The 2024 Yankees were the American League champions. This is a permanent designation. Historically, there are no footnotes.
Still, I can't shake the fact that this organization's first pennant in 15 years is due to a weak AL. The arch-rival Astros and the Orioles, who were expected to be a rising power, took a step back, while the defending champions the Rangers, Rays, and Blue Jays took even further steps back. This opened the door for the Yankees to advance to the World Series in the American League Central postseason.
For example, I don't think the 2024 Yankees were better than the 2017, 2019, and 2022 versions, all of which lost to the Astros in the ALCS. There was no better American League opponent than the Astros this time around.
Nothing that has happened so far this offseason has fundamentally upgraded the AL. In fact, the No. 3 MVP (Juan Soto), No. 5 Cy Young (Corbin Burnes), and Kyle Tucker went to the National League. The Dodgers and Padres are the frontrunners for this offseason's biggest international prize (Aki Sasaki). The AL team that most successfully imported National League talent was the Yankees — Cody Bellinger, Fernando Cruz, Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt, and Devin Williams (all but Fried were in the weak National League). (From the mid-league area).
