American league
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| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 28, 1901 |
| President | Frank Robinson (honorary) |
| No. of teams | 15 |
| Countries | United States (14 teams) Canada (1 team) |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Cleveland Indians (6th) |
| Most titles | New York Yankees (40) |
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up 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 "Senior Circuit").
At the end of every season, the American League champion plays in the World Series against the National League champion; two seasons did not end in playing a World Series. Through 2016, American League teams have won 64 of the 112 World Series played since 1903, with 27 of those coming from the New York Yankees alone. The 2016 American League champions are the Cleveland Indians. The New York Yankees have won 40 American League titles, the most in the league's history, followed by the Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics (15) and the Boston Red Sox (13).
Originally a minor league known as the Western League, the American League later developed into a major league after the American Association disbanded. In its early history, the Western League struggled until 1894, when Ban Johnson became the president of the league. Johnson led the Western League into major league status and soon became the president of the newly renamed American League. Babe Ruth, noted as one of the most prolific hitters in Major League Baseball history, spent the majority of his career in the American League. The American League has one notable difference versus the National League, in that since 1973 it has had the designated hitter rule. Under the rule, a team may use a batter in its lineup who is not in the field defensively, replacing any player (usually the pitcher) in the batting order, compared to the old rule that made it mandatory for the pitcher to bat.
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