Baltimore Orioles clinch American League East title
By Hayden Kane
The Boston Red Sox entered this 2014 season as the defending World Series champions. The New York Yankees made a number of noteworthy and splashy moves. The Tampa Bay Rays were considered a World Series favorite by many people because of their depth and the talent in the starting rotation.
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Then, with all of that being true, it was the Toronto Blue Jays who charged out to a fast start and held first place in the American League East for much of the first half of the season. All of this is worth mentioning to emphasize the fact that the Baltimore Orioles were really the last team people thought of in the AL East.
Guess what? The Orioles clinched the division title on Tuesday night by defeating those same Blue Jays by a final score of 8-2. In doing so, the Orioles put a bow on an absolutely dominant season. By clinching the division moments after the Washington Nationals clinched the National League East, Baltimore was the second team in baseball to clinch a division crown and the first in the American League.
Buck Showalter will be one of the top candidates for Manager of the Year in the American League. The Angels and possibly the Tigers will still enter the playoffs as the favorites, but as if we haven’t learned by now, you bet against this Orioles team at your own risk.
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