September 17, 2002
With a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Sox, the Boston Yankees clinched their first 100-win season since 1976 when the team won its last World Series.
With the Cyclones 3-1 defeat at the hands of the New York Bombers, the Yankees have a 1 game lead in the Eastern Division with two games to go. If they win today, they'll clinch a tie for the division title and even if they lose the day after, they'll still win the Division Championship because they've won the season series against Brooklyn 10-3.
"It's a nice turn of events," said Yankees GM D.C. Daly, who said he had a vision for the ballclub three years ago when he took over and they had the worst record in baseball. Now, they're preparing to head to their first post-season since 1995 as the #2 seed (Ed note: I misspoke earlier. Chicago is the #1 seed).
The Eastern Division will be home to three of the four wild card teams no matter what happens in the divisional race, as all three New York teams (Bombers, Mets, Cyclones) will advance out of the East, with the battle for the final spot being captured by St. Louis, who edged out the Dodgers by at least 1 game in the end.
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FINAL 2002 STANDINGS
Code:
Eastern Division W L PCT GB
Boston Yankees 102 60 .630 -
Brooklyn Cyclones 101 61 .623 1.0
New York Mets 96 66 .593 6.0
New York Bombers 91 71 .562 11.0
Pittsburgh Pirates 84 78 .519 18.0
Toronto Blue Sox 81 81 .500 21.0
Baltimore Orioles 80 82 .494 22.0
Philadelphia Colonials 60 102 .370 42.0
American Division W L PCT GB
Chicago Comets 109 53 .673 -
St. Louis Cardinals 88 74 .543 21.0
Chicago Cubs 83 79 .512 26.0
Kansas City Royals 83 79 .512 26.0
Detroit Tigers 82 80 .506 27.0
Columbus Clippers 79 83 .488 30.0
Colorado Rockies 78 84 .481 31.0
Minnesota Twins 57 105 .352 52.0
Western Division W L PCT GB
Los Angeles Angels 97 65 .599 -
Los Angeles Dodgers 86 76 .531 11.0
San Diego Padres 76 86 .469 21.0
Seattle Mariners 76 86 .469 21.0
San Jose Captains 73 89 .451 24.0
Salt Lake City Bees 72 90 .444 25.0
Riverside Red Sox 69 93 .426 28.0
San Francisco Giants 67 95 .414 30.0
National Division W L PCT GB
Cincinnati Reds 92 70 .568 -
Texas Rangers 85 77 .525 7.0
San Antonio Aviators 81 81 .500 11.0
Houston Astros 79 83 .488 13.0
Florida Marlins 76 86 .469 16.0
Atlanta Athletics 74 88 .457 18.0
Washington Diplomats 69 93 .426 23.0
Arizona Diamondbacks 66 96 .407 26.0
CONTINENTAL LEAGUE
Code:
Eastern Division W L PCT GB
Richmond Braves 78 58 .574 -
Montreal Expos 77 59 .566 1.0
Tampa Bay Rays 73 63 .537 5.0
Durham Bulls 65 71 .478 13.0
Cleveland Indians 62 74 .456 16.0
New Orleans Zephyrs 60 76 .441 18.0
Western Division W L PCT GB
Monterrey Matadors 75 61 .551 -
Chicago White Sox 67 69 .493 8.0
Vancouver Whitecaps 67 69 .493 8.0
Nevada Silverhawks 65 71 .478 10.0
Portland Beavers 64 72 .471 11.0
Sacramento Snappers 63 73 .463 12.0