| League | American League |
|---|---|
| Sport | Major League Baseball |
| Founded | 1994 |
| No. of teams | 5 |
| Most recent champion(s) | Detroit Tigers (1st title) |
| Most titles | Cleveland Indians (7) |
The American League Central Division is one of six divisions in Major League Baseball. This division was formed in the realignment in 1994, and its teams are all located in the Midwestern United States. The Central Division is currently the only division in the Major Leagues in which all of its members have won the World Series at least once.
Contents |
| Time period | Members | Changes from previous set-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1994–1997 | Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins | Creation of division due to the realignment (the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins from the AL West, and the Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers from the AL East) |
| 1998–present | Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins | Due to the expansion in 1998, placing a new team in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Tigers moved in from AL East, and also to give each league an even number of teams, the Brewers moved into NL Central |
The Chicago White Sox are the only team from the AL Central division to have won the World Series since the league realignment in 1994.
| Year | Winner | Record | % | Playoff finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | No winner due to strike * | |||
| 1995 | Cleveland Indians | 100–44 | .694 | Lost World Series to Atlanta, 4–2 |
| 1996 | Cleveland Indians | 99–62 | .615 | Lost ALDS to Baltimore, 3–1 |
| 1997 | Cleveland Indians | 86–75 | .534 | Lost World Series to Florida, 4–3 |
| 1998 | Cleveland Indians | 89–73 | .549 | Lost ALCS to New York, 4–2 |
| 1999 | Cleveland Indians | 97–65 | .599 | Lost ALDS to Boston, 3–2 |
| 2000 | Chicago White Sox | 95–67 | .586 | Lost ALDS to Seattle, 3–0 |
| 2001 | Cleveland Indians | 91–71 | .562 | Lost ALDS to Seattle, 3–2 |
| 2002 | Minnesota Twins | 94–67 | .584 | Lost ALCS to Anaheim, 4–1 |
| 2003 | Minnesota Twins | 90–72 | .556 | Lost ALDS to New York, 3–1 |
| 2004 | Minnesota Twins | 92–70 | .568 | Lost ALDS to New York, 3–1 |
| 2005 | Chicago White Sox | 99–63 | .611 | Won World Series over Houston, 4–0 |
| 2006 | Minnesota Twins | 96–66 | .593 | Lost ALDS to Oakland, 3–0 |
| 2007 | Cleveland Indians | 96–66 | .593 | Lost ALCS to Boston 4–3 |
| 2008 | Chicago White Sox** | 89–74 | .546 | Lost ALDS to Tampa Bay 3–1 |
| 2009 | Minnesota Twins# | 87–76 | .534 | Lost ALDS to New York, 3–0 |
| 2010 | Minnesota Twins | 94–68 | .580 | Lost ALDS to New York, 3–0 |
| 2011 | Detroit Tigers | 95-67 | .586 | Lost ALCS to Texas, 4–2 |
* Due to the 1994 Major League Baseball strike starting August 12, no official winner became victorious. The White Sox were leading at the time that the strike broke out.
** In 2008, the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox finished the season with the identical records of 88–74. A one-game playoff was held and the White Sox won it 1–0 over the Twins to capture the division title.
# In 2009, the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers finished the season with identical records of 86–76. A one-game playoff was held, and the Twins won it 6–5 in 12 innings over the Tigers to capture the division title.
The Central division was the last division in baseball to produce a "wild-card" team that actually competed in the playoffs—in 2006—twelve years after its creation (in 1994, the AL's first "wild-card" team—the Indians—did not play, because there were no postseason playoffs that year). On September 24, 2006, a victory by the Twins guaranteed that the wild card would come from this division, eliminating the Boston Red Sox of the American League East from wild-card contention, and also ending a three-year streak of wild-card appearances by the Red Sox. The Twins eliminated the White Sox from playoff contention on September 25 and then passed the Tigers on the last day of the regular season to give the Tigers the wild-card slot. The Tigers went on to win the American League Championship.
| Year | Winner | Record | % | GB | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Detroit Tigers | 95–67 | .586 | 1 | Lost World Series to St. Louis, 4–1 |
| Team | Championships | Last year won |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Indians | 7 | 2007 |
| Minnesota Twins | 6 | 2010 |
| Chicago White Sox | 3 | 2008 |
| Detroit Tigers | 1 | 2011 |
| Kansas City Royals | 0 |