AL East Preview: Judge, Yankees lead MLB’s deepest division

By NOAH TRISTER
AP Baseball Writer

The days when the AL East was so easy to predict are long gone. From 1998-2003, the five AL East teams finished in the exact same order every season. The New York Yankees were dominant back then. The Boston Red Sox were contenders. Everyone else was left chasing those teams. Consider this a different era. In the past nine seasons, every team in the division has won it at least once. Boston has placed first three times, but the Red Sox have also finished last four times — including 2022.