The AL East is perennially the best division in MLB. For years, this was because two behemoths, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, both played in the division. Over the past decade, the competition grew more diverse. The Rays were among baseball’s top teams from 2008 to 2013, the Blue Jays made the ALCS in consecutive years in 2015 and 2016, and the Orioles won the most games in the AL from 2012 to 2016.
At times, the gap between the AL East and the rest of the league has been staggering.