The New York Yankees are very likely to end up with the second-best record in the American League.
But because of how the divisional format works, the Yankees are also very likely to end up as the 4-seed for the playoffs.
That’s because the Tampa Bay Rays currently lead the AL East Division, and the Yankees would have to settle for the top AL Wild Card spot if that holds true.
The good news would be that as the 4-seed (top Wild Card team after three division winners), the Yankees would get all three potential Wild Card Round games at home at Yankee Stadium.
But the bad news is that just in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Yankees would then have to play the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays before even getting to the ALCS.
The format is a concern for another day, though.
The Yankees’ main focus as play begins on Tuesday, Sept. 22 is to see if they can make a last-gasp run to a division title.
It’ll be tough, but they’re technically still alive to win the AL East.
How Yankees Win AL East Division
The Yankees enter Tuesday at 89-66, with seven games left to play.
The Rays are 95-60, also with seven games remaining.
They’re playing each other for four games, including a Tuesday doubleheader, before the Yankees close with three games against the Orioles while the Rays have three against the Phillies.
It’s sort of a two-step process here, because the Rays hold a six-game lead on the Yankees with just seven games to play.
The Yankees have to sweep the four-game series against Tampa Bay, including both ends of Tuesday’s doubleheader.
If the Rays win even one game, they have a larger lead than games remaining, so they’d clinch the division title.
The Yankees sweeping the Rays would also claim the tiebreaker between the teams for head-to-head record this season.
At that point, the Yanks would be 93-66, while the Rays would be 95-64. Given that New York would hold the tiebreaker, the Yankees would need to either go 3-0 while the Rays go 1-2, or 2-1 while the Rays go 0-3 in the final three games of the season.
If the Yankees don’t sweep four games from the Rays, it’s all a moot point. But if they do, then things get very interesting.
Red Sox Lurking
The flip side nightmare scenario is an 0-7 or 1-6 finish by the Yankees, which would allow the Red Sox, if they can finish 6-0, to potentially go ahead of New York in the Wild Card standings.
Those teams will play in the Wild Card Round assuming Tampa Bay closes out the division. Whichever team finishes higher gets to host the entire best-of-three series.
New York certainly is in control there, but it wouldn’t be impossible for them to switch places.
How Yankees Can Still Win AL East Division Title