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| League | American League |
|---|---|
| Sport | Major League Baseball |
| Founded | 1994 |
| No. of teams | 5 |
| Most recent champions | Cleveland Guardians (2025; 13th title) |
| Most titles | Cleveland Guardians (13) |
TheAmerican League Central is one ofMajor League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from theAmerican League West and two teams from theAmerican League East. Its teams are all located in theMidwestern United States. Along with theNational League East, the AL Central is one of two divisions in the Major Leagues in which all of its members have won aWorld Series title. In fact, each team has captured at least twoWorld Series championships. The Kansas City Royals were the most recent team from the division to win theWorld Series.[1]
Place cursor over year for division champ or World Series team.
| AL Central Division[A] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Chicago White Sox | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland Indians | Cleveland Guardians[B] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas City Royals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee Brewers[C] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota Twins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Detroit Tigers[C] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team not in division Division won World Series Division won AL Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TheChicago White Sox andKansas City Royals are the only teams from the AL Central division to have won the World Series since the league realignment in 1994.
* Due to the1994 Major League Baseball strike starting August 12, no winner was determined. TheChicago White Sox were leading at the time that the strike began.
** In2008, theMinnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox finished the season with the identical records. The White Sox won theone-game playoff 1–0.
# In2009, the Minnesota Twins andDetroit Tigers finished the season with identical records. The Twins won theone-game playoff 6–5 in 12 innings.
*** Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the season was shortened to 60 games. By virtue of the eight-team postseason format used for that season, division runner-upCleveland also qualified for the playoffs. The Indians were tied with theChicago White Sox but won the runner-up honors with a better head-to-head record (Indians won the season series 8–2 over the White Sox).
In1994, theCleveland Indians were sitting atop the wild-card standings and would have qualified for the postseason as the AL's firstwild card but on August 12 of that year, the season came to an early end due to aplayers strike, cancelling the remainder of the regular season and postseason. The2006 Detroit Tigers were the first team from the Central to qualify as the wild card. MLB revamped the postseason starting in2012, creating a new single-game playoff where two wildcards competed against each other while the division winners each received a bye. The winner of the American Leaguewild card game moved on to face the top-seeded team of the AL in theAmerican League Division Series. In2013, the Indians became the first team from the AL Central to qualify as a wild card under the new postseason format. In2014, theKansas City Royals ended a 29-year postseason drought returning to the playoffs for the first time since winning the World Series in1985.
In 2020 only, eight teams, including the three division winners, played in a best-of-three Wild Card Series, with the winners advancing to the Division Series. Starting in 2022, the Wild Card field was increased to three teams, and along with the lowest-ranked division winner, qualified for the best-of-three Wild Card Series to determine the remaining two slots in the Division Series.
| Year | Winner | Record | % | GB | Playoff Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Detroit Tigers | 95–67 | .586 | 1 | WonALDS (Yankees) 3–1 WonALCS (Athletics) 4–0 LostWorld Series (Cardinals) 4–1 |
| 2013 | Cleveland Indians | 92–70 | .568 | 1 | LostALWC (Rays) |
| 2014 | Kansas City Royals | 89–73 | .549 | 1 | WonALWC (Athletics) WonALDS (Angels) 3–0 WonALCS (Orioles) 4–0 LostWorld Series (Giants) 4–3 |
| 2017 | Minnesota Twins | 85–77 | .525 | 17 | LostALWC (Yankees) |
| 2020† | Cleveland Indians | 35–25 | .583 | 1 | LostALWC (Yankees) 2–0 |
| Chicago White Sox | 35–25 | .583 | 1 | LostALWC (Athletics) 2–1 | |
| 2024 | Kansas City Royals** | 86–76 | .531 | 6+1⁄2 | WonALWC (Orioles) 2–0 LostALDS (Yankees) 3–1 |
| Detroit Tigers** | 86–76 | .531 | 6+1⁄2 | WonALWC (Astros) 2–0 LostALDS (Guardians) 3–2 | |
| 2025 | Detroit Tigers*** | 87–75 | .537 | 1 | WonALWC (Guardians) 2–1 LostALDS (Mariners) 3–2 |
† – Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the season was shortened to 60 games. The White Sox were tied with theCleveland Indians but lost the runner-up honors due to an inferior head-to-head record (White Sox lost the season series 2–8 to the Indians).
(**) The Tigers and Royals were tied for the 2nd Wild Card spot, but the Royals earned the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the regular season series 7–6.
(***) Finished with the same record as theHouston Astros, but won the third wild-card spot due to the Tigers winning the season series 4–2.
| (#) | Denotes team that won theWorld Series |
| (#) | Denotes team that won theAmerican League pennant, but lost World Series |
| (#) | Denotes team that qualified for theMLB postseason |
| Team | Division championships | Postseason records[a] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Year(s) | Most recent | Wild Card[b] | ALWC | ALDS | ALCS | World Series | |
| Current Teams in Division | ||||||||
| Cleveland Guardians[c] | 13 | 1995–1999, 2001, 2007, 2016–2018, 2022, 2024–2025 | 2025 | 2 | 1–2 | 6–6 | 3–3 | 0–3 |
| Minnesota Twins | 9 | 2002–2004, 2006, 2009*, 2010, 2019–2020, 2023 | 2023 | 1 | 1–2 | 1–7 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Chicago White Sox | 4 | 2000, 2005, 2008*, 2021 | 2021 | 1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Detroit Tigers | 4 | 2011–2014 | 2014 | 3 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 0–2 |
| Kansas City Royals | 1 | 2015 | 2015 | 2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Former Team in Division | ||||||||
| Milwaukee Brewers† | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Total | 30 | 1995–present | 2024 | 8 | 5–5 | 14–20 | 8–6 | 2–6 |
* – Won division via tiebreaker
† indicates no longer in division or part of AL since 1998
