The 1998 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 1998 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, September 29, and ended on Saturday, October 3, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. The teams were:
- (1) New York Yankees (Eastern Division champion, 114–48) vs. (3) Texas Rangers (Western Division champion, 88–74): Yankees win series, 3–0.
- (2) Cleveland Indians (Central Division champion, 89–73) vs. (4) Boston Red Sox (Wild Card, 92–70): Indians win series, 3–1.
The higher seed (in parentheses) had the home field advantage, which for the first time was determined by playing record. Also for the first time, the team with home field advantage played the first two games at home, with potentially Game 5 at home as well; previously, the team with the home field advantage had played the first two games on the road, with the possibility of the final three games at home. The Red Sox were ineligible for home field advantage due to not winning their division.
The New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians went on to meet in the AL Championship Series (ALCS). The Yankees became the American League champion, and defeated the National League champion San Diego Padres in the 1998 World Series.
Famous quotes containing the words american, league, division and/or series:
“My favorite figure of the American author is that of a man who breeds a favorite dog, which he throws into the Mississippi River for the pleasure of making a splash. The river does not splash, but it drowns the dog.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)
“He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no harm shall touch you. In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes. At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the wild animals of the earth. For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the wild animals shall be at peace with you.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Job 5:19-23.
“That crazed girl improvising her music,
Her poetry, dancing upon the shore,
Her soul in division from itself
Climbing, falling she knew not where,
Hiding amid the cargo of a steamship
Her knee-cap broken.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Every day the fat woman dies a series of small deaths.”
—Shelley Bovey, U.S. author. Being Fat Is Not a Sin, ch. 1 (1989)