TAMPA, Fla. — The strongest division in baseball history — one through four, anyway — looks daunting again. Four American League East teams earned more than 90 victories last season, a first for divisional play, which dates to 1969. Now the Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays are back for more.
“Whoa — pack a lunch, baby,” said Aaron Boone, the Yankees’ manager, in his office at Steinbrenner Field the other day. Then Boone turned impish: “Well,” he added, “it sounds like we’re all fighting for second. Sounds like the Blue Jays are just —”
He trailed off, but the point was clear: the Yankees have noticed that Toronto — anecdotally, at least — has been prematurely crowned as the favorite. But didn’t the Blue Jays, who missed the playoffs by a game last season, at 91-71, lose a Cy Young Award winner and a record-setting infielder to free agency?
“Apparently not,” Boone said, with a smile. “But they are good. I mean, this division is always good, but it feels good.”