The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known as the American League (AL), the younger of two leagues in Major League Baseball (MLB), is the focus of this portion of our web guide.
After its founding at the turn of the 20th century, the American League quickly became a major professional baseball league, competing with the already established National League.
The AL was founded on January 28, 1901 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The league began with eight charter teams: the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Americans, Chicago White Stockings, Cleveland Blues, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Athletics, and Washington Senators.
Of these charter organizations, the Baltimore Orioles is unrelated to the current AL team by that name. The charter club by that name folded after the 1902 season and was replaced by the New York Highlanders, which is now known as the New York Yankees.
The Boston Americans became the Boston Red Sox in 1908. The Chicago White Stockings was shortened to the White Sox in 1904, while the Cleveland Blues became the Cleveland Indians in 1915, and the Cleveland Guardians in 2022, while the Detroit Tigers are still active under that name.
The charter AL club known as the Milwaukee Brewers is not the current NL team by that name. The charter club moved to St. Louis to become the St. Louis Browns. After the 1953 season, the team moved to Baltimore, becoming the current Baltimore Orioles.
The Philadelphia Athletics became the Kansas City Athletics in 1955, the Oakland Athletics in 1968, and the Athletics in 2025.
The Washington Senators became the Minnesota Twins in 1961, and a new Washington Senators team was established, which later moved to Texas to become the Texas Rangers in 1972.
For nearly a century, AL teams only faced their NL counterparts in exhibition games or the World Series. However, in 1997, interleague play was introduced, allowing AL teams to play NL teams during the regular season. In 2000, the AL and NL were merged into a single legal entity, Major League Baseball. Although each league remained free to adopt its own rules and structure, they have since come closer together.
The American League is currently divided into three divisions: AL East, AL Central, and AL West. The AL East consists of the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays. The AL Central includes the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins. The AL West comprises the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Athletics, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers.
Online resources for the American League, its divisions, teams, or informational websites focusing on the AL are appropriate topics for this portion of our web guide.
Recommended Resources
Often referred to as the A's, the professional baseball team is based in West Sacramento, California. The Athletics began as the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901, moving to Kansas City in 1955 and to Oakland in 1968, where they remained through the 2024 season but will be playing as the A's beginning in 2025. Ticket options and sales are featured on the team's website, along with its community programs, schedules, scores, stats, rosters, videos, and an online fan store with branded apparel.
https://www.mlb.com/athletics
Sometimes known as the O's, the Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1894, the Orioles compete in Major League Baseball as a member of the American League East Division of Major League Baseball. Memberships, ticket packages, bundles, and sales are featured on its site, along with schedules, statistics, rosters, scores, standings, videos, and several fan resources, including an online shopping area offering branded items.
https://www.mlb.com/orioles
Competing in Major League Baseball as a member club of the American League East Division, the Boston Red Sox was founded in 1901 as one of the American League's charter franchises. News and information about the team are featured on its website, which includes ticket promotions, packages, season tickets, and other options, as well as schedules, scores, statistics, rosters, videos, standings, and several fan resources, including an online store with branded apparel and merchandise.
https://www.mlb.com/redsox
Playing its home games at Rate Field, on Chicago's South Side, the Chicago White Sox are a professional baseball team that competes in Major League Baseball as a member club of the American League Central Division. Established in 1894, the team was one of the American League's eight charter franchises as the Chicago White Stockings, taking its current name in 1904. Season ticket plans, group ticket sales, and other options are featured on its site, which includes rosters, schedules, and videos.
https://www.mlb.com/whitesox
Formed in 1894 as the Grand Rapids Rustlers, the team moved to Cleveland in 1900, where they were known by a variety of names until they took the name of the Cleveland Indians in 1915, changing it to the Guardians in 2022. The team competes in Major League Baseball as a member club of the American League Central Division, playing its home games at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Ticket options, training and game schedules, scores, statistics, rosters, videos, and fan resources are set forth.
https://www.mlb.com/guardians
The Detroit Tigers are one of the American League's eight charter franchises. They are a professional baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan. Part of the AL-Central Division, the Tigers have continued in their original city as the oldest continuous one-name, one-city franchise in the AL. Rosters, statistics, standings, scores, spring training, and season schedules are featured on the site, along with ticket options and an online shopping area offering various branded items.
https://www.mlb.com/tigers
The Houston Astros compete in the American League as part of its West Division, having moved to the division in 2013 after fifty-one seasons in the National League. The Astros were founded as the Houston Colt .45s, entering the NL as an expansion team in 1962. Its current name was adopted a few years later when they moved into the Astrodome, the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium. Tickets, schedules, rosters, videos, and a seating chart are included.
https://www.mlb.com/astros
Originating as an expansion franchise in 1969, the Kansas City Royals are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League Central Division, playing home games at Kauffman Stadium. Several ticket options are described and made available for purchase from their site, including premium tickets and season memberships. Other resources include schedules, scores, stats, a team roster, and videos.
https://www.mlb.com/royals
Founded in Los Angeles in 1961 as one of Major League Baseball's first two expansion teams, the Angels have played their home games at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, since 1966. Since moving to Anaheim, they underwent a series of name changes (California Angels, Anaheim Angels, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) before reverting to their original name in 2015, despite being physically located in Anaheim, not Los Angeles. Tickets, schedules, scores, stats, rosters, and videos are featured.
https://www.mlb.com/angels
Established in 1901, the Twins have been in Minnesota since 1961, competing in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League Central Division. The team began as the Washington Senators, taking its new name for the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul after moving to Minnesota. Its site features ticket options, schedules, rosters, seating charts, and an introduction to Target Field are set forth, along with an online fan store with branded apparel and other items.
https://www.mlb.com/twins
Created in 1903 as the New York Highlanders, the professional baseball team became the Yankees in 1913. The team competes in Major League Baseball as a member of the American League East Division. The team has won more titles than any other franchise in the four major North American sports leagues. Ticket licensee information is provided, along with other ticket options and sales, schedules, scores, statistics, rosters, videos, and an online fan store with branded merchandise.
https://www.mlb.com/yankees
Created as a result of a lawsuit filed against the American League in 1970, as a result of the purchase and relocation of the Seattle Pilots to Milwaukee as the Milwaukee Brewers, the Mariners joined the American League as an expansion team in 1977, and is a member club in the AL's West Division of Major League Baseball. Season tickets and other ticket options are featured on its site, along with its training and game schedules, T-Mobile Park, scores, statistics, and rosters are featured.
https://www.mlb.com/mariners
Formed in 1998, the Tampa Bay Rays are a professional baseball club competing in Major League Baseball as a member of the East Division of the American League. Beginning in the 2025 season, they will play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, due to hurricane damage to Tropicana Field, their former home in St. Petersburg. The team's website offers ticket information and sales, schedules, scores, stats, team rosters, videos, and other fan resources.
https://www.mlb.com/rays
Originally named the Washington Senators, the professional baseball team was a 1961 expansion team awarded to Washington, D.C., after its previous team became the Minnesota Twins. They relocated to Arlington, Texas, after the 1971 season and debuted as the Rangers the following spring. In 2020, they moved to the new Globe Life Field. They compete in Major League Baseball as a member of the West Division of the American League. Tickets, schedules, scores, stats, rosters, and videos are included.
https://www.mlb.com/rangers
The Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team competing in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League East Division. The Blue Jays was formed in 1976 and has always been known as the Toronto Blue Jays. Season ticket memberships, quarter season memberships, and other ticket options are featured on the website, along with videos, photographs, schedules, and fan programs are featured on the site, including an online shopping area.
https://www.mlb.com/bluejays
