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).
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, requested to remain in the East.
Despite the Marlins offering to go to the Central, the Pirates instead gave up their 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 11 of the 25 division championships, plus three wild card wins.
Aside from the Cardinals, the Cubs have the second most division championships with six, as well as three wild card wins.
The Astros have four division titles and two wild card wins.
The Reds have three division titles, along with one wild card win.
The Brewers have three divisional championships, with two wild card wins.
The Pirates have not won the division since the division was created, but possess three wild card wins.
The 2013 win was the Pirates’ first playoff berth since 1992.
The current division champion for the NL Central is the 2021 Milwaukee Brewers.
This is the third division championship for the Brewers, winning last in 2018.
Division membership
Current members
Chicago Cubs – Founding member; formerly of the NL East
Cincinnati Reds – Founding member; formerly of the NL West
Milwaukee Brewers - Since 1998; formerly of the AL West, AL East, AL Central
Pittsburgh Pirates – Founding member; formerly of the NL East
St. Louis Cardinals – Founding member; formerly of the NL East
Former member
Houston Astros – Founding member; formerly of the NL West; moved to the AL West in 2013
Division lineups
Place cursor over year for division champ or World Series team.
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)
Milwaukee switched leagues due to the 1998 expansion, moving in from AL Central
Houston switched leagues after the 2012 season, and joined the AL West
Champions by year
Team names link to the season in which each team played
§ – Due to the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike on August 12, no official winner was awarded.
Cincinnati was leading by half a game over Houston 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.
† – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was shortened to 60 games.
By virtue of the eight-team postseason format used for that season, division runner-up St. Louis (30–28, .517) also automatically qualified for the playoffs.
The St. Louis Cardinals Lost NLWC (Padres) 2–1.
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.
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 of the 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 are 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.
†† – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was shortened to 60 games.
*** – Finished with the same record as the San Francisco Giants but won the wild-card spot due to a superior intra-divisional record (Brewers went 19–21 vs. the NL Central while the Giants went 18–22 vs. the NL West).
Season results
;Notes and Tiebreakers
Chicago and San Francisco of the National League West were tied for the wild-card berth and played in a tie-breaker game.
The Cubs won 5–3 to claim the wild-card spot.
Cincinnati and New York of the National League East were tied for the wild-card berth and played in a tie-breaker game.
The Reds lost 5–0 and were eliminated from postseason contention.
St. Louis and Atlanta of the National League East were tied for the second and third seed but the Cardinals claimed the second seed by winning the season series 4–3.
Houston and St. Louis were tied for the division championship and wild-card berth but the Astros claimed the division crown by winning the season series 9–7, relegating St. Louis to the wild-card spot.
Milwaukee and Chicago were tied for the division championship and first wild-card berth and played in a tie-breaker game.
The Brewers won 3–1 to claim the division crown, while the Cubs were relegated to the first wild-card spot.
Milwaukee and San Francisco of the National League West were tied for the second wild-card berth but the Brewers clinched the final postseason spot due to a superior intra-division record (Milwaukee had a 19–21 record while San Francisco had an 18–22 record).
NL Central titles won by team
* – Won division via tiebreakerItalics indicates former division member See also
National League East
National League West
American League East
American League Central
American League West
References
MLB Final Standings By Year
External links
MLB Regular Season Standings
