The 2005 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 2005 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 4, and ended on Monday, October 10, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were:
- (1) Chicago White Sox (Central Division champion, 99–63) vs. (4) Boston Red Sox (Wild Card, 95–67): White Sox win series, 3–0.
- (2) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Western Division champion, 95–67) vs. (3) New York Yankees (Eastern Division champion, 95–67): Angels win series, 3–2.
The higher seed (#1 is the highest) had the home field advantage.
NOTE: The Yankees were designated the Eastern Division champions due to winning the season series 10–9 against the Red Sox. The Angels received home field advantage rather than the Yankees due to their winning the season series 6–4 against New York.
2005 was the first year since 2001 that the Minnesota Twins had not participated in the ALDS. Other than the White Sox' victory in the AL Central, the participants were identical to those of the previous year.
The two victorious teams went on to meet in the AL Championship Series (ALCS). The victorious White Sox advanced to defeat the National League champion Houston Astros and win the 2005 World Series.
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