September 19, 2007
Tie Breakers
There's a possibility of multiple ties for best record in the AL this season. The three division leaders all have 62 losses right now, and the Yankees are at 64. The Yankees hold the tie break over Boston, so in the event of all four teams finishing with the same record, the Yankees win the division. In a three way tie, best record in head to head competition breaks the first tie, and that goes to the Yankees. They are 9-6 against Cleveland and LAnaheim. The Angels are 11-8, the same number of games over .500, but a lower winning percentage. That would leave the Indians and Angels tied, and their first tie breaker would be head-to-head between the two teams. They split ten games this season. So the second tie-breaker is intra division play. Cleveland is 45-23 against the Central, a .662 winning percentage. LAnaheim is 28-19 against the west, a .595 winning percentage. So as things stand right now, a four way tie results in a LAnaheim/New York series and a Boston/Cleveland series, with the Yankees getting to choose if they want an extra day off.
If a three-way tie between Boston, Cleveland and LAnaheim, Boston wins best record, and the Cleveland/LAnaheim tie breaker is as above. Boston holds head-to-head tie breakers against both Cleveland and LAnaheim. New York holds a head-to-head tie-breaker against Cleveland, but loses to the Angels.