Baseball's Division Champions, 1969-2014

For this list, I am counting, even if Major League Baseball does not do so officially:

* The split-season Divisional Champions of 1981.

* The teams that had the best overall record in each Division in 1981, even if they didn't make the Playoffs under the format in place that year.

* The teams that were in first place when the Strike of 1994 hit.

* The teams that won Pennants as Wild Cards. They may not have finished 1st in the regular season, but they were the last team standing in their League when it was all over.

All ties in this ranking are broken by most recent finish. This season's Division Champions in bold.

1. New York Yankees, 19: 1976, '77, '78, '80, '81 (1st-half and overall winners), '94 (led when strike hit), '96, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '09, '11, '12.  All in AL East.

2. Atlanta Braves, 17: 1969, '82, '91, '92, '93 (in NL West, afterward in NL East), '95, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '13.

3. Oakland Athletics, 16: 1971, '72, '73, '74, '75, '81 (1st-half and overall winners), '88, '89, '90, '92, 2000, '02, '03, '06, '12, '13. All in AL West.

4. St. Louis Cardinals, 14: 1981 (aggregate winners but didn't lead in either half), '82, '85, '87 (in NL East, afterward in NL Central), '96, 2000, '02, '04, '05, '06, '09, '11 (won Pennant as Wild Card), '13, 14.

5. Los Angeles Dodgers, 14: 1974, '77, '78, '81 (1st-half and overall winners), '83, '85, '88, '94 (led when strike hit), '95, 2004, '08, '09, '13, '14. All in NL West.

6. Cincinnati Reds, 12: 1970, '72, '73, '75, '76, '79, '81 (aggregate winners but didn't lead in either half), '90 (in NL West, afterward in NL Central), '94 (led when strike hit), '95, 2010, '12.

7. Philadelphia Phillies, 12: 1976, '77, '78, '80, '81 (1st-half), '83, '93, 2007, '08, '09, '10, '11. All in NL East.

8. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 10: 1979, '82, '86, 2002 (won Pennant as Wild Card), '04, '05, '07, '08, '09, '14. All in AL West.

9. Minnesota Twins, 10: 1969, '70, '87, '91 (in AL West, afterward in AL Central), 2002, '03, '04, '06, '09, '10.

10. Baltimore Orioles, 9: 1969, '70, '71, '73, '74, '79, '83, '97, 2014. All in AL East.

11. San Francisco Giants, 9: 1971, '87, '89, '97, 2000, '02 (won Pennant as Wild Card), '03, '10, '12. All in NL West.

12. Pittsburgh Pirates, 9: 1970, '71, '72, '74, '75, '79, '90, '91, '92. All in NL East, have not won since moving to NL Central.

13. Detroit Tigers, 8: 1972, '84, '87 (in AL East, afterward in AL Central), 2006 (won Pennant as Wild Card), '11, '12, '13, '14.

14. Boston Red Sox, 8: 1975, '86, '88, '90, '95, 2004 (won Pennant as Wild Card), '07, '13. All in AL East.

15. Houston Astros, 8: 1980, '81 (2nd-half winners), '86 (in NL West, afterward in NL Central), '97, '98, '99, 2001, '05 (won Pennant as Wild Card). Have now moved to AL West.

16. Cleveland Indians, 7: 1995, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2001, '07.  All in AL Central, as they never won while in AL East.

17. Kansas City Royals, 7: 1976, '77, '78, '80, '81 (2nd-half winners), '84, '85. All in AL West, have not won since moving to AL Central.

18. Texas Rangers, 6: 1994 (led when strike hit), '96, '98, '99, 2010, '11. All in AL West.

19. Chicago White Sox, 6: 1983, '93 (in AL West, afterward in AL Central), '94 (led when strike hit), 2000, '05, '08.

20. New York Mets, 6: 1969, '73, '86, '88, 2000 (won Pennant as Wild Card), '06. All in NL East.

21. Arizona Diamondbacks, 5: 1999, 2001, '02, '07, '11. All in NL West.

22. Chicago Cubs, 5: 1984, '89 (in NL East, afterward in NL Central), 2003, '07, '08.

23. San Diego Padres, 5: 1984, '96, '98, 2005, '06. All in NL West.

24. Toronto Blue Jays, 5: 1985, '89, '91, '92, '93. All in AL East.

25. Milwaukee Brewers, 3: 1981 (2nd-half winners), '82 (in AL East, thereafter in  NL Central), 2011.

26. Seattle Mariners, 3: 1995, '97, 2001. All in AL West.

27. Washington Nationals, 2: 2012, '14. Both in NL East. Also won NL East as Montreal Expos in 1981 (2nd-half and overall winners) and '94 (led when strike hit).

28. Tampa Bay Rays, 2: 2008, '10. Both in AL East.

29. Colorado Rockies, 2: 2007, '09. Both in NL West.

30. Miami Marlins, 2: 1997, 2003 (both times, won Pennant as Wild Card). Both in NL East.

Leading their respective Divisions are: In the American League, the Yankees, Minnesota and Oakland; in the National League, Atlanta, St. Louis and Los Angeles.

However, if we count only titles won within those Divisions -- both before and after realignment -- then we get a different picture:

The AL leaders remain the same, but Philadelphia surpasses Atlanta for the NL East lead (the Braves were in the NL West until 1993), St. Louis now leads the NL Central (Cincinnati was in the NL West until 1993), and Cincinnati and the Dodgers share the NL West lead.

In any case, the Yankees are Number 1 on this list, as they are on so many others.