The Major League Baseball annual race for the pennant is heating up with the possibility of a 3 way tie in the American League East. The traditional powerhouse New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles have been playing leap frog with one another for weeks now with neither team being able to pull away. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays have quietly moved to within 2 games of the leaders with the playoffs only 3 weeks away. The Rays have a big chance to catch up a bit more as they have two more big games against the Orioles at Camden Yards in Baltimore. As Rays manager Joe Maddon always says, the next game is the biggest of the season.
Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers have traded the number one spot back & fourth in the American League Central division for most of the season with the White Sox currently holding a 2 game edge. Two games remain in their current series so White Sox and Tiger fans are anxiously awaiting the results right up until the playoffs begin.
The Texas Rangers have pretty much dominated the American League West for the entire season. But watch out Texans because the Oakland A’s are moving up now after winning 5 in a row and now sit poised, only 3 games out, to make their run for the playoffs. The Rangers currently hold the highest win percentage in the American League at .596.
In the National League the races are not so closely contested as both the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Senators are clearly in command of their divisions. The Senators, who have not been in the running at this point in the season for several years now, are now the winningest team in Major League Baseball with an astounding .620 win percentage for the season.
In the National League West the San Francisco Giants have a comfortable 6 game lead over in- state rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers who have been impressive at times this year and may still have a shot at a wild card spot.
Wild Card Playoffs begin of October 5 with the Divisional Playoffs scheduled from October 6th until the 12th. The American and National League Championships with be played from October 13th through the 22nd and the long awaited World Series Action begins on October 24th.
