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Tanyon Sturtze had just finished golfing in Florida on Tuesday when he took a call about Derek Jeter. He was happy to talk. Sturtze pitched for 12 seasons in the majors, with seven teams, but people ask him more about Jeter than any other teammate.

“That’s how it should be,” Sturtze said. “He’s the best player I ever played with.”

It was 10 years ago Tuesday that Jeter made his celebrated dive into the stands down the left field line, stealing a go-ahead hit from Trot Nixon to preserve a tie in the 12th inning. Jeter emerged from the stands bloodied and bigger than life.

“I met him on the dirt of the infield, and I kind of gave him a little slap, like, ‘Great catch!’” said Sturtze, who threw the pitch. “And he looked at me, like, ‘What are you, an idiot? I’m sore!’ I was just so fired up about the catch.”

The play, of course, became a cornerstone of the Jeter legend, and it stands now as the last moment of the Yankees’ cosmic stranglehold over the Boston Red Sox. Their rivals pushed back in late July, roared back in October and now, well — now it is a free-for-all.

After their victory the night of Jeter’s famous catch, the Yankees were 50-26. That is a better record than any team in the majors has right now, and it was good enough for an eight and a half game lead over Boston in the American League East.

The other teams in the division were afterthoughts. Tampa Bay was .500, but 12 games back. The Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays were nine under, and 16 and a half games from first.

This was the second year of an 11-year stretch, through 2013, in which the A.L. East produced two playoff teams in every season except 2006. Now, the weakness of the division is the primary factor giving hope to all five teams.

“I think we’ve been talking about it for a couple of years — but only with better records,” Rays Manager Joe Maddon said. “Like everybody being .500 or better was the parity. All of a sudden we’ve sunk a little bit, record-wise.”

The Rays have won six of seven after edging the Yankees, 2-1, on Tuesday. They still have the worst record in the division, at 37-49, but are only nine and a half games behind first-place Toronto. This is a team that clawed back from a nine-game wild-card deficit to win a playoff spot in September 2011, so, to Maddon, the Rays are right there. Highlights and Milestones: Derek Jeter

The longtime Yankees shortstop is in his 20th and final season. His many milestones and career highlights are compiled here with related video, and articles and photos from the Times archive.


“We’re in it,” Maddon said. “There’s no question we’re in it. We’re not going away. I’ll tell you right now: we’re one of the best teams in the American League. I don’t care what the record says.”

As long as they keep starter David Price, the Rays just might have a chance this season. Trading him, though, could help set up their future and continue their low-budget run of contention.

The Yankees never face such realities. They lost Robinson Cano in free agency last winter, but still managed to spend $470 million on new players — just one, Masahiro Tanaka, is under 30. Predictably, Tanaka has performed the best. The other major imports are all a bit worse than they were last season — Jacoby Ellsbury by a little, Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann by a lot.

What has resulted is a .500 record, at 41-41, a mark that would have torpedoed an A.L. East team a decade ago, but now is only mildly concerning. The Yankees stand just three and a half games out of first.

“Nobody’s really taken off and run away with things,” left fielder Brett Gardner said. “We’re still in the thick of things. I’m sure it will come down to the last few games in September.”The second wild card — introduced in 2012 — now belongs to the Seattle Mariners, despite Cano having hit only six home runs through Monday. The Mariners made a dubious investment that the Yankees were wise to resist, signing Cano for 10 years and $240 million. But at least Cano, with a .320 average and a .378 on-base percentage, is giving the Mariners something close to peak production at the start of his deal, which is what they wanted most.

The struggles of Beltran and McCann are distressing, because the early years of long-term contracts are supposed to be the sure things. Beltran, 37, is having perhaps the worst season of his career as he plays through an elbow injury. McCann, 30, has been the majors’ least-productive everyday catcher, and called his season “horrible” after Monday’s loss. He did not play Tuesday until the ninth inning, when he struck out looking.

“These guys have proven track records,” Manager Joe Girardi said after the loss, adding later, “I don’t think you forget how to hit in a year.”

Barring a trade, the Yankees must trust in those track records. A pitcher with an impressive one, C.C. Sabathia, will make a rehabilitation start on Wednesday for Class AA Trenton.

What impact can he make if he returns to top form?

“I guess my impact the first couple of years here,” Sabathia said. “Hopefully I can get back to that.”

In Sabathia’s first New York season, 2009, the Yankees won the World Series after collecting 103 victories in the regular season. No team in the majors has won as many since. A decade after Jeter embodied pinstriped dominance with that daring dive, the Yankees are just one of many flawed teams with a chance.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B17 of the New York edition with the headline: In Once-Mighty A.L. East, Everyone Can Dream. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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