The AL West Is the New American League Best

People always say the AL East is the best. They have the Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Rays.

Well, I say look out for the AL West with the Angels, Rangers, and Mariners.

Let's do a few comparisons:

Standings (Win Percentage)

Team	W%	Team	W%
Yankees	.622	Angels	.612
Red Sox	.564	Rangers	.573
Rays	.538	Mariners	.517
Blue Jays	.474	Athletics	.449
Orioles	.407

The win percentage for the American League East is .521, whereas the win percentage for the American League West is .537.

We have to evaluate win percentage over wins because of the difference in teams. Even if you removed the Blue Jays from the American League East, the West's winning percentage would still be better.

Advantage: American League West

Head-to-Head (West v. East)

	NYY	BOS	TAM	TOR	BAL	TOT
LAA	4-2	4-2	4-2	3-2	8-2	23-10
TEX	2-4	7-2	3-0	2-4	4-3	18-13
SEA	2-5	4-2	4-2	2-1	5-4	17-14
OAK	2-5	5-5	6-4	3-6	5-1	21-21
TOT	16-10	11-20	8-17	13-10	10-22

Head-to-head, the American League West has a 79-58 record against the American League East.

No team in the West has a losing record against the East, while three teams in the East have a losing record against the West.

Don't place the blame on the bottom-dwellers in the East.

Even if you took the top three teams from each division, the West is still far superior (34-21) in the head-to-head matchup, as each team has an overall winning record against the top three from the East.

	NYY	BOS	TAM	TOT
LAA	4-2	4-2	4-2	12-6
TEX	2-4	7-2	3-0	12-6
SEA	2-5	4-2	4-2	10-9
TOT	11-8	6-15	4-11

Advantage: American League West

Strength of Schedule

Strength of schedule is an underrated tool in determining a team's success. A team could have a winning record because of an easy schedule (St. Louis Cardinals) and vice versa (Oakland Athletics).

Here are the rankings in the strength of schedule for the teams in both divisions.

Team	SoS Rank	Team	SoS Rank
Yankees	8	Angels	7
Red Sox	4	Rangers	2
Rays	11	Mariners	2
Blue Jays	12	Athletics	1
Orioles	4

The average strength of schedule in the American League East is .507, while the average strength of schedule in the American League West is .512. The East has more wins, but they've come a bit easier.

Advantage: American League West

So, is Mark Teixeira really the MVP because he plays in the hardest division?

Is Josh Beckett really the Cy Young winner because he plays in the hardest division?

No, the best division in baseball is not the American League East; it's the American League West.

Now before you say, "Well, they only have four teams," think about what you're saying. That makes it harder for the teams in the West.

Three of the four teams are in the playoff chase, and each of the four teams has to play each other more than the five AL East teams have to play each other. This means the AL East teams get to play weaker teams (Blue Jays, Orioles) more than the AL West does (Athletics).

Oh, and I'm not the only person who thinks this is true.