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The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. The winner of the ALCS wins the AL pennant and advances to the World Series, MLB's championship series, to play the winner of the National League's (NL) Championship Series. The ALCS began in 1969 as a best-of-five playoff and used this format until 1985, when it changed to its current best-of-seven format.
Prior to 1969, the American League champion (the "pennant winner") was determined by the best win–loss record at the end of the regular season. There was one ad hoc single-game playoff held, in 1948, due to a tie under this formulation.
The ALCS started in 1969, when the AL reorganized into two divisions, East and West. The winners of each division played each other in a best-of-five series to determine who would advance to the World Series. In 1985, the format changed to best-of-seven.
In 1981, a division series was held due to a split season caused by a players' strike.
In 1994, the league was restructured into three divisions, with the three division winners and a Wild Card team advancing to a best-of-five postseason round, known as the American League Division Series (ALDS). The winners of that round then advanced to the best-of-seven ALCS; however, due to the player's strike later that season, no postseason was played and the new format did not formally begin until 1995. The playoffs were expanded in 2012 to include a second Wild Card team and in 2022 to include a third Wild Card team.
The ALCS and NLCS, since the expansion to best-of-seven, are always played in a 2–3–2 format: Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 are played in the stadium of the team that has home field advantage, and Games 3, 4, and 5 are played in the stadium of the team that does not. The series concludes when one team records its fourth win. Since 1998, home field advantage has been given to the team that has the better regular season record, except a division champion would always get home advantage over a Wild Card team. If both teams have identical records in the regular season, then home field advantage goes to the team that has the winning head-to-head record. From 1969 to 1993, home-field advantage alternated between the two divisions, and from 1995 to 1997 home-field advantage was determined before the season.
Nine managers have led a team to the ALCS in three consecutive seasons; the record for most consecutive ALCS appearances by a manager is jointly held by Joe Torre, who led the New York Yankees to four in a row (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001), and Dusty Baker, who led the Houston Astros to four in a row (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023). The Astros (2017–2023) are also the only team in the American League to have made seven consecutive American League Championship Series appearances. Tony La Russa and Jim Leyland are the only managers to lead their teams to three consecutive League Championship Series appearances in both leagues.
The Milwaukee Brewers, an American League team between 1969 and 1997, and the Houston Astros, a National League team between 1962 and 2012, are the only franchises to play in both the ALCS and NLCS. The Astros are the only team to have won both an NLCS (2005) and an ALCS (2017, 2019, 2021, and 2022). Every current American League franchise has appeared in the ALCS.
The William Harridge Trophy is awarded to the ALCS champion. [1] Will Harridge served as American League president from 1931 to 1959. [2]
The Lee MacPhail Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is given to the outstanding player in the ALCS. No MVP award is given for Division Series play.
Although the National League began its LCS MVP award in 1977, the American League did not begin its LCS MVP award till 1980. The winners are listed in several locations:
† | Wild card |
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* | MVP did not play for winning team |
Apps | Team | Wins | Losses | Win % | Most recent win | Most recent appearance | Games won | Games lost | Game win % |
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19 | New York Yankees | 12 | 7 | .632 | 2024 | 2024 | 54 | 45 | .545 |
12 | Boston Red Sox | 6 | 6 | .500 | 2018 | 2021 | 32 | 36 | .471 |
11 | Athletics | 6 | 5 | .545 | 1990 | 2006 | 23 | 23 | .500 |
10 | Baltimore Orioles | 5 | 5 | .500 | 1983 | 2014 | 21 | 20 | .512 |
8 | Kansas City Royals | 4 | 4 | .500 | 2015 | 2015 | 20 | 17 | .541 |
7 | Detroit Tigers | 3 | 4 | .429 | 2012 | 2013 | 18 | 15 | .545 |
7 | Houston Astros | 4 | 3 | .571 | 2022 | 2023 | 23 | 19 | .548 |
7 | Toronto Blue Jays | 2 | 5 | .286 | 1993 | 2016 | 16 | 24 | .400 |
6 | Los Angeles Angels | 1 | 5 | .167 | 2002 | 2009 | 13 | 19 | .406 |
6 | Cleveland Guardians | 3 | 3 | .500 | 2016 | 2024 | 18 | 17 | .514 |
5 | Minnesota Twins | 2 | 3 | .400 | 1991 | 2002 | 9 | 12 | .429 |
3 | Chicago White Sox | 1 | 2 | .333 | 2005 | 2005 | 7 | 8 | .467 |
3 | Seattle Mariners | 0 | 3 | .000 | Never | 2001 | 5 | 12 | .294 |
3 | Texas Rangers | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 2023 | 2023 | 12 | 7 | .632 |
2 | Tampa Bay Rays | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 2020 | 2020 | 8 | 6 | .571 |
1 | Milwaukee Brewers [a] | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1982 | 1982 | 3 | 2 | .600 |
In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of wins, then by number of appearances, and finally by year of first appearance. In the "Season(s)" column, bold years indicate winning appearances.
Count | Matchup | Record | Years |
---|---|---|---|
4 | Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees | Yankees, 3–1 | 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 |
3 | Houston Astros vs. New York Yankees | Astros, 3–0 | 2017, 2019, 2022 |
3 | Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees | Yankees, 2–1 | 1999, 2003, 2004 |
3 | Baltimore Orioles vs. Athletics | Athletics, 2–1 | 1971, 1973, 1974 |
3 | Boston Red Sox vs. Athletics | Athletics, 2–1 | 1975, 1988, 1990 |
2 | Baltimore Orioles vs. Minnesota Twins | Orioles, 2–0 | 1969, 1970 |
2 | Detroit Tigers vs. Athletics | Tied, 1–1 | 1972, 2006 |
2 | Kansas City Royals vs. Toronto Blue Jays | Royals, 2–0 | 1985, 2015 |
2 | New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners | Yankees, 2–0 | 2000, 2001 |
2 | Cleveland Guardians vs. New York Yankees | Yankees, 2–0 | 1998, 2024 |
2 | Athletics vs. Toronto Blue Jays | Tied, 1–1 | 1989, 1992 |
2 | Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros | Tied, 1–1 | 2018, 2021 |
The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National League (NL) Division Series. The winner of the NLCS wins the NL pennant and advances to the World Series, MLB's championship series, to play the winner of the American League's (AL) Championship Series. The NLCS began in 1969 as a best-of-five playoff and used this format until 1985, when it changed to a best-of-seven format.
In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring each of the two division winners with the best records and the winners of the wild-card play-off.
In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring each of the two division winners with the best records and the winners of the wild-card play-offs.
The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, and the winners advance to meet in the World Series. The LCS comprises the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and National League Championship Series (NLCS).
The 2002 Anaheim Angels season was the franchise's 42nd, and it ended with the team's first American League pennant and World Series championship.
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The Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason is the annual playoff elimination tournament held to determine the champion of MLB in the United States and Canada. Since 2022, the postseason for each league—American and National—consists of two best-of-three Wild Card Series contested by the lowest-seeded division winner and the three wild card teams, two best-of-five Division Series (LDS) featuring the wild-card winners and the two highest-seeded division winners, and finally the best-of-seven League Championship Series (LCS). The winners of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and the National League Championship Series (NLCS) play each other in the best-of-seven World Series. Under this system, the postseason comprises 32 to 53 games. The postseason tournament takes place after the conclusion of MLB's regular season and takes approximately one month to complete.
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The 2018 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the Milwaukee Brewers against the Los Angeles Dodgers, for the National League (NL) pennant and the right to play in the 2018 World Series against the AL Champions, the Boston Red Sox.
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The 2019 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven series between the two winners of the 2019 National League Division Series, the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals, for the National League (NL) pennant and the right to play in the 2019 World Series. The series was scheduled in a 2–3–2 format, with the Cardinals having home-field advantage because the Nationals were a wild card team. The series was the 50th NLCS in league history, with TBS televising all games in the United States.
The 2020 American League Championship Series was the best-of-seven series between the two American League Division Series winners, the defending American League Champion Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays, for the American League (AL) pennant and the right to play in the 2020 World Series. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all games for the series were held behind closed doors at a neutral site at Petco Park in San Diego. The games were televised nationally by TBS.
The 1998 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 1998 season. The winners of the League Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series. This was the first postseason in which teams were seeded by their respective win–loss records within their respective leagues.
The 2012 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2012 season. The winners of the Division Series moved on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series. A new Wild Card Game was introduced as the opening round of the postseason, which features the #4 and #5 seeds of each league, and the winner faced the team with the best record in the Division Series, marking the first expansion of the postseason since 1995. As a result of this new format, two teams from the same division can now meet in the Division Series. In the past, if the team with the best record in their league and the wild card resided in the same division, the wild card would instead be assigned to face the second-seeded division champion while the team with the best record in their league to face the third-seeded division champion. This meant that the only way two teams in the same division could meet in the postseason would be the League Championship Series, provided both teams won their respective Division Series.
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