The National League Championship Series (NLCS), also known as the National 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. 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.
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major league status. It is sometimes called the Junior Circuit because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season, 25 years after the formation of the National League.
The 2002 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s 2002 season. The 98th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Anaheim Angels and the National League (NL) champion San Francisco Giants; the Angels defeated the Giants, four games to three, to win their first, and, to date, only World Series championship. The series was played from October 19–27, 2002, at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco and Edison International Field of Anaheim in Anaheim.
The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before the start of the 1969 season along with the American League West division. Before that time, each league consisted of 10 teams without any divisions.
The Lone Star Series is a Major League Baseball (MLB) rivalry featuring Texas' two major league franchises, the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers. It is an outgrowth of the "natural rivalry" established by MLB as part of interleague play as the Rangers are a member of the American League (AL) and the Astros were a member of the National League (NL) until 2012. During interleague play, the winner of the six-game series was awarded the Silver Boot, a 30-inch (760 mm) tall display of a size 15 cowboy boot cast in silver, complete with a custom, handmade spur. If each team had won three games each for a tie, the declared winner was the team that scored the most runs over the course of the series. In 2013, the Astros joined the American League West with the Rangers and changed their rivalry from an interleague to an intradivision contest. The rivalry, which was once dormant, has become far more heated in recent seasons. From 2013 to 2022, 19 games were played each season. Beginning in 2023, the teams play each other 13 times a year.
The American League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from the American League West and two teams from the American League East. Its teams are all located in the Midwestern United States. Along with the National League East, the AL Central is one of two divisions in the Major Leagues in which all of its members have won a World Series title. In fact, each team has captured at least two World Series championships. The Kansas City Royals were the most recent team from the division to win the World Series.
The National League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the National League West and three teams from the National League East.
The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created for the 1969 season when the National League (NL) expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a regular-season of 162 games, half of the teams were put into the new East Division and half into the new West Division. Within each division, the teams played 18 games each against their five division mates, and also 12 games against the teams in the opposite division, totaling 162 games. Prior to 1969, the National League had informal, internal divisions strictly for scheduling purposes.
Scott Daniel Servais is an American professional baseball manager and former player who currently manages the Seattle Mariners.
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.
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the wild card teams are the three teams in each of the two leagues that have qualified for the postseason despite failing to win their division. Those teams in each league possess the three best winning percentages in their league after the three division winners. The wild card was first instituted in MLB in 1994, with one wild card team per league advancing to the Division Series in the postseason to face a division winner.
The following is a timeline of franchise evolution in Major League Baseball. The histories of franchises in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NA), Union Association (UA), and American Association (AA) before they joined the National League (NL) are also included. In 1900 the minor league Western League renamed itself the American League (AL). All of the 1899 Western League teams were a part of the transformation with the Saint Paul Apostles moving to Chicago and to play as the White Stockings. In 1901 the AL declared itself a Major League. For its inaugural major league season the AL dropped its teams in Indianapolis, Buffalo and Minneapolis and replaced them with franchises in Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore and the Kansas City Blues moved to Washington to play as the Senators.
The Los Angeles Angels are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The "Angels" name originates from the city that was their original home, Los Angeles, and was inspired by a minor league club of the same name. The Angels were established in 1961, and have played their home games at Angel Stadium since 1966.
Throughout its history, Major League Baseball rivalries have occurred between many teams and cities. Rivalries have arisen for many different reasons, the primary ones including geographic proximity, familiarity with opponents, various incidents, and cultural, linguistic, or national pride.
The 2004 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2004 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.
The 2023 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 2023 season. The winners of the Wild Card Series faced the two best division winners (seeds) in each league in the Division Series, and the victors advanced to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners who played each other in the 2023 World Series. The postseason began on October 3 and ended on November 1.
The 2023 American League Wild Card Series were the two best-of-three playoff series in Major League Baseball (MLB) that determined the participating teams of the 2023 American League Division Series (ALDS). Both Wild Card Series began on October 3, with Game 2s scheduled for October 4. ESPN broadcast both Wild Card Series in the United States together with ESPN Radio while Sportsnet broadcast the Minnesota Twins vs. Toronto Blue Jays series in Canada.
The 2023 American League Division Series (ALDS) were the two best-of-five playoff series in Major League Baseball (MLB) to determine the participating teams of the 2023 American League Championship Series (ALCS). These matchups were:
