American League Championship Series

"ALCS" redirects here. For other uses, see ALCS (disambiguation).

Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz jumps onto home plate after winning Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series at Fenway Park

The American League Championship Series (ALCS), also known as the American League Pennant, 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.

History

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; however, the most consecutive ALCS appearances by one manager are held by Joe Torre, who led the New York Yankees to four straight from 1998 to 2001, and Dusty Baker who lead the Houston Astros to four straight from 2020 to 2023. The Astros (2017-present) 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.

Championship Trophy

The William Harridge Trophy is awarded to the ALCS champion. ^[1] Will Harridge served as American League president from 1931 to 1959. ^[2]

Most Valuable Player Award

See: League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award#American League winners

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:

• in the below ALCS results table, in the "Series MVP" column
• in the article League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award
• on the MLB website ^[3]

Results

Further information: List of American League pennant winners § 1901–1968

Key

†	Wild card
*	MVP did not play for winning team

Year	Winning team	Manager	Games	Losing team	Manager	Series MVP
1969	Baltimore Orioles	Earl Weaver	3–0	Minnesota Twins	Billy Martin
1970	Baltimore Orioles	Earl Weaver	3–0	Minnesota Twins	Bill Rigney
1971	Baltimore Orioles	Earl Weaver	3–0	Oakland Athletics	Dick Williams
1972	Oakland Athletics	Dick Williams	3–2	Detroit Tigers	Billy Martin
1973	Oakland Athletics	Dick Williams	3–2	Baltimore Orioles	Earl Weaver
1974	Oakland Athletics	Alvin Dark	3–1	Baltimore Orioles	Earl Weaver
1975	Boston Red Sox	Darrell Johnson	3–0	Oakland Athletics	Alvin Dark
1976	New York Yankees	Billy Martin	3–2	Kansas City Royals	Whitey Herzog
1977	New York Yankees	Billy Martin	3–2	Kansas City Royals	Whitey Herzog
1978	New York Yankees	Bob Lemon	3–1	Kansas City Royals	Whitey Herzog
1979	Baltimore Orioles	Earl Weaver	3–1	California Angels	Jim Fregosi
1980	Kansas City Royals	Jim Frey	3–0	New York Yankees	Dick Howser	Frank White, Kansas City
1981	New York Yankees	Bob Lemon	3–0	Oakland Athletics	Billy Martin	Graig Nettles, New York
1982	Milwaukee Brewers	Harvey Kuenn	3–2	California Angels	Gene Mauch	Fred Lynn, California*
1983	Baltimore Orioles	Joe Altobelli	3–1	Chicago White Sox	Tony La Russa	Mike Boddicker, Baltimore
1984	Detroit Tigers	Sparky Anderson	3–0	Kansas City Royals	Dick Howser	Kirk Gibson, Detroit
1985	Kansas City Royals	Dick Howser	4–3	Toronto Blue Jays	Bobby Cox	George Brett, Kansas City
1986	Boston Red Sox	John McNamara	4–3	California Angels	Gene Mauch	Marty Barrett, Boston
1987	Minnesota Twins	Tom Kelly	4–1	Detroit Tigers	Sparky Anderson	Gary Gaetti, Minnesota
1988	Oakland Athletics	Tony La Russa	4–0	Boston Red Sox	Joe Morgan	Dennis Eckersley, Oakland
1989	Oakland Athletics	Tony La Russa	4–1	Toronto Blue Jays	Cito Gaston	Rickey Henderson, Oakland
1990	Oakland Athletics	Tony La Russa	4–0	Boston Red Sox	Joe Morgan	Dave Stewart, Oakland
1991	Minnesota Twins	Tom Kelly	4–1	Toronto Blue Jays	Cito Gaston	Kirby Puckett, Minnesota
1992	Toronto Blue Jays	Cito Gaston	4–2	Oakland Athletics	Tony La Russa	Roberto Alomar, Toronto
1993	Toronto Blue Jays	Cito Gaston	4–2	Chicago White Sox	Gene Lamont	Dave Stewart, Toronto
1994	No Series due to a players' strike.
1995	Cleveland Indians	Mike Hargrove	4–2	Seattle Mariners	Lou Piniella	Orel Hershiser, Cleveland
1996	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	4–1	Baltimore Orioles †	Davey Johnson	Bernie Williams, New York
1997	Cleveland Indians	Mike Hargrove	4–2	Baltimore Orioles	Davey Johnson	Marquis Grissom, Cleveland
1998	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	4–2	Cleveland Indians	Mike Hargrove	David Wells, New York
1999	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	4–1	Boston Red Sox †	Jimy Williams	Orlando Hernández, New York
2000	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	4–2	Seattle Mariners †	Lou Piniella	David Justice, New York
2001	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	4–1	Seattle Mariners	Lou Piniella	Andy Pettitte, New York
2002	Anaheim Angels †	Mike Scioscia	4–1	Minnesota Twins	Ron Gardenhire	Adam Kennedy, Anaheim
2003	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	4–3	Boston Red Sox †	Grady Little	Mariano Rivera, New York
2004	Boston Red Sox †	Terry Francona	4–3	New York Yankees	Joe Torre	David Ortiz, Boston
2005	Chicago White Sox	Ozzie Guillén	4–1	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Mike Scioscia	Paul Konerko, Chicago
2006	Detroit Tigers †	Jim Leyland	4–0	Oakland Athletics	Ken Macha	Plácido Polanco, Detroit
2007	Boston Red Sox	Terry Francona	4–3	Cleveland Indians	Eric Wedge	Josh Beckett, Boston
2008	Tampa Bay Rays	Joe Maddon	4–3	Boston Red Sox †	Terry Francona	Matt Garza, Tampa Bay
2009	New York Yankees	Joe Girardi	4–2	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Mike Scioscia	CC Sabathia, New York
2010	Texas Rangers	Ron Washington	4–2	New York Yankees †	Joe Girardi	Josh Hamilton, Texas
2011	Texas Rangers	Ron Washington	4–2	Detroit Tigers	Jim Leyland	Nelson Cruz, Texas
2012	Detroit Tigers	Jim Leyland	4–0	New York Yankees	Joe Girardi	Delmon Young, Detroit
2013	Boston Red Sox	John Farrell	4–2	Detroit Tigers	Jim Leyland	Koji Uehara, Boston
2014	Kansas City Royals †	Ned Yost	4–0	Baltimore Orioles	Buck Showalter	Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City
2015	Kansas City Royals	Ned Yost	4–2	Toronto Blue Jays	John Gibbons	Alcides Escobar, Kansas City
2016	Cleveland Indians	Terry Francona	4–1	Toronto Blue Jays †	John Gibbons	Andrew Miller, Cleveland
2017	Houston Astros	A. J. Hinch	4–3	New York Yankees †	Joe Girardi	Justin Verlander, Houston
2018	Boston Red Sox	Alex Cora	4–1	Houston Astros	A. J. Hinch	Jackie Bradley Jr., Boston
2019	Houston Astros	A. J. Hinch	4–2	New York Yankees	Aaron Boone	José Altuve, Houston
2020	Tampa Bay Rays	Kevin Cash	4–3	Houston Astros †	Dusty Baker	Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay
2021	Houston Astros	Dusty Baker	4–2	Boston Red Sox †	Alex Cora	Yordan Álvarez, Houston
2022	Houston Astros	Dusty Baker	4–0	New York Yankees	Aaron Boone	Jeremy Peña, Houston
2023	Texas Rangers †	Bruce Bochy	4–3	Houston Astros	Dusty Baker	Adolis García, Texas

Appearances by team

Apps	Team	Wins	Losses	Win %	Most recent win	Most recent appearance	Games won	Games lost	Game win %
18	New York Yankees	11	7	.611	2009	2022	50	44	.532
12	Boston Red Sox	6	6	.500	2018	2021	32	36	.471
11	Oakland 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
5	Cleveland Guardians	3	2	.600	2016	2016	17	13	.567
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 [lower-alpha 1]	1	0	1.000	1982	1982	3	2	.600

Years of appearance

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.

Apps	Team	Wins	Losses	Win %	Season(s)
18	New York Yankees	11	7	.611	1976 , 1977 , 1978 , 1980, 1981 , 1996 , 1998 , 1999 , 2000 , 2001 , 2003 , 2004, 2009 , 2010, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2022
12	Boston Red Sox	6	6	.500	1975 , 1986 , 1988, 1990, 1999, 2003, 2004 , 2007 , 2008, 2013 , 2018 , 2021
11	Oakland Athletics	6	5	.545	1971, 1972 , 1973 , 1974 , 1975, 1981, 1988 , 1989 , 1990 , 1992, 2006
10	Baltimore Orioles	5	5	.500	1969 , 1970 , 1971 , 1973, 1974, 1979 , 1983 , 1996, 1997, 2014
8	Kansas City Royals	4	4	.500	1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 , 1984, 1985 , 2014 , 2015
7	Houston Astros	4	3	.571	2017 , 2018, 2019 , 2020, 2021 , 2022 , 2023
7	Detroit Tigers	3	4	.429	1972, 1984 , 1987, 2006 , 2011, 2012 , 2013
5	Cleveland Guardians	3	2	.600	1995 , 1997 , 1998, 2007, 2016
3	Texas Rangers	3	0	1.000	2010 , 2011 , 2023
7	Toronto Blue Jays	2	5	.286	1985, 1989, 1991, 1992 , 1993 , 2015, 2016
5	Minnesota Twins	2	3	.400	1969, 1970, 1987 , 1991 , 2002
2	Tampa Bay Rays	2	0	1.000	2008 , 2020
6	Los Angeles Angels	1	5	.167	1979, 1982, 1986, 2002 , 2005, 2009
3	Chicago White Sox	1	2	.333	1983, 1993, 2005
1	Milwaukee Brewers [lower-alpha 1]	1	0	1.000	1982
3	Seattle Mariners	0	3	.000	1995, 2000, 2001

Recurring matchups

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. Oakland Athletics	Athletics, 2–1	1971, 1973, 1974
3	Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics	Athletics, 2–1	1975, 1988, 1990
2	Baltimore Orioles vs. Minnesota Twins	Orioles, 2–0	1969, 1970
2	Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland 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	Oakland Athletics vs. Toronto Blue Jays	Tied, 1–1	1989, 1992
2	Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros	Tied, 1–1	2018, 2021

See also

• Baseball portal

• List of American League pennant winners
• List of American League Wild Card winners
• American League Division Series
• National League Championship Series

Notes

1. The Milwaukee Brewers moved to the National League in 1998.

References

1. http://fielderschoice.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/overjoyed/ Dave (Tampa Bay Rays fan), "Overjoyed!", Fielder's Choice Baseball Card Blog, April 10, 2009. Retrieved August 17, 2009 (including photo of trophy).
2. Armour, Mark. "SABR Baseball Biography Project: Will Harridge". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
3. League Championship Series Most Valuable Players (MLB.com/News/Awards/History/ ). MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved August 31, 2009.

External links

• League Championship Series History at Baseball Almanac
• World Series and MLB Playoffs at Baseball-Reference.com
• Post-Season Games Directory at Retrosheet