MLB American League Stretch Run

Major League Baseball is entering its "stretch run."  Today let's take a look at the American League and what to expect over the final weeks of the 2014 MLB baseball season.

Surprising Teams

The two most surprising teams from the American League have to be the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Angels.  Right now Kansas City Royals are in a battle with the Detroit Tigers for the right to win the AL Central.  The Detroit Tigers have one of the best starting pitcher rotations with Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello and David Price.

Over the summer the Detroit Tigers struggled to find runs and wins.  This opened the door for the Kansas City Royals who have not made a playoff run for over 25 to 30 years.  During that time they were led by Hall of Famer George Brett.  The main question is which team will win the AL Central.  As a consolation prize the second place team is well positioned to win a wild card spot.  The wild card is a one game playoff, winner take all.

The Los Angeles Angels started the season slowly, but have come on strong at the end.  They currently have the best record in the American League.  Their main opponent for the AL West were the Oakland A's which had been leading the Division for most of the season.  The month of August was not kind to Oakland.  They went from leading the Division to now struggling to even become one of the two wild card teams.

MLB Team Collectables

Consistent Team

The AL West and Central saw the leading team at the All Star break lose their leads.  The AL East was the opposite, with the Baltimore Orioles build upon their lead at the All Star break.  Many fans were hoping the New York Yankees and Derek Jeter would have one more playoff run.  Unfortunately, the injuries the Yankees suffered with their pitching staff caught up with them during the summer.  Baltimore Orioles during this time built a strong and seemly decisive lead in the AL East.

Closing September

Looking at the leads the LA Angels and Baltimore Orioles built over the summer should help them win their Divisions.  The only one up in the air is the AL Central.  This could have the potential for a one game playoff to decide the winner of the Division.  This is what makes MLB baseball such a great sport.  The season is long for a reason to see which team can overcome injuries and bad stretches.  All the team involved in the stretch run has had some difficult times during the season.  Each also had a time when they were unbeatable winning 8, 9, 10 games in a row.

September is the time teams put themselves into a position to win the World Series. This is the ultimate goal for all of these teams.  For several of these teams it has been several decades since they won a World Series championship.  For others they came so close like the Detroit Tigers. The final weeks will have some great games to watch leading to the MLB Playoffs. Now let's play ball. Enjoy the match with sports fan galaxy collectibles.