MLB Standings 2014: Oakland Athletics Slumping, Seattle Mariners Thrive in AL Wild Card Race
September is underway, and for many teams, this is their last chance to prove they deserve to make the playoffs as the American League Wild Card race is starting to heat up.
The American League has had many surprises, disappointments and dominant performances this season, with the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim currently leading the three AL divisions.
The Orioles lead the AL East by 10 games over the New York Yankees, so their lead is extremely safe. The Angels continue to pull away from the Oakland Athletics in the AL West and lead by six games. The Royals lead in the AL Central is just one game.
But we still have our two Wild Card spots available.
There are six teams that have between 72 and 79 wins this season. The Athletics are the front runners right now with a 79-61 record. They led the AL West, and had the best record in all of baseball for almost the entire season, but the last month and a half hasn't gone very well. The Athletics were just 12-17 in the month of August.
The Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers are currently tied for the second wild card spot with 77 victories. Venezuelan slugger Victor Martinez is having a fantastic season at the plate with 29 home runs and a .332 batting average. The Tigers are 6-4 in their last 10 games and have separated themselves from the New York Yankees. The Mariners have been hot lately, riding a four game win streak. Dominican born hitter Robinson Cano leads the Mariners with 165 hits and 32 doubles this season.
The only close division race is the AL Central. With the Royals leading the Tigers by just one win, anything can happen. The Tigers could finish as high as AL Central champions or even miss the playoffs. The Royals haven't made the playoffs since 1985, so this will be their best chance yet.
The New York Yankees haven't had the season fans hoped for. A recent devastating 1-0 loss to the Royals at home brings the Bronx Bombers down to 72-67 this season, five wins out of a wild card spot. It looks like this will be the first time in Derek Jeter's Hall of Fame career he will miss the playoffs in consecutive seasons.
Both the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays are tied with 72 victories. It's unlikely we will see either of these teams playing in October, but stranger things have happened. The Athletics downfall could be the highlight of September. Their current three game losing streak opens up the door for other teams. It's amazing that the team with the best record for almost the entire season is in danger of missing the postseason.
The final month of baseball promises to be great month for fans.
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