Blue Jays Favored to Win AL East Divisional Race
The Toronto Blue Jays have won only one American League East title in the past 25 years, but they've put all the pieces together in 2022 and oddsmakers think they're the team to beat in the division.
According to our gambling website, SISportsbook.com, it's the Blue Jays with the shortest odds to claim the AL East this year. They are listed at plus-165, which means if you bet $100 on the Blue Jays, you earn $165 more if they win the division.
The regular season started on Thursday.
The New York Yankees are next at plus-225, while the Tampa Bay Rays are listed at plus-275. The Boston Red Sox are plus-500 and the Baltimore Orioles are a massive longshot at plus-20,000.
The current version of the American League East has been together since 1998 when Tampa Bay joined the league as an expansion team. The Detroit Tigers moved to the AL Central when the Devil Rays, as they were known in the beginning, entered the five-team division.
All five teams have won at least one division title since 1998. with the Yankees dominating. New York won the first nine titles from 1998 through 2006, and has won 12 of the past 24 crowns — and the playoff spot that comes with it.
Here's who has won the division since 1998:
- New York Yankees (12): 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012.
- Boston Red Sox (6): 2007, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.
- Tampa Bay Rays (4): 2008, 2010, 2020, 2021.
- Baltimore Orioles (1): 2014.
- Toronto Blue Jays (1): 2015.
Baseball split into two divisions following expansion in 1969, and winning the AL East has always taken a lot. It's often the best division in baseball, and everyone has been competitive. Baltimore won eight AL East titles from 1969 through 1997, and the Blue Jays won five times.
Tampa Bay has won two titles in a row, winning the COVID-shortened 2020 season with a 40-20 record, and then went 100-62 last year winning the division by eight games over the Yankees and Red Sox, who tied for second at 92-70. The Red Sox beat the Yankees in the wild-card game, and then beat the Rays in the divisional round 3-1.
Tampa Bay's 140 regular-season wins the past two years are far and away the most in the division, Here are the combined records of the five teams in the past two years.
- Tampa Bay — 140-82
- New York — 125-97, 15 games behind
- Toronto — 123-99, 17 games behind
- Boston — 116-106, 24 games behind
- Baltimore — 77-145, 63 games behind
