Every 2009 MLB race charted day by day: AL East, AL Central, AL West, AL Wild Card, NL East, NL Central, NL West and NL Wild Card. Final standings, from a season that ran April 5 to October 6, 2009.
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AL East standings, 2009
Team
W
L
Pct
GB
L10
Streak
New York Yankees (NYY)
103
59
.636
-
7-3
W1
Boston Red Sox (BOS)
95
67
.586
8
4-6
W4
Tampa Bay Rays (TB)
84
78
.519
19
6-4
L1
Toronto Blue Jays (TOR)
75
87
.463
28
6-4
L3
Baltimore Orioles (BAL)
64
98
.395
39
4-6
W4
Final standings.
Turning points
The lead changed hands 17 times.
The New York Yankees trailed by as many as 6.5 games on May 12, 2009.
The New York Yankees took first place for good on July 21, 2009.
The Boston Red Sox won 11 games in a row from April 15, 2009 to April 27, 2009, the longest run of the race.
The Boston Red Sox led by 5 games as late as June 24, 2009.
The New York Yankees led by as many as 10.5 games on September 29, 2009.
The New York Yankees went 22-6 from July 17, 2009 to August 15, 2009, turning a deficit of 3 games into a lead of 7.5 games.
The top two ended the day within one game of each other on 62 of the 175 days played.
The New York Yankees spent 93 of the season's 185 charted days in first place.