With the MLB playoffs underway, few division races in baseball history have been as interesting as this year’s American League (AL) Central. For anyone just tuning in, the Cleveland Guardians overtook the Detroit Tigers to win the division by a single game. In the process, the Guardians overcame a 15½ game deficit in July, surpassing the 1914 Boston Braves for biggest rebound in a season.
Resulting from the competitive finish, the Tigers and Guardians faced each other in the AL Wild Card Series, a best-of-three matchup to determine who would advance to the American League Division Series (ALDS). After all the drama and excitement down the stretch, the Tigers won the series 2-1, barely holding off the Guardians. The Tigers had lost a staggering 17 games in the month of September but found a way to advance in the playoffs.
Since its formation, the AL Central has been defined by unpredictability and has produced some of the most memorable division races in recent baseball history. The following provides an overview of past division winners and highlights a few of the most notable races.
Unpredictable Beginnings: The Early Years of the AL Central
The AL Central was established as part of an MLB realignment in 1994. One of the biggest what ifs in baseball is the 1994 strike-shortened season, which could have potentially featured a World Series team from the AL Central, most likely either the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Indians (now known as the Guardians). At the time of the strike, the defending AL West Division champion White Sox held a one game lead over the Indians with less than 50 games remaining. The White Sox roster featured reigning AL MVP Frank Thomas and AL Cy Young Award winner Jack McDowell, while the Indians fielded a dynamic young team with players such as Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, and Bartolo Colon. Although many viewed the Indians as a team of the future, they were ahead of schedule, leading the league in several hitting statistical categories in 1994.
Over the course of the 1990s, the Indians won five consecutive AL Central titles, posting the best record in MLB in 1995 and 1996 with 100 and 99 wins, respectively. They also won the AL pennant in 1995 and 1997 but lost in the World Series both times, to the Braves and the Marlins. In 1997, the White Sox made one of the most controversial moves in MLB history, surprising their fanbase by trading away three key pitchers at the beginning of August. Known as the “White Flag Trade,” the White Sox orchestrated these changes while only 3½ behind in the division, prompting many fans and media to feel the organization gave up.
The White Sox and Indians alternated division victories in 2000 and 2001. The 2000 White Sox, powered by sluggers Frank Thomas, Magglio Ordóñez, and Paul Konerko, surprised many by winning the division by five games over the Indians.
For the next three seasons (2002-04), the Minnesota Twins were kings of the AL Central Division under manager Ron Gardenhire and were a constant presence throughout the decade. They were a team known for their gritty, small ball approach and strong pitching, featuring standout players like Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Torii Hunter, Johan Santana, and Joe Nathan. During the 2003 regular season, the Twins had a .500 record on August 1st, trailing the White Sox. The teams went back and forth for most of the season before the Twins permanently took the lead in August.
The Middle Years: Echoes of a Familiar Race
Both 2005 and 2006 bore some resemblance to this season’s AL Central race. The 2005 White Sox led the division for nearly the entire year, holding a commanding 15-game lead over the Indians on August 1st. However, they cooled off late in the regular season while the Indians went on a remarkable run, winning 17 of 19 games. The White Sox barely held on in late September.
Despite this tight finish, the 2005 White Sox were the first AL Central team to win the World Series, racking up a dominant postseason record of 11-1. Managed by Ozzie Guillén, this underrated team featured steady hitters like Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, Scott Podsednik, A.J. Pierzynski, combined with a solid pitching staff that included Mark Buehrle, José Contreras, Jon Garland, and Freddy Garcia. The White Sox were given 22-to-1 odds of winning the World Series before the season, according to Herald-Tribune.
The 2006 season unfolded very similarly to 2025. The Detroit Tigers led the division for most of 2006, with the defending World Series champion Chicago White Sox firmly in second place. However, the Twins went on a remarkable run, winning 19 of 20 games in June after starting the season with a 25-33 record. They eventually surpassed the White Sox in the standings and caught the Tigers in the final week of the season, winning the division by one game. All three teams won at least 90 games, with the Twins and Tigers making the postseason. In the playoffs, the Twins were swept in the ALDS, while the Tigers lost in the World Series—Quite an impressive season considering that the Tigers had set an AL record for losses just three years earlier.
With a talented core of Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, and C.C. Sabathia, the Indians won a stand alone division title in 2007. The Indians would not win another division title for nearly ten years. In both 2008 and 2009, the ALDS berths were decided by one-game playoffs: the White Sox defeated the Twins in 2008, and the Twins were victorious against the Tigers in a 12-inning thriller in 2009. Both games were decided by a one-run margin.
The Twins won another division title in 2010 before the Tigers won four straight from 2010 to 2013. In 2012, the year Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown, the Tigers made a September comeback to pass the White Sox, win the AL Central Division, and earn a another trip to the World Series, where they were swept by the San Francisco Giants.
No Blueprint, Just Baseball: The AL Central Over the Last Decade
The Royals, after nearly 30 years without a playoff appearance, surprised the baseball world by reaching back-to-back World Series in 2014 and 2015. This unique team was led by homegrown talent such as Salvador Perez, Mike Moustakas, Alex Gordon, and Erik Hosmer. Defying the recent MLB home run trend, the Royals won with contact hitting, speed on the base paths, and elite defense. After losing the 2014 World Series in a hard-fought seven games to the Giants, they came back in 2015 to defeat the New York Mets in five games, becoming only the second AL Central team to win a World Series.
Outside of a brief two-year playoff run by the White Sox in 2020 and 2021, the Twins won the AL Central in 2019, 2020, and 2023, including an impressive 101 win season in 2019. Three teams from the division made the playoffs in 2020. The 2023 AL Central race was more about survival than dominance as the Twins secured the division title with 87 victories, while the remaining four teams finished with losing records.
For the past decade, the Indians—renamed the Guardians in 2022—have reached the postseason seven times in the last ten years and won the AL Central title in six of those seasons. Manager Terry Francona led them to five division titles before retiring in 2023. In 2016, they lost the World Series to the Chicago Cubs in heartbreaking seven game series, 4-3. The decisive seventh game was a one run contest that went into extra innings.
As this season’s ALDS approaches, the Tigers stand as the lone survivors from the AL Central and are looking to rebound from late-season struggles to win their first World Series title since 1984. Their series against the Seattle Mariners is set to begin on Saturday.