American league

The American League ( English American League , AL ) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada . The league was formed in 1885 as a minor league of the Western League . In 1901, she officially received the status of the main league and now consists of 15 teams. At the end of each season, the four best teams play in the playoffs , where they determine the winner of the American League. This team gains the right to play in the World Series against the winner of the National League (NL). The only significant difference between the two leagues is the “Designated Slugger” rule, introduced in 1973 and effective only in AL. The designated batter (hitter) is one of the team’s players who does not play in the field, but which the team uses to exit to the bat (usually instead of a pitcher ).

American league
Kind of sport	Baseball
Base	January 28, 1901
A country	USA Canada
Number of teams	15
Owner
Champions)	Boston Red Sox (13th time)
Maximum titles	New York Yankees (40 times)

After the expansion of 1969 , the league was divided into 2 divisions - West and East. Since the 1994 season, the third division has been added to the league - the Center. The winners of these divisions and another team with the best indicator of victories and defeats among the second places (she receives a Wild-Card introduced in the same season) got into the playoffs. At the end of the 2006 season , the most successful AL team is the New York Yankees , which won the league champion 40 times. Auckland Athletics (15), Boston Red Sox (13), and Detroit Tigers (10) follow. In addition, the Yankees won the World Series the most - 27 times.