American League Central
The American League Central is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division was formed in the 1994 realignment. Its teams are all located in the Midwestern United States. It is currently the only division in the MLB where all of its members have won the World Series at least once (though only one team has won the World Series as a member of the AL Central).
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Current members:
- Chicago White Sox – Founding member; formerly of the AL West
- Cleveland Indians – Founding member; formerly of the AL East
- Detroit Tigers – Joined in 1998; formerly of the AL East
- Kansas City Royals – Founding member; formerly of the AL West
- Minnesota Twins – Founding member; formerly of the AL West
| Time period | Lineup | Changes from previous setup |
|---|---|---|
| 1994–1997 | Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins | Creation of division due to 1994 realignment (Chicago, Kansas City and Minnesota from AL West, Cleveland and Milwaukee from AL East) |
| 1998–present | Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins | Due to 1998 expansion, Detroit moved in from AL East and Milwaukee switched leagues, moving into NL Central |
Since its inception, the Chicago White Sox are the only team from the AL Central division to have won the World Series.
| Year | Winner | Record | % | Playoff finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 (through August 11) | Chicago White Sox§ | 67–46 | .593 | No Playoffs |
| 1995 (starting April 25, 144 G) | 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 |
§ Due to the players' strike starting August 12, no official winner was awarded. Chicago was leading at the strike.
The Central division was the last division in baseball to produce a wild card team until 2006, 12 years after its creation. On September 24, 2006, a victory by the Twins guaranteed the wild card would come from the division, eliminating the Red Sox of the American League East from Wild Card contention and 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.
| Year | Winner | Record | % | GB | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Cleveland Indians§ | 66–47 | .584 | 1 | No Playoffs |
| 2006 | Detroit Tigers | 95–67 | .586 | 1 | Lost World Series to St. Louis, 4-1 |
§ Due to the players' strike, no official wild card winner was awarded. Cleveland was leading the wild card at the strike.
| Team | Championships | Last Year Won |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Indians | 7 | 2007 |
| Minnesota Twins | 4 | 2006 |
| Chicago White Sox | 3 | 2008 |
| Detroit Tigers | 0 | |
| Kansas City Royals | 0 |
- American League East
- American League West
- National League East
- National League Central
- National League West
