After years of the Detroit Tigers carrying the flag and the hopes for the American League Central Division, the Kansas City Royals not only picked up the ball and ran with it, they took it all the way to glory, winning the World Series in 2015, the first Fall Classic captured by an American League Central ball club since the Chicago White Sox earned the title in 2005. The Royals, who played in both the 2014 and 2015 World Series, ended a 30-year title drought with their World Series victory over the New York Mets.
The rest of the division is still waiting. It’s been a decade for the White Sox but that’s a picnic compared to the other three American League Central teams. The Minnesota Twins last won the World Series in 1991 and the Tigers were most recently crowned champions of Major League Baseball in 1984. Reverse those final two digits and you’ve got the last World Series win by the Cleveland Indians, which came in 1948.
Best AL Central Betting Lines
When planning your forthchoming American League Central bets, make sure to reference the latest game lines which can be seen below. It will help your returns significantly.
World Series success hasn’t been coming of late to American League Central Division teams, although the division has played in the past three Fall Classics. The Detroit Tigers lost both the 2012 and 2006 World Series, and until the Kansas City Royals came along to make back-to-back World Series appearances in 2014-15, winning in 2015, followed by Cleveland representing the AL in the 2016 World Series, those two Detroit losses were the only appearances in the World Series by an American League Central Division club since the Chicago White Sox won the 2005 Fall Classic.
The White Sox ended a World Series drought that had extended back to 1917 with their 2005 win, but the Cleveland Indians weren’t as lucky in 1995 or 1997 or in 2016, losing the Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins and Chicago Cubs.
You can’t say that the American League Central Division teams haven’t been given chances for postseason success. The Tigers have appeared in the playoffs five times since 2006 but have won just one World Series game in that span. The Indians have made the playoffs three times since 2007, while the Minnesota were playoff participants six times between 2002-10.
What Are The AL Central standings
Here are the American League Central Division standings, and they figure to be a tight battle all season.
The Cleveland Indians look to be the class of the group, winning the ALCS in 2016 and adding slugger Edwin Encarnacion as a free agent in the off-season. The Detroit Tigers are an aging club in regression, and after successive World Series appearances in 2014-15, the wheels completely came off for the Kansas City Royals in 2016.
The Minnesota Twins were baseball’s worst team in 2016 and face a long road back to respectability.
Cleveland Indians betting tips
The Cleveland Indians were a win away from their first World Series title since 1948, up 3-1 in the 2016 Fall Classic on the Chicago Cubs, but couldn't close the deal and lost in seven games.
Equipped with a stellar starting rotation and lights out bullpen, the Tribe went out and signed the best available free agent slugger, adding Edwin Encarnacion from Toronto. Cleveland will be tough to beat in 2017.
Tigers An Intriguing Team
It's hard to say what kind of year it will be for the Detroit Tigers. Key players in their lineup such as Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Justin Verlander and Ian Kinsler are a year older.
With the death in the late winter of team owner Mike Ilitch, definitely the main baseball guy in the family, will the surviving Ilitches hold a fire sale of talent if the club goes south in the standings?
Ready to wager on American League Central Division baseball? Study the table below of the top online sportsbooks and pick the one that feels right to you.
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