Major League Baseball ’89 : Power Shift: AL East Is on the Downswing

Paul Molitor thinks back to his rookie year and winces. It was 1978 and the Milwaukee Brewers did well, winning 93 games.

Still, that was only good enough for third place in the American League East.

“It really wasn’t fair in those days,” Molitor said. “Especially when you saw what it took to win the West.”

The same season, Kansas City won the AL West with just 92 victories.

“Back then, we didn’t think we had all that much competition in our division,” Kansas City’s George Brett admitted. “That has changed.”

It sure has. The East is in decline; the West, once nicknamed the “AL Worst,” might soon be best.

Last year, East teams won 568 games to the West’s 563. That’s the closest the two divisions have been since 1977, the last time the West held an advantage.

Since 1983, when the East held its biggest edge at 605-529, the West has made advances in four of five seasons.

“A few years ago, there was no comparison between the East and West,” Cleveland’s Joe Carter said. “You see the rise of the AL West. I wouldn’t say the East has gotten worse, but the West has caught up. There is parity now.”

Look at the young stars. Walt Weiss became the sixth straight player from the AL West to be rookie of the year. Prior to that, 12 of 14 came from the East.

Look at the All-Star Game. Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and Frank Viola were among 19 American Leaguers from the West; the East had only nine. Not since the Oakland-dominated teams in the mid-1970s had there been more players from the West.

Look at the playoffs and World Series. The Athletics won the West with a division-record 104 victories, the most in baseball, and bounced Boston in four straight. The Red Sox limped to the East title with 89 victories, the fewest ever to win the once-mighty division.

With the sweep, Oakland joined Minnesota as the first two different AL West teams to reach the World Series in consecutive years. The Twins also became the first World Series champion to win more games the next season but not win its division. Before Oakland and Minnesota emerged, West teams had won only two of the previous 12 playoffs.

“You don’t have the dominant two or three teams in the AL East like you used to,” Brett said. “It’s just happened in the last four or five years. Now, a team like Seattle can go into Yankee Stadium and win three straight. That never could’ve happened a few years ago.”

But years ago, there weren’t West players like Wally Joyner, Ruben Sierra and Bo Jackson, all in their mid-20s. And more stars are on the way, Jim Abbott and Robin Ventura among them.

The East, meanwhile, still relies on the same familiar faces. Don Mattingly, Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken are great, but also are approaching 30. The East also lost some of its main men in the off-season -- Eddie Murray, Bruce Hurst and Jack Clark all went to the National League West.

Still, not everyone buys the West-will-rule theory.

“The East is still the best,” New York’s Dave Winfield smirked.

Maybe, but maybe not so strong as in the good ol’ days. The Baltimore Orioles remember them too well.

From 1975 to 1982 (excluding the split season in 1981), the Orioles averaged 94.4 victories, yet won the East only once. They even missed in 1980 despite winning 100 games, the most ever for a second-place team since divisional play began in 1969.

While Baltimore kept coming close, AL West champions during the same period averaged 94.3 wins.

“There was a tremendous imbalance for a number of years. It was difficult playing in the East because you knew it would take 100 wins,” Molitor said. “With the improvement of the West, now you know if you win 90 games you’ve got a chance.”

It went that way last season, and seems likely to happen again.

“Has the balance of power shifted? Not yet. There’s still more depth in the East, but it’s gotten better,” Oakland general manager Sandy Alderson said. “Can the West maintain that momentum? That’s in doubt.”

The Athletics, like most of the West teams in small markets, built their club through the farm system. Free agency was left to the big city spenders, like the Yankees.

“We were forced to do it that way,” Alderson said. “Now you’re seeing the results with good, young players in the West.”

But success has its price. The Twins, after winning the World Series, sharply increased their payroll. Oakland, which added high-priced Dave Parker and Dave Henderson to its lineup last season, spent nearly $4 million to sign free agent Mike Moore.

“It used to be add this, subtract that. Now it’s add, add, add,” Alderson said. “We can’t afford that, and neither can most of the West teams.”

The Yankees, meanwhile, recently reached agreement on a $500 million contract with a local television channel. That gave them more to spend, and they went out and signed free agents Steve Sax, Andy Hawkins and Dave LaPoint during the winter.

“With free agency, it’s so easy to build a team quickly,” observed Fred Lynn, a lifelong AL resident. “If you have a hole, pick up a player. If you need a left fielder, go out and buy one.”

Free agency, however, isn’t necessarily the answer. Baltimore, which won the World Series in 1983 but slumped in 1984, immediately signed Lynn, Don Aase and Lee Lacy in the off-season. Lynn and Aase were hurt much of their stays and Lacy was released early.

Lynn is now with Detroit, Aase is trying to make the New York Mets and Lacy is gone. Also gone is the East dominance, especially among the best teams in each division.

“Top to bottom, I think the AL East is still much stronger,” Lynn said. “But at the top, it’s pretty close.”

“The strengths have changed. It always used to be Baltmore and New York, but now Milwaukee and Detroit are up there in the East,” Lynn said. “We all know about Oakland and the West, too.”