The American League Central has never been a powerhouse on the national scene. Producing just one world champion since its inception, the AL Central has simply contributed the mandatory one team to the playoffs every year with very little success.
In the weak division, the Minnesota Twins have had the most success this past decade, though the White Sox claimed a World Championship in 2005. Because of the generally-small payrolls of the division, a combination of accurate scouting and consistent player development has paid off for the Twins, as they have brought home the division crown five times in the past ten years.
This year, there are two clear tiers of teams in the division. The Twins, Tigers, and White Sox will be competing for the first three slots, while the Indians and Royals will duke it out in the basement. While the Game 163s that have been required in the past two years indicate the division’s intense competitiveness, the AL Central is very weak on the national scale.
Each team in the top tier have one of offense, starting pitching, relief pitching, but have failed to combine all three for quite some time. This year is no different.
Although I hate to sound pessimistic, the AL Central winner will most probably draw the toughest American League team in October and be knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. It’s happened before, and it will likely happen again. It doesn’t make the regular season any less thrilling, though.
Click here to find out how I see the AL Central playing out in 2010!
