MLB Teams As Game Of Thrones Houses: American League East

In honor of the House of the Dragon Season 3 premiere, DiamondCentric is publishing a six-part series on the MLB Teams as Game of Thrones Houses. We had originally planned for this to be one piece featuring all 30 teams, but realized that was a little too ambitious (though not as ambitious as smuggling a White Walker down to the King's Landing). 

For anyone green as summer grass, Game of Thrones is a fantasy television series based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series (ASOIAF). The main story primarily takes place in Westeros (also referred to as the Seven Kingdoms), a feudal society, rife with political intrigue, romance, dragons, and battles. What’s not to like?

House of the Dragon takes place hundreds of years before the events in Game of Thrones. While MLB doesn’t have trial by combat (though I’d love to see it added somewhere in the new CBA), some teams share traits with the fictional Westerosi houses.

This week, we’re starting with the American League East.

Boston Red Sox: House Baratheon

Robert Baratheon (Bobby B) led a rebellion that usurped the 283-year Targaryen dynasty. He won the Iron Throne, peaked, and let the Seven Kingdoms rot. Ownership under John W. Henry has brought the Red Sox four World Series, but since 2018, the team has rested on its laurels.

House Baratheon’s words are “Ours is the Fury”, which is the mantra of the typical Masshole you encounter driving along Route 9. Red Sox fans possess mercurial tempers. One second, they’re happy, celebrating a series sweep over the Yankees in mid-June. The next second, they’re furious because ownership traded their franchise player for a bag of peanuts.

The Barathons are also embroiled in a bitter rivalry with the Lannisters, represented by another American League East team (which I’ll get to in a moment). 

Baltimore Orioles: House Fossoway of New Barrel

House Fossoway of New Barrel is a relatively new house that arose at the Tourney of Ashford Meadow (shown in the Dunk and Egg series, another prequel to Game of Thrones). 

The Orioles are a young team with their batter averaging at 27.1 years old, the eighth lowest in baseball. They’ve grown as their steady stream of highly-touted prospects made their debuts in the majors. The Fossoway’s sigil is a green apple over a golden field that symbolizes the Orioles' rebuild.

Tampa Bay Rays: House Baelish

Despite a humble upbringing, Petyr Baelish made a name for himself and schemed his way to the King’s Small Council. Baelish is often underestimated when he’s clandestinely pulling the strings. Assassinating John Arryn sparked the events in Game of Thrones.

The Rays were woefully ignored in our season predictions. As I’m writing this, they’re currently in first place in the American League East and hold the best record in the American League. The team isn’t flush with cash, they don’t have any star players on their roster (though Junior Caminero has the potential to become one), and wealthier teams don’t pay much attention to them. Blink once, and suddenly they swept your favorite team.

New York Yankees: House Lannister

The Lannisters are obscenely wealthy because they control almost all of the gold mines in Westeros. Their house motto, “Hear me roar,” sounds like a Yankees fan reminding you of their favorite team’s 27 rings. They fought with the Baratheons (aka the Red Sox) and engaged the entire realm in a civil war before and during the events in Game of Thrones.

The Lannisters' hubris is nepotism running a formerly great house into the ground. Ask literally any Yankees fan, and it sounds like the same is occurring in their team’s front office with Hal Steinbrenner, the son of the late George Steinbrenner III. The Yankees buy their way out of roster inefficiencies, and they hog the spotlight (especially on national television). 

Toronto Blue Jays: House Stark

The North encompasses the largest territory in Westeros. As the only MLB team in Canada, the Blue Jays are considered Canada’s team. Situated far beyond the politics in the states, Toronto exists in its old little world. 

The Starks suffer from more top 10 anime betrayals than any other Westerosi house. As a Red Sox fan, I don’t want to say the same for the Blue Jays (I was rooting for the Dodgers in the 2025 World Series). If I squint hard enough, I can see where the Toronto matches House Stark’s honorable suffering.

For example, their homegrown talent hasn’t fully developed. Left fielder Davis Schenieder looked good in his first three games, then faded into mediocrity. Pitcher Alek Manoah had one good season and turned into a pumpkin. I’ll go on a whim here and say Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has only been elite in a couple of seasons. After losing the World Series by a kitten’s whisker, the Blue Jays made an aggressive push in the offseason and have a 35-38 record to show for it.