On the final weekend of the 2006 season, as the Yankees were planning for the playoffs after having clinched a runaway title in the American League East, the Boston Red Sox slipped behind the Toronto Blue Jays by a game in the final standings. It was the only time in a span of 10 seasons — from 1998 through 2007 — that the Yankees and the Red Sox did not finish first and second, in some order, in baseball’s power division.
The last decade has been much more equitable. Every A.L. East team has made multiple trips to the playoffs, and the old rivals have held the top two spots just once, in 2009.