In Major League Baseball, the American League Championship Series (ALCS ), played in October, is a playoff round that determines the winner of the American League pennant. The winner of the series advances to play the winner of the National League Championship Series in baseball's championship, the World Series. The reigning American League Champions are the Tampa Bay Rays. It began in 1969, when the American League was reorganized into two divisions, East and West. The winners of each division played each other in a best-of-five series to determine who would advance to the World Series. In 1985, the format changed to best-of-seven. In 1994, the league was restructured into three divisions, with the three division winners and a wild-card team advancing to a best-of-five playoff round, known as the American League Division Series or ALDS. The winners of that round then advanced to the best-of-seven ALCS. This is the system currently in use. The ALCS and NLCS, since the expansion to best-of-seven, are always played in a 2–3–2 format: Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 are played in the stadium of the team that has home field advantage, and Games 3, 4, and 5 are played in the stadium of the team that does not. The series concludes when one team records its fourth win. Home field advantage is given to the team that has the better record, unless that team happens to be the Wild Card team. In that case, the other team gets home field advantage, because by rule the Wild Card team is never allowed home field advantage in a Division Series or LCS. In the event that both teams have identical records in the regular season, home field advantage goes to the team that has the winning head-to-head record. The Texas Rangers are the only American League team to never appear in an ALCS. The other 13 teams and the Milwaukee Brewers (members of the AL from 1969–1997) have each appeared at least once.

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Championship Trophy

The William Harridge Trophy is awarded to the ALCS champion. ^[1]

Most Valuable Player Award

The Lee MacPhail Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is given to the outstanding player in the ALCS. No MVP award is given for Division Series play.

Although the National League began its LCS MVP award in 1977, the American League did not begin its LCS MVP award till 1980. A list of the winners is on the MLB website. ^[2]

ALCS results (1969–present)

Click the link on the far left for detailed information on that series.

Year	Winner	Loser	Record	Series MVP	Notable	Television Network
1969	Baltimore Orioles	Minnesota Twins	3–0		Dick Hall becomes the first pitcher to record a win in League Championship Series play [3]	NBC
1970	Baltimore Orioles	Minnesota Twins	3–0			NBC
1971	Baltimore Orioles	Oakland Athletics	3–0			NBC
1972	Oakland Athletics	Detroit Tigers	3–2			NBC
1973	Oakland Athletics	Baltimore Orioles	3–2			NBC
1974	Oakland Athletics	Baltimore Orioles	3–1			NBC
1975	Boston Red Sox	Oakland Athletics	3–0			NBC
1976	New York Yankees	Kansas City Royals	3–2		Chris Chambliss hits the series-ending home run in Game 5.	ABC
1977	New York Yankees	Kansas City Royals	3–2		The visiting Yankees score three runs in the top of the ninth inning of Game 5 on their way to the second of three straight World Series appearances.	NBC
1978	New York Yankees	Kansas City Royals	3–1		George Brett sets an ALCS single-game record with three home runs in Game 4 and sets the full series record with two triples (a mark since equaled by Kenny Lofton)	ABC
1979	Baltimore Orioles	California Angels	3–1			NBC
1980	Kansas City Royals	New York Yankees	3–0	Frank White, Kansas City	The Royals sweep the Yankees to become the first AL expansion team to win a pennant.	ABC
1981	New York Yankees	Oakland Athletics	3–0	Graig Nettles, New York	Professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson debuts "the wave" during Game 3 in Oakland.	NBC
1982	Milwaukee Brewers	California Angels	3–2	Fred Lynn, California	First LCS ever to match two expansion teams. The city of Milwaukee's first pennant since 1958 (that one being won by the Braves).	ABC
1983	Baltimore Orioles	Chicago White Sox	3–1	Mike Boddicker, Baltimore	The White Sox' first playoff appearance since 1959 is stopped cold by the eventual World Series champions.	NBC
1984	Detroit Tigers	Kansas City Royals	3–0	Kirk Gibson, Detroit	Paced by Kirk Gibson's hitting, the Tigers sweep the Royals en route to a World Championship.	ABC
1985	Kansas City Royals	Toronto Blue Jays	4–3	George Brett, Kansas City	The first best-of-seven ALCS. Down 3 games to 1, Kansas City comes back, including two road wins. Jim Sundberg breaks Game 7 wide open with a 3-RBI triple.	NBC
1986	Boston Red Sox	California Angels	4–3	Marty Barrett, Boston	Angels are one out (one strike) from the pennant in Game 5 when Dave Henderson hits a go-ahead home run against Donnie Moore. The Angels tie the game but the Red Sox win in extra innings, then take the next two at home.	ABC
1987	Minnesota Twins	Detroit Tigers	4–1	Gary Gaetti, Minnesota	The Twins advanced to their first World Series since 1965 despite having the weakest record of any of the 4 division champions in 1987.	NBC
1988	Oakland Athletics	Boston Red Sox	4–0	Dennis Eckersley, Oakland	Eckersley sets an unbreakable record with 4 saves in the series.	ABC
1989	Oakland Athletics	Toronto Blue Jays	4–1	Rickey Henderson, Oakland	Henderson's 8 steals (in just 5 games) are an ALCS record, but the big story is the mammoth home run José Canseco blasts into the highest deck of the SkyDome.	NBC
1990	Oakland Athletics	Boston Red Sox	4–0	Dave Stewart, Oakland	Roger Clemens gets ejected in Game 4, putting the nail in Boston's coffin.	CBS
1991	Minnesota Twins	Toronto Blue Jays	4–1	Kirby Puckett, Minnesota		CBS
1992	Toronto Blue Jays	Oakland Athletics	4–2	Roberto Alomar, Toronto	MVP Alomar hits a crucial 9th-inning home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game 4. The Jays become the first non-U.S. team to win a pennant.	CBS
1993	Toronto Blue Jays	Chicago White Sox	4–2	Dave Stewart, Toronto	The Blue Jays knocked off the White Sox in 6 games en route to their second consecutive World Championship.	CBS
1994	Not held due to labor dispute.
1995	Cleveland Indians	Seattle Mariners	4–2	Orel Hershiser, Cleveland	In the first-ever LCS appearance for both teams, Hershiser became the first player to win LCS MVP awards in both leagues as Cleveland won their first AL Pennant since 1954.	ABC (Games 1–2), NBC (Games 3–6)
1996	New York Yankees	Baltimore Orioles†	4–1	Bernie Williams, New York	Aided by fan Jeffrey Maier, who reached over the right field wall to pull a fly ball into the stands and out of the reach of Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco, Derek Jeter hit a game-tying home run in Game 1, then Williams hit the walk-off shot in extra innings.	NBC
1997	Cleveland Indians	Baltimore Orioles	4–2	Marquis Grissom, Cleveland	An 11th inning Home Run by Tony Fernández in Game 6 propelled Cleveland to its second pennant in three years.	FOX
1998	New York Yankees	Cleveland Indians	4–2	David Wells, New York	The Yankees defeat of the Indians in six games would be the first of four consecutive AL pennants for the Yankees.	NBC
1999	New York Yankees	Boston Red Sox†	4–1	Orlando Hernández, New York	Bernie Williams' game-winning home run in the 11th inning of Game 1 sent the Yankees on their way to their second consecutive AL Pennant.	FOX
2000	New York Yankees	Seattle Mariners†	4–2	David Justice, New York	Justice's towering homer off Arthur Rhodes in Game 6 ensured the first Subway Series since 1956. Roger Clemens set an ALCS record with 15 strikeouts in a one-hit shutout of Seattle in Game 4.	NBC
2001	New York Yankees	Seattle Mariners	4–1	Andy Pettitte, New York	Although the Mariners boasted a record 116 wins in the regular season, the Yankees wiped them out in 5 games. Alfonso Soriano hit a walk-off home run in Game 4.	FOX
2002	Anaheim Angels†	Minnesota Twins	4–1	Adam Kennedy, Anaheim	The series MVP hit three home runs in the deciding Game 5 despite swatting just 7 in the regular season, as the Angels won their first-ever pennant.	FOX
2003	New York Yankees	Boston Red Sox†	4–3	Mariano Rivera, New York	Aaron Boone hit an 11th-inning blast off Tim Wakefield to cap off an exciting Game 7. Considered by some to be the best game in the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry, it may be better known for Grady Little refusing to pull ace Pedro Martínez from the game. The series was also marred by a fight in Game 3, instigated after Pedro Martínez hit Karim Garcia in retaliation for Roger Clemens throwing a pitch near the head of Manny Ramírez. The fight was memorable for Don Zimmer's charge toward Martinez in the fracas, which Martinez was able to avoid by side-stepping Zimmer and pushing him to the ground.	FOX
2004	Boston Red Sox†	New York Yankees	4–3	David Ortiz, Boston	Boston becomes the first baseball team in history to win a series after losing the first three games. The series featured, among other things, two consecutive postseason blown saves by Yankee closer Mariano Rivera and two consecutive game winning hits from Red Sox slugger David Ortiz in Games 4 and 5. The Red Sox' first pennant since 1986.	FOX
2005	Chicago White Sox	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	4–1	Paul Konerko, Chicago	After Neal Cotts worked ? of an inning in a Game 1 loss, the White Sox, aided by a controversial Doug Eddings dropped third strike call in Game 2, pitched 4 complete games in a row. Konerko hit two first inning homers in Games 3 and 4. The White Sox' first pennant since 1959.	FOX
2006	Detroit Tigers†	Oakland Athletics	4–0	Plácido Polanco, Detroit	Magglio Ordóñez hit a game-winning, series ending home run in the bottom of the ninth of Game 4 to complete the sweep. Oakland also went a playoff record 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position in Game 1, hitting into four double-plays.	FOX
2007	Boston Red Sox	Cleveland Indians	4–3	Josh Beckett, Boston	In Game 4, Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz, and Manny Ramírez of Boston hit the first back-to-back-to-back home runs in LCS history. In Game 7, the tie-breaking game, the Red Sox and Indians were neck and neck, 3–2, until the 7th inning when Boston scored two more runs, and in the 8th, when they scored six more. The Red Sox rallied from a 3–1 series deficit, outscoring the Indians 30–5 over the final three games.	FOX
2008	Tampa Bay Rays	Boston Red Sox†	4–3	Matt Garza, Tampa Bay	After blowing a 7–0 lead late in a potential series-clinching Game 5 and a 3–1 series lead, the Rays rebound behind starter Matt Garza, who outpitches Red Sox ace Jon Lester for the second time in a week, finishing the series with a 2–0 record, a 1.38 ERA, 14 strikeouts and the ALCS MVP award. The Rays win their first-ever pennant in their first-ever postseason trip, the first team to do so since the 1997 Florida Marlins.	TBS

†Denotes wild-card team (since 1995).

See also

• MLB postseason
• AL pennant winners 1901-68
• AL Division Series (ALDS)
• AL Wildcard (since 1994)

References

1. winner.http://fielderschoice.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/overjoyed/ Dave (Tampa Bay Rays fan), "Overjoyed!", Fielder's Choice Baseball Card Blog, Apr. 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-17 (including photo of trophy).
2. League Championship Series Most Valuable Players (MLB.com/News/Awards/History/ ). MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
3. History - 1969 American League Championship Series