As we head through the MLB’s All-Star Game break, Canadas MLB team is in an unfamiliar position. Toronto Blue Jays playoff odds are surging because they lead the American League East by two games with 66 games to play.
With that in mind, OntarioBets.com compiled a list of how the Jays have done in all years when they have led or co-led the American League East at the All-Star break since the franchise began play in 1977. The Jays are currently two games ahead of the New York Yankees in the division race.
Blue Jays History Leading AL East At ASG Break
Year | Record, Games Ahead | Season Result |
2025 | 55-41, 2 games ahead | TBD |
2000 | 48-41, tied for first | 83-79, third in AL East, missed playoffs |
1993 | 49-40, 0.5 games ahead | 95-67, World Series champions |
1992 | 53-34, 4 games ahead | 96-66, World Series champions |
1991 | 49-34, 5.5 games ahead | 91-71, lost AL Championship Series |
1985 | 53-35, 2.5 games ahead | 99-62, lost AL Championship Series |
1983 | 43-33, 1.0 games ahead | 89-73, fourth in AL East, missed playoffs |
This story is part of our continuing Ontario sports betting coverage.
On the heels of a four-game home sweep of the New York Yankees in early July and a 9-3 start to July, it looks like the Jays are in it for the long haul. Canada’s lone MLB club, at 55-41, has their most first half wins since going 53-34 in 1992.
Toronto’s two-game AL East lead at the break has come about in a season where they stood 14-16 at the end of April. May was a turning point as Toronto went 16-12, setting the stage for a June run where Toronto went 16-10 and vanquished New York’s lead. This is just one example of why MLB betting odds for futures wagers fluctuate so much during a season.
Blue Jays Atop AL East At Break For First Time In 25 Years
Looking back, Toronto’s lead in the AL East heading into the Midsummer Classic represents the club’s first time atop the division at the break since 2000. That season, Toronto went 48-41 in the first half, tied with the Yankees atop the division, before flaming out and going 83-79 at season’s end to miss the postseason.
Before then, the Jays were atop the AL East standings at the break in 1992 and 1993, leading to the Commissioner’s Trophy north of the border at the end of both years. Toronto went 96-66 (1992) and 95-67 (1993) on their way to winning the club’s two World Series titles in successive seasons.
Prior to that, Toronto’s other three years where they led the AL East at the break saw them fall in the AL Championship Series (1985 and 1991). And the first time the Jays led the East at the break was 1983, when a 43-33 mark in the season’s first half led to an 89-73 finish; Toronto finished fourth and missed the playoffs in an era when only four teams made the postseason.
Check out our Blue Jays betting guide for the most current wagering information.
The 25-year break between division leads – which Toronto has finally ended – represents the longest streak in the American League. The Athletics are the next closest in the Junior Circuit, having last led the AL West at this juncture in 2014.
In the NL, two teams have gone longer than Toronto without leading their respective divisions at the break. The Colorado Rockies last sat atop the NL West at the All-Star break in 1995, while the Miami Marlins have never led the NL East at this point in a season. Ontario sportsbook apps have many options for wagering on futures, MLB awards, individual games and more.
Trends For AL East leaders At Break
Year, Team | Record, Games Ahead, 2nd Place | Season Result |
2024 Orioles | 58-38, 1GA, Yankees | 91-71, second place, lost ALWC series |
2023 Rays | 58-35, 2 GA, Orioles | 99-63, second place, lost ALWC series |
2022 Yankees | 64-28, 13 GA, Rays | 99-63, won division, lost ALCS |
2021Red Sox | 55-36, 1.5 GA, Rays | 92-70, second place, lost ALCS |
2019 Yankees | 57-31, 6.5 GA, Rays | 103-59, won division, lost ALCS |
2018 Red Sox | 68-30, 4.5 GA, Yankees | 108-54, won division, won World Series |
2017 Red Sox | 50-39, 3.5 GA, Yankees and Rays | 93-69, won division, lost ALDS |
2016 Orioles | 51-36, 2.0 GA, Red Sox and Blue Jays | 89-73, second place, lost AL WC game |
2015 Yankees | 48-40, 3.5 GA, Rays | 87-75, second place, lost AL WC game |
2014 Orioles | 52-42, 2 GA, Blue Jays | 96-66, won division, lost ALCS |
As of July 15, NorthStar Bets Ontario Sportsbook has the Jays at +2500 odds to win the World Series (tied for eighth on the board) and +185 odds to hang on and win the division, behind the Yankees at -134 odds.
It has been three years since the team that led the AL East at the break finished atop the division at year’s end. The Baltimore Orioles (2024) and Tampa Bay Rays (2023) each ended the season in second place.
The last team to lead the AL East at the ASG and at the end of season was the Yankees, who went 99-63 in 2023 before falling in the ALCS. New York did the same in 2019, winning the division but losing the ALCS (the information above does not include the shortened 2020 season).
In the past 10 full seasons, the only team to lead at both waypoints and win it all was the Boston Red Sox in 2018. That year, Boston finished 108-54 after posting a 68-30 mark through the first half of the year.
Since 2014, the largest first half lead in the AL East race was that 2022 season, when the Yankees held a 13-game advantage over the Rays. This year’s race is tight, with the top four teams separated by only 5.5 games.
Stay with OntarioBets.com for Ontario online gaming information and more sports insight.
USA Today photo by Kamil Krzaczynski
