At least three of the teams in the American League East held some amount of expectation heading into the 2023 season. But after five weeks of action, it seems like it may be the best division in the MLB. So far, at least.
The AL East Is The Best MLB Division In 2023
The top team of them all and the one catching the most headlines is the Tampa Bay Rays. The team is off to one of the 10 best starts in MLB history, with a 27-7 record and a +114 run differential (37 higher than the next best, which is 22 higher than 3rd best.) Thanks to excellent play from both their offense and their pitching staff, they hold a commanding lead in what is a highly competitive division.
In second place is the surprising Baltimore Orioles. After putting together a winning season in 2022, Baltimore has continued their winning ways and have jumped out to a 22-11 record.
The Red Sox (21-14) would be in first place in the AL West or the AL Central.
They're in third place in the AL East. pic.twitter.com/XkaR4MkXbV
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) May 7, 2023
It is within the bottom three where things get interesting. The New York Yankees, who were picked by most to not only win the division but were World Series favorites, find themselves in dead last on Sunday morning, where they will remain at the end of the day no matter the results. But, despite being at the bottom, the Yankees still have a winning record, coming in at 18-16 and just 9 games back of the Rays’ historic start.
Red Sox Would Be In First Place In Almost Every Other Division
Best start through first 32 MLB games in the live-ball era (since 1920)
1984 Detroit Tigers (27-5)
Won World Series? ✅1939 New York Yankees (26-6)
Won World Series? ✅1928 New York Yankees (26-6)
Won World Series? ✅2023 Tampa Bay Rays (26-6)
Won World Series? 🤷🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/A35r7Mquh6— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) May 5, 2023
The Boston Red Sox currently sport a 21-14 record, a solid mark that should generally be celebrated. In fact, the Red Sox would be in first place in every other division in the MLB except the NL East.
Every team in the division has a positive run differential.
How long will the dominance last? The division as a whole will come back down to Earth eventually, and they’ll do it by beating each other. There will be plenty of inter-division rivalries taking place over the summer, and they have plenty to play for this year.
They’ll end up beating each other up quite a lot. For example, the opponents for the Rays next 8 games are all AL East foes. But interestingly enough, the Red Sox won’t play against a single division opponent for the rest of the month of May.
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