American League

The American League (or formally the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States of America and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, that eventually aspired to major league status. The A.L. is often called the Junior Circuit because it was elevated to Major League status in 1901, 25 years after the formation of the National League. The American League champion plays the World Series against the National League champion after the end of every season. Through the 2007 season, American League teams have won 61 of the 103 World Series played since 1903. The Boston Red Sox are the 2007 American League Champions.

League history

With the disappearance of the American Association after the 1891 baseball season, the National League expanded to become a twelve-team league. The National League remained the sole monopoly of major professional baseball for the remainder of the century. In 1894, Bancroft "Ban" Johnson became the president of the minor Western League. In 1896, he formulated the plan that would eventually see the National Western League become the American League. Throughout the latter half of the 1890's, the National League considered contracting from twelve teams to eight. Johnson was determined that if this should happen, then he would be set to place new teams into the abandoned cities and thus take on the established league.
In 1900 the NL finally went through with its planned contraction, eliminating its teams in Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville, and Washington, D.C.. Johnson thus felt the time was right to take on the established league.
The Western League renamed itself the American League on October 11, 1899, and placed teams in Cleveland and Chicago. This was done with the approval of the National League which did not recognize the threat such a move would pose.
Despite these moves, the American League remained a minor league during the 1900 season. The league did not renew its National Agreement membership when it expired in October 1900, and on January 28, 1901, officially declared itself a major league. It placed new teams in Baltimore and Boston. The manager and several players from the Kansas City team were transferred to Washington.
The National League early on attempted to destroy the upstart league, even sabotaging the Baltimore franchise in 1902 after then manager John McGraw jumped the team and signed with the NL's New York Giants, bringing several of his star players with him. Despite this setback, the AL managed to survive the season intact and the NL sued for peace in 1903. After relocating the Baltimore franchise to New York for 1903, the two leagues settled into fifty years of peace and prosperity.
In 1961, the league expanded to ten teams, adding a franchise in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, the latter replacing the departing Washington Senators franchise that had relocated to Minneapolis, MN to become the Minnesota Twins.
In 1969 the league expanded again, adding the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots, the former replacing the departed Athletics franchise. The Pilots only managed to survive one season before transferring to Milwaukee just four days before the 1970 season started where they became known as the Milwaukee Brewers. Also in 1969, the league, along with the National League, reorganized into two divisions of six teams and added a League Championship Series to determine the league participant in the World Series.
In 1977, the league expanded to fourteen teams, when the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays were enfranchised. The Toronto franchise was the AL's attempt to compete with the National League's Montreal Expos while the Mariners were added in an attempt to settle a pending $90 million lawsuit against the league by the city of Seattle over the quick departure of the Pilots in 1970.
Finally, in 1998 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were added to the league. However, the league remained a fourteen team league after the Brewers decided to switch to the National League, the first such switch in the 20th century.
In 1994, the league, along with the National League, reorganized into three divisions (East, Central and West) and added a second round to the playoffs in the form of the League Divisional Series.
The American League is the only one of the Major Leagues to employ the designated hitter rule whereby a team may designate a tenth player to bat in place of the pitcher.
For the first 96 years, American League teams faced their National League opponents 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 is used only in games where the American League team is the home team.
Through the 2007 season, the Yankees have won the most American League pennants (39), followed by the Athletics (14), Red Sox (12), and Tigers (10). Likewise, the Yankees have also won the most World Series (26), with the Athletics second with nine, the Red Sox third with seven and the Tiger fourth with four.

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