The 2003 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 2003 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, September 30, and ended on Monday, October 6, 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, 101–61) vs. (3) Minnesota Twins (Central Division champion, 90–72): Yankees win series, 3–1.
- (2) Oakland Athletics (Western Division champion, 96–66) vs. (4) Boston Red Sox (Wild Card, 95–67): Red Sox win series, 3–2.
The higher seed (in parentheses) had the home field advantage (Games 1, 2 and 5 at home), which was determined by playing record. Although the team with the best record was normally intended to play the wild card team, the Yankees played the Twins, rather than the wild card Red Sox, because the Yankees and Red Sox are in the same division.
The Yankees and Red Sox went on to meet in the AL Championship Series, for the right to advance to the 2003 World Series against the National League champion Florida Marlins.
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