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MLB - Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League by a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between them since 1901 (the National League having been in existence since 1876). In 2000, the two leagues ceased to be separate legal entities, with the commissioner's office assuming all responsibilities for running MLB. MLB effectively operates as a single league and as such it constitutes one of the major professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada. It is currently composed of 30 teams - twenty-nine in the United States and one in Canada.

Each MLB season consists of 162 games per team (with an additional game, or games, if a tie breaker is needed to determine postseason participation), which typically begins on the first Sunday in April and ends on the first Sunday in October, with the postseason played in October and sometimes into early November. The same rules and regulations are played between the two leagues with one exception: the American League operates under the Designated Hitter Rule, while the National League does not. Use of the DH rule in interleague play and the World Series is determined by the home team's league rules. As of 2010, the All-Star Game uses the DH rule regardless of location.

Major League Baseball is divided into the American League (14 teams) and the National League (16 teams). Currently, each league is further subdivided into three divisions - labeled East, Central, and West.

American League

AL East

Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays

AL Central

Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins

AL West

Los Angeles Angels
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers

NATIONAL LEAGUE

NL East

Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals

NL Central

Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals

NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants