Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball (MBL) is an American professional sports league that serves as the highest level of play in American pro baseball. The MLB operates both the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) via a joint organizational structure. It was founded in 1876 and consists of 30 teams with 29 American teams and one Canadian team. The league is controlled by the MBL Constitution and is under the direction of the Commissioner of Baseball, which at present is Bud Selig.

The American League has three divisions – the East, the Central and the West. The National League has also three divisions, which are also the East, Central and West. In 1903, the NL and the AL started meeting in an end of the year championships known as the World Series. In 2000, the two leagues were disbanded as separate legal entities. All rights and functions of both leagues are consolidated in the MLB Commissioner’s Office.

The MBL season generally begins during early April and ends on the first Sunday in October. The playoffs usually start in October or November. In July, the midway point in the MLB’s season, the Major League All-Star Baseball game is played between players from the NL and players from the AL. The first All-Star game was played in 1933 as part of the World’s Fair in Chicago. After the regular season ends, 8 teams join the post season playoffs, 6 of which are division champions while the other 2 are wildcards. The playoffs then lead to the World Series which is played between the champions from each league.

Notable teams in the MLB include the New York Yankees which has won 26 championship titles. They are followed by the St. Louis Cardinals with 10, the Oakland Athletics with 9 and the Boston Red Sox with 7 championship titles.