National League Central

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The National League Central Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. It was created in 1994, merging two teams from the West (Cincinnati and Houston) and three teams from the East (Chicago, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis) divisions of the National League. In 1998 it became the largest division in Major League Baseball, with the addition of a sixth member (Milwaukee).

Current members

Division Lineups

1994-1997

  • Chicago Cubs
  • Cincinnati Reds
  • Houston Astros
  • Pittsburgh Pirates
  • St. Louis Cardinals

Changes from 1993

  • Creation of division due to 1994 MLB realignment
    • Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals moved in from the NL East
    • Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros moved in from the NL West

1998-present

  • Chicago Cubs
  • Cincinnati Reds
  • Houston Astros
  • Milwaukee Brewers
  • Pittsburgh Pirates
  • St. Louis Cardinals

Changes from 1997

  • Milwaukee Brewers moved in from the AL Central, due to 1998 MLB expansion. The Kansas City Royals, also from the AL Central, were given the opportunity to move to the NL Central, but the team's board of directors declined. [1]

Division champions

Year Winner Record % Playoffs
1994 Cincinnati Reds§ 66-48 .579 No 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 St. Louis Cardinals & Houston Astros† 93-69 .574 Lost NLDS to Arizona, 3-2/Lost NLDS to Atlanta, 3-0
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 84-76 .525 TBD

§ - Due to the players' strike, no official winner was awarded. Cincinnati was leading at 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.[2]

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 MLB to be the first shared divisional championship in MLB history.[3]

National League Championships

The division has produced three National League Pennant winners: St. Louis in 2004 and 2006 and Houston in 2005. In 2004 and 2005 the American League Champions swept both World Series and in 2006 the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in five games.

Wildcard winners

The Wildcard is given to the team in each league with the best record that did not win its division and was first introduced in 1994, however, the system was not implemented until the following season, as a player strike prematurely ended the 1994 season. Since its implementation four NL Central teams have won this award.

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, 4-0

* - 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.

NL Central Titles Won By Team

Team Number of Championship(s)Won Last Year Won
St. Louis Cardinals 7 2006
Houston Astros 4 2001
Chicago Cubs 2 2007
Cincinnati Reds 1 1995

See also

Reference

  1. ^ Mellinger, Sam. NL grass looks greener now Kansas City Star, 10 June 2007.
  2. ^ http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/teams/nl/cardinals.htm< Baseball Hall of Fame Official Site
  3. ^ http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/stl/components/history/comp_timeline_2001.jsp
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