901{{efn|See commentary on [[Western League (1885–1900)|Western League]] page. The Indianapolis and Minneapolis teams were replaced by teams in Baltimore and Philadelphia in 1901, but it is unclear and disputed as to which team went where.}} in Philadelphia, moved to Kansas City (1955), Oakland (1968), and to West Sacramento (2025)
*[[Houston Astros]] enfranchised 1962 in National League as the Houston Colt .45s (team changed name to Astros in 1965), transferred to American League (2013)
*[[Los Angeles Angels]] enfranchised 1961 as the Los Angeles Angels, then as the California Angels after moving to Anaheim (1966), then the Anaheim Angels (1997), then the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2005).  This last remains the ''legal'' name of the franchise, but in actual practice, the team is known as the Los Angeles Angels, officially so since 2016
*[[Seattle Mariners]] enfranchised 1977
*[[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] enfranchised 1961 as the Washington Senators, moved to the [[Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex]] (1972)

==Timeline==
The first line is the transformation of the [[American League]] (AL) to a major league in 1901. The second line is the beginning of the expansion era in 1961. The third line marks the legal merger of the American and National Leagues into a single [[Major League Baseball]] in 2000.

[[World Series]] championships are shown with a "•", American League Pennants before the World Series are shown with a "#", and American League Pennants who lost the World Series are shown with a "^". No World Series was played in 1904, so the pennant winners for each league are indicated. Due to the [[1994–95 Major League Baseball strike]], there were no pennant or World Series winners in 1994, so this year is left blank.

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 at:1901 color:lineColor #Formation of AL
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 bar:DET   # Detroit Tigers
 bar:BAL   # Milwaukee Brewers / St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles
 bar:ATH   # Philadelphia Athletics / Kansas City Athletics / Oakland Athletics / Athletics
 bar:MIN   # Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins
 bar:NYY   # New York Highlanders / Yankees
 bar:TEX   # Washington Senators / Texas Rangers
 bar:LAA   # Los Angeles Angels / California Angels / Anaheim Angels / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
 bar:HOU   # Houston Colt .45s  / Houston Astros
 bar:KC    # Kansas City Royals
 bar:MIL   # Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers         
 bar:SEA   # Seattle Mariners
 bar:TOR   # Toronto Blue Jays
 bar:TB    # Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Tampa Bay Rays

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# Note on dates: A team's bar begins with the season that team played its first game, and ends with the season after that team played its last game. For example, the Cincinnati Red Stockings played their first game in 1876, the first season of the National League, and played their last game in 1880. Therefore, their bar goes from 1876 to 1881.

# --- Charter Members of the American League
 bar:BLA  from:1901 till:1903                    link:/wiki/Baltimore_Orioles_(1901–1902)
 bar:BLA  from:1901 till:1903 color:orange       text:"Baltimore Orioles"                                 $Right

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 at:BOS at:2018 $champ mark:(line, red)

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 at:CWS at:2005 $champ mark:(line, black)

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 at:CLE at:2016 $champ2 mark:(line, red2)

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 at:DET at:2006 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:DET at:2012 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)

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 at:BAL at:1966 $champ mark:(line, orange)
 at:BAL at:1969 $champ2 mark:(line, orange)
 at:BAL at:1970 $champ mark:(line, orange)
 at:BAL at:1971 $champ2 mark:(line, orange)
 at:BAL at:1979 $champ2 mark:(line, orange)
 at:BAL at:1983 $champ mark:(line, orange)

 bar:ATH  from:1901 till:end                     link:/wiki/Athletics_(baseball)
 bar:ATH  from:1901 till:1955 color:blue         text:"Philadelphia Athletics"        textcolor:vegasgold $Down
 bar:ATH  from:1955 till:1968 color:navy         text:"Kansas City~Athletics"         textcolor:red       $Up
 bar:ATH  from:1968 till:2025 color:darkgreen    text:"Oakland Athletics"             textcolor:gold
 bar:ATH  from:2025 till:end  color:gold         text:"Athletics"                     textcolor:darkgreen $Right
 at:ATH at:1902 $champ3 mark:(line, blue)
 at:ATH at:1905 $champ2 mark:(line, blue)
 at:ATH at:1910 $champ mark:(line, blue)
 at:ATH at:1911 $champ mark:(line, blue)
 at:ATH at:1913 $champ mark:(line, blue)
 at:ATH at:1914 $champ2 mark:(line, blue)
 at:ATH at:1929 $champ mark:(line, blue)
 at:ATH at:1930 $champ mark:(line, blue)
 at:ATH at:1931 $champ2 mark:(line, blue)
 at:ATH at:1972 $champ mark:(line, darkgreen)
 at:ATH at:1973 $champ mark:(line, darkgreen)
 at:ATH at:1974 $champ mark:(line, darkgreen)
 at:ATH at:1988 $champ2 mark:(line, darkgreen)
 at:ATH at:1989 $champ mark:(line, darkgreen)
 at:ATH at:1990 $champ2 mark:(line, darkgreen)

 bar:MIN  from:1901 till:end                     link:/wiki/Minnesota_Twins
 bar:MIN  from:1901 till:1961 color:darkblue     text:"Washington Senators"           textcolor:white     $Down
 bar:MIN  from:1961 till:end  color:skyblue      text:"Minnesota Twins"               textcolor:red       $Right2
 at:MIN at:1924 $champ mark:(line, darkblue)
 at:MIN at:1925 $champ2 mark:(line, darkblue)
 at:MIN at:1933 $champ2 mark:(line, darkblue)
 at:MIN at:1965 $champ2 mark:(line, skyblue)
 at:MIN at:1987 $champ mark:(line, skyblue)
 at:MIN at:1991 $champ mark:(line, skyblue)

# --- 1903: New York replaces Baltimore
 bar:NYY  from:1903 till:1912 color:gray         text:"New York~Highlanders"          textcolor:white     $Up
 bar:NYY  from:1912 till:end  color:navy         text:"New York Yankees"              textcolor:white     $DownRight2
 at:NYY at:1921 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1922 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1923 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1926 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1927 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1928 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1932 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1936 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1937 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1938 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1939 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1941 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1942 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1943 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1947 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1949 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1950 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1951 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1952 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1953 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1955 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1956 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1957 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1958 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1960 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1961 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1962 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1963 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1964 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1976 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1977 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1978 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1981 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1996 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1998 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:1999 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:2000 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:2001 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:2003 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:2009 $champ mark:(line, navy)
 at:NYY at:2024 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)

# --- 1961 Expansion
 bar:TEX  from:1961 till:end                     link:/wiki/Texas_Rangers
 bar:TEX  from:1961 till:1972 color:darkblue text:"Washington~Senators"               textcolor:white     $Up
 bar:TEX  from:1972 till:end  color:oceanblue    text:"Texas Rangers"                 textcolor:darkred   $DownRight2
 at:TEX at:2010 $champ2 mark:(line, oceanblue)
 at:TEX at:2011 $champ2 mark:(line, oceanblue)
 at:TEX at:2023 $champ mark:(line, oceanblue)

 bar:LAA  from:1961 till:end                     link:/wiki/Los_Angeles_Angels
 bar:LAA  from:1961 till:1965 color:red          text:"Los Angeles~Angels"                                $UpLeft
 bar:LAA  from:1965 till:1997 color:red2         text:"California Angels"
 bar:LAA  from:1997 till:2005 color:skyblue      text:"Anaheim~Angels"                                    $Up
 bar:LAA  from:2005 till:2016 color:darkred      text:"Los Angeles~Angels of Anaheim" textcolor:white     $Up
 bar:LAA  from:2016 till:end  color:red          text:"Los Angeles~Angels"            textcolor:navy      $Up

 at:LAA at:2002 $champ mark:(line, skyblue)

# --- 1962 Expansion
 bar:HOU  from:1962 till:end                     link:/wiki/Houston_Astros
 bar:HOU  from:1962 till:2013 color:nl1          text:"(NL)"
 bar:HOU  from:2013 till:end  color:orange       text:"Houston Astros"                                    $Down
 at:HOU at:2017 $champ mark:(line, orange)
 at:HOU at:2019 $champ2 mark:(line, orange)
 at:HOU at:2021 $champ2 mark:(line, orange)
 at:HOU at:2022 $champ mark:(line, orange)

# --- 1969 Expansion
 bar:KC   from:1969 till:end                     link:/wiki/Kansas_City_Royals
 bar:KC	  from:1969 till:end  color:skyblue      text:"Kansas City Royals"            textcolor:darkblue  $DownRight2
 at:KC  at:1980 $champ2 mark:(line, skyblue)
 at:KC  at:1985 $champ mark:(line, skyblue)
 at:KC  at:2014 $champ2 mark:(line, skyblue)
 at:KC  at:2015 $champ mark:(line, skyblue) 

 bar:MIL  from:1969 till:end                     link:/wiki/Milwaukee_Brewers
 bar:MIL  from:1969 till:1970 color:darkblue     text:"Seattle Pilots"                                    $Left
 bar:MIL  from:1970 till:1998 color:gold         text:"Milwaukee Brewers"             textcolor:darkblue  $Down
 bar:MIL  from:1998 till:end  color:nl1          text:"(NL)"
 at:MIL at:1982 $champ2 mark:(line, gold)

# --- 1977 Expansion
 bar:SEA  from:1977 till:end                     link:/wiki/Seattle_Mariners
 bar:SEA  from:1977 till:end  color:teal2        text:"Seattle Mariners"              textcolor:white     $Right2

 bar:TOR  from:1977 till:end                     link:/wiki/Toronto_Blue_Jays
 bar:TOR  from:1977 till:end  color:darkblue     text:"Toronto Blue Jays"             textcolor:white     $Right2
 at:TOR at:1992 $champ mark:(line, darkblue)
 at:TOR at:1993 $champ mark:(line, darkblue)

# --- 1998 Expansion
 bar:TB   from:1998 till:end                     link:/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Rays
 bar:TB	  from:1998 till:2008 color:blue         text:"Tampa Bay~Devil Rays"          textcolor:white     $Up
 bar:TB	  from:2008 till:end  color:navy         text:"Tampa Bay Rays"                textcolor:skyblue   $DownRight2
 at:TB  at:2008 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
 at:TB  at:2020 $champ2 mark:(line, navy)
</timeline>

==Presidents==

Following the 1999 season, the American and National Leagues were merged with Major League Baseball, and the leagues ceased to exist as business entities. The position of the American League President and National League President became honorary.

{| class=wikitable
|+Key
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffb; text-align:center"| {{dagger}}
| Member of the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{asterisk}}
| Honorary President
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!scope="col"|Name
!scope="col"|Years
!scope="col" class=unsortable|Ref
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffb; text-align:center"| {{sortname|Ban|Johnson}}{{sup|{{dagger}}}}
| 1901–1927 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Frank|Navin}}
| 1927 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Ernest|Barnard}}
| 1927–1931 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffb; text-align:center"| {{sortname|Will|Harridge}}{{sup|{{dagger}}}}
| 1931–1959 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffb; text-align:center"| {{sortname|Joe|Cronin}}{{sup|{{dagger}}}}
| 1959–1973 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffb; text-align:center"| {{sortname|Lee|MacPhail}}{{sup|{{dagger}}}}
| 1973–1984 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Bobby|Brown|dab=third baseman}}
| 1984–1994 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Gene|Budig}}
| 1994–1999 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Jackie|Autry}}{{asterisk}}
| 2000–2015 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffb; text-align:center"| {{sortname|Frank|Robinson}}{{sup|{{dagger}}}}{{asterisk}}
| 2015–2019 ||
|}

==See also==
*[[List of American League pennant winners]]
*[[American League Championship Series]] (ALCS)
*[[American League Division Series]] (ALDS)
*[[List of American League Wild Card winners]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|26em}}

==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.

{{American League}}
{{MLB}}
{{AL Presidents}}
{{Baseball leagues}}
{{Professional Baseball}}
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[[Category:American League| ]]
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