League National League Founded 1994 | Sport Major League Baseball No. of teams 5 | |
Most recent NL Central champion(s) Chicago Cubs
(4th title) Most NL Central titles St. Louis Cardinals (10) | ||
The National League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the National League West (the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros) and three teams from the National League East (the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the St. Louis Cardinals).
Contents
- Current members
- Former member
- Division lineups
- Champions by year
- National League Championships
- Wild card winners
- NL Central titles won by team
- References
When the division was created in 1994, the Pirates were originally supposed to stay in the East while the Atlanta Braves were to be moved to the Central from the West. However, the Braves, wanting to form a natural rivalry with the expansion Florida Marlins (a rivalry that as of today has yet to develop, largely due to the Marlins being noncompetitive except for their two World Series-winning seasons), requested to be moved to the East instead. Despite the Marlins offering to go to the Central, the Pirates instead gave up its spot in the East to the Braves. Since then, the Pirates have tried several times unsuccessfully to be placed back in the East.
In 1998, the NL Central became the largest division in Major League Baseball when the Milwaukee Brewers were moved in from the American League Central. In 2013, the Astros moved to the American League West.
This division has been dominated by the Cardinals, who have accounted for ten of the 22 division championships, plus three wild card wins. Aside from the Cardinals, the Astros and Cubs have the most division championships with four, as well as two wild card wins each. The Reds have three division titles, along with one wild card win. The Brewers have one divisional championship, with one wild card win. The Pirates have not won the division since the division was created, but possesses three wild card wins. The 2013 win was the team's first playoff berth since 1992.
Current members
Former member
Division lineups
Place cursor over year for division champ or World Series team.
A 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) B Milwaukee switched leagues due to the 1998 expansion, moving in from AL Central C Houston switched leagues after the 2012 season, and joined the AL WestChampions by year
§ – Due to the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike on August 12, no official winner was awarded. Cincinnati was leading at the time of the strike.
* – The Astros and Cardinals finished with identical regular season records. Because the Astros edged the Cardinals in head-to-head games, 9-7, they were awarded the National League Central division title, and the Cardinals were designated as winners of the National League Wild Card.
National League Championships
The division has produced six National League Pennant winners: St. Louis in 2004, 2006, 2011 and 2013, Houston in 2005, and Chicago in 2016. 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, won the 2011 World Series in seven games, and lost the 2013 World Series in six games. The Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series in seven games.
Wild-card winners
The wild card was introduced in 1994 and was initially assigned to the team with the best record in each league that did not win its division. The first year of implementation was 1995 as a player strike prematurely ended the 1994 season. Since implementation, each NL Central teams has won the wild card. In 2012, a second wild card was added to post-season play.
* – 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.
** – Starting with the 2012 season, there will be two Wild Card winners in each league. The qualifiers will play a single-game playoff to determine who will face the top-seeded team in the National League Division Series.
NL Central titles won by team
* – Via tiebreaker over St. Louis
Italics indicates former division member