| League | National League |
|---|---|
| Sport | Major League Baseball |
| Founded | 1994 |
| No. of teams | 6 (5 in 2013) |
| Most recent champion(s) | Milwaukee Brewers (1st title) |
| Most titles | St. Louis Cardinals (8) |
The National League Central Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the Western Division (the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros) and three teams from the Eastern Division (the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the St. Louis Cardinals) of the National League. In 1998, the Central Division became the largest division in Major League Baseball when the Milwaukee Brewers were moved in from the American League. In 2013, the Houston Astros will be moving to the American League West division as part of a realignment by Major League Baseball.
This division has been dominated by the St. Louis Cardinals, who have accounted for eight of the seventeen division championships, plus two "wild cards." Aside from the Cardinals, the Houston Astros have the next most division championships with four, as well as two wild card wins. The Chicago Cubs are next with three division titles as well as one wild card.
The Milwaukee Brewers are the current National League Central Division Champions.
Contents |
| Time period | Lineup | Changes from previous setup |
|---|---|---|
| 1994–1997 | Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals | Creation of division due to the 1994 realignment into three divisions (with Chicago, Pittsburgh and St. Louis from NL East, and Cincinnati and Houston from NL West) |
| 1998–2012 | Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals | Milwaukee switched leagues due to the 1998 expansion, moving in from AL Central |
| 2013– | Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals | Houston switching leagues and joining the AL West |
| Year | Winner | Record | % | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Cincinnati Reds | 85–59 | .590 | Lost NLCS to Atlanta, 4–0 |
| 1996 | St. Louis Cardinals | 88–74 | .543 | Lost NLCS to Atlanta, 4–3 |
| 1997 | Houston Astros | 84–78 | .519 | Lost NLDS to Atlanta, 3–0 |
| 1998 | Houston Astros | 102–60 | .630 | Lost NLDS to San Diego, 3–1 |
| 1999 | Houston Astros | 97–65 | .599 | Lost NLDS to Atlanta, 3–1 |
| 2000 | St. Louis Cardinals | 95–67 | .586 | Lost NLCS to New York, 4–1 |
| 2001 | Houston Astros & St. Louis Cardinals† | 93–69 | .574 | Lost NLDS to Atlanta, 3–0/Lost NLDS to Arizona, 3-2 |
| 2002 | St. Louis Cardinals | 97–65 | .599 | Lost NLCS to San Francisco, 4–1 |
| 2003 | Chicago Cubs | 88–74 | .543 | Lost NLCS to Florida, 4–3 |
| 2004 | St. Louis Cardinals | 105–57 | .648 | Lost World Series to Boston, 4–0 |
| 2005 | St. Louis Cardinals | 100–62 | .617 | Lost NLCS to Houston, 4–2 |
| 2006 | St. Louis Cardinals | 83–78 | .516 | Won World Series over Detroit, 4–1 |
| 2007 | Chicago Cubs | 85–77 | .525 | Lost NLDS to Arizona, 3–0 |
| 2008 | Chicago Cubs | 97–64 | .602 | Lost NLDS to Los Angeles, 3–0 |
| 2009 | St. Louis Cardinals | 91–71 | .562 | Lost NLDS to Los Angeles, 3–0 |
| 2010 | Cincinnati Reds | 91–71 | .562 | Lost NLDS to Philadelphia, 3–0 |
| 2011 | Milwaukee Brewers | 96–66 | .593 | Lost NLCS to St. Louis, 4-2 |
§ - Due to the 1994 Major League Baseball strike on August 12, no official winner was awarded. Cincinnati was leading at the time of the strike.
† - The Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals finished the 2001 season tied for first place with identical records and both teams were awarded division championships.[1] Then for the purpose of playoff seeding, the Astros received the NL Central slot and the Cardinals received the Wild Card seeding. 2001 is considered by the MLB administrators to be the first shared divisional championship in MLB history.[2]
The division has produced four National League Pennant winners: St. Louis in 2004, 2006, and 2011, and Houston in 2005. In both 2004 and 2005 the American League Champions swept the World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals won the 2006 World Series in five games and the 2011 World Series in seven games.
The wild card was first introduced in 1994 and is the team in each league with the best record that did not win its division. The system, however, was not implemented until 1995, as a player strike prematurely ended the 1994 season. Since its implementation, five NL Central teams have won the wild card.
| Year | Winner | Record | % | GB | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Chicago Cubs* | 90-73 | .552 | 12.5 | Lost NLDS to Atlanta, 3-0 |
| 2001 | St. Louis Cardinals† | 93-69 | .574 | 0 | Lost NLDS to Arizona, 3-2 |
| 2004 | Houston Astros | 92-70 | .568 | 13 | Lost NLCS to St. Louis, 4-3 |
| 2005 | Houston Astros | 89-73 | .549 | 11 | Lost World Series to Chicago White Sox, 4-0 |
| 2008 | Milwaukee Brewers | 90-72 | .556 | 7.5 | Lost NLDS to Philadelphia, 3-1 |
| 2011 | St Louis Cardinals | 90-72 | .556 | 6 | Won World Series over Texas, 4-3 |
* - Defeated the San Francisco Giants in a one game playoff for the Wild Card, 5-3.
† - finished with the same record as the Houston Astros, but Houston won the season series vs. the Cardinals that year, and were given the higher seed in the playoffs.
| Team | Number of Championship(s) Won |
Years Won |
|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 8 | 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004-2006, 2009 |
| Houston Astros | 4 | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001 |
| Chicago Cubs | 3 | 2003, 2007, 2008 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 2 | 1995, 2010 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 1 | 2011 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 0 | -- |