The New York Yankees' recent AL East title is a historic outlier

The New York Yankees won their 21st AL East title on Thursday, but this one stood out from the rest in a strange way.

New York's 10-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles clinched the division title, their third in the last six years. Considering the Yankees have gone without one for the past six seasons, it's certainly a step in the right direction for a franchise trying to break its 14-year World Series drought.

However, the Yankees were just 5-8 against the Orioles this season, losing their straight series with a team headed to the playoffs.

New York was slightly better against the third-place Boston Red Sox, beating their closest rival 7-6, and also posted identical marks against the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. Although they technically had a winning record against three of the four teams in their division, the Yankees did not dominate any of them, finishing the year 26-26 against other AL East teams.

As Sports Reference's Katie Sharp noted, the Yankees are only the second team ever to win the AL East with a winning percentage of .500 or worse against division opponents, excluding shortened seasons. The only other team to achieve this feat before 2024 was the 1972 Detroit Tigers.

The other 50 full-time AL East champions throughout history all had a winning record in the division.

As it stands, the Yankees could play the Orioles in the ALDS. However, New York has secured a bye, so perhaps they can cross their fingers and hope that either the Detroit Tigers or Kansas City Royals beat the Orioles in the AL Wild Card Series instead.

The Yankees will clinch first place in the American League this weekend with a win – or loss – against the Cleveland Guardians. They are scheduled to open a series with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET.

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