For months, there was a debate about which MLB division was better.
At this point, there is little doubt that the AL East is running away with that unofficial title.
It’s the only division in baseball with all five teams above .500: the worst team, the Baltimore Orioles, is 45-44.
Oh, and they have the best squad in the league: the 62-26 New York Yankees.
Every team should be considered a playoff contender.
However, while the Yankees have dominated the AL East (and baseball, for that matter) all year, a different team is playing better since mid-June.
You can probably guess the organization at this point: it’s the Orioles.
“The AL East Division since June 11 : #Orioles: 21-9 #Yankees: 20-10 #RedSox: 16-14 #Rays: 14-16 #BlueJays: 13-19,” MLB insider Bob Nightengale tweeted.
The AL East Division since June 11 :#Orioles: 21-9 #Yankees: 20-10 #RedSox: 16-14 #Rays: 14-16 #BlueJays: 13-19
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 14, 2022
Since June 11, the O’s are one game ahead of the Yanks in the standings.
An Incredible Turnaround
Baltimore has played incredible baseball in the last couple of weeks.
They have an ongoing 10-game winning streak: that is really hard to believe considering they have been bad for years and lost 110 games in 2021.
If someone told you the Orioles would be over .500 and with a 10-game winning streak in June before the start of the campaign, would you have believed that?
The most impressive thing is that they are doing this without their best and most consistent starter, John Means, who went down with a long-term injury earlier in the season.
The bats, led by Austin Hays, Trey Mancini, Ryan Mountcastle, Adley Rutschman, Cedric Mullins, and Anthony Santander, have performed admirably.
The O’s young pitching staff isn’t far behind, with a solid 3.90 ERA so far.
The number was well over 5.00 last year.
The organizational turnaround has been amazing to watch.
Hopefully, it can last over the long term.
NEXT: MLB Insider Details The Adley Rutschman Effect