American League West
The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams currently only reside along the west coast and in Texas, historically the division has had teams as far east as Chicago. From 1998 (when the NL West expanded to five teams) to 2012, the AL West was the only MLB division with four teams. The current champion of this  division is the Houston Astros. In 2013, the Houston Astros went from the National League Central to the AL West. That move gives all six MLB divisions an equal five teams and both leagues an equal 15 teams each. Champions by year. † – Due to the players' strike, the season was split in two. The Athletics won the first half and defeated the second-half winner, the Kansas City Royals (50 – 53 overall record) to win the division. § – Due to the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, starting on August 12, no official winner was declared. The Texas Rangers were leading in  winning percentage at time of the strike. <nowiki>*</nowiki> – Seattle defeated the California Angels in a one-game playoff for the division title, 9 – 1. †† – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was shortened to 60 games. By virtue of the eight-team postseason format used for that season, division runner-up Houston (29–31, .483) also qualified for the playoffs. Other postseason teams. <nowiki>*</nowiki> – From 2012 to 2019, and in 2021, the Wild Card was expanded to two teams. Those teams faced each other in the Wild Card Game to determine the final participant in the American  League Division Series. In 2020 only, eight teams, including the three division winners, played in a best-of-three Wild Card Series, with the winners advancing to the Division Series. Starting in 2022, the Wild Card field was increased to three teams, and along with the lowest-ranked division winner, qualified for the Wild Card Series to determine the remaining two slots in the Division Series.