The American League East and the Historic Start of the Tampa Bay Rays

By Ben Roach Last updated Apr 13, 2023

The Tampa Bay Rays have started the 2023 MLB season with a 12-0 record. PHOTO CREDIT: FLICKR

The American League East, a division that is often seen as one of the more competitive in the league, is off to a hot start in the 2023 MLB season. Arguably, one of the front runners, at least in pre-season polls, was the New York Yankees who, at the moment, sit tied for second in the AL East with the Toronto Blue Jays. Behind them stands the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox who both sit at a record of 5-5 thus far—the two worst records in the division.

It is still very early in the season, and a lot can change quite quickly. With that being said, the lone team not already mentioned in the division is the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are off to a historic start of their season with a 10-0 record as of yesterday. According to Gabe Laques of USA Today, that is the best start of any MLB club in the history of the game. The 2003 Kansas City Royals went 9-0 at the start of their season.

To make this all the more interesting, as of 7:47 today (April 11), the Rays are leading the Red Sox 4-0 at the end of the fourth inning. If they are able to pull off this win, their opening season total record will rise to an outstanding 11-0.

For the large majority of their games in this 10-0 stretch thus far, they have steamrolled their competition. In fact, the team’s 24 home runs through the first nine games are the most since the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals. And if that wasn’t enough amazing statistics for you, they are also the only team in the modern live-playing era (and the first team since the 1884 St. Louis Maroons to win their first nine games by at least four runs).

Now getting into more stat-leading positions. The Rays carry the crown thus far in six different statistics (most notably two statistics). These include, as of the conclusion of yesterday’s games, 76 runs scored and a 1.89 ERA. The Rays continue to be dominant in each and every game they play, and it does not seem like they are slowing down.

To play devil’s advocate, it is still early in the season, and some have pointed out that it may just be based on the teams that they played thus far in the season. And to an extent, there is a point to be made there. However, the Rays outsourcing all these teams by such a large margin sort of dispels that concern.

With that being said, the likelihood that they stay on such a dominant track is highly unlikely. Even if a team of the best players across the entire league played as one team, they would not perform over the course of the entire season to the extent that the Rays have if they continued on this same track.

While it is still early, the Rays have cemented themselves as a dominant force in the entire league, and with them, the AL East is also shaping up to be one of the more formidable divisions in the League. 