National League Central


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 and three teams from the National League East.
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, which gave them six teams. In 2013, the Astros moved to the American League West.
This division has been dominated by the Cardinals, who have accounted for 12 of the 26 division championships, plus three wild card appearances. Aside from the Cardinals, the Cubs and the Brewers both have the second-most division championships with six, as well as four wild card appearances for the Cubs and three for the Brewers. The Astros had four division titles and two wild card appearances, while the Reds have three division titles, along with one wild card appearance. The Pirates have never won the NL Central, though they do possess three wild card appearances.

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

    Membership timeline

'''Place cursor over year for division champ or World Series team.'''

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 won the season series 9–7 against the Cardinals, they were awarded the National League Central division title, and the Cardinals were declared the National League Wild Card team.
† – 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 also automatically qualified for the playoffs.

Other postseason teams

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, and in 2022, a third was also added.
YearWinnerRecord%GBPlayoff Results
1998Chicago Cubs*90–73.55212.5Lost NLDS 3–0
2001St. Louis Cardinals†93–69.5740Lost NLDS 3–2
2004Houston Astros92–70.56813Won NLDS 3–2
Lost NLCS 4–3
2005Houston Astros89–73.54911Won NLDS 3–1
Won NLCS 4–2
Lost World Series 4–0
2008Milwaukee Brewers90–72.5567.5Lost NLDS 3–1
2011St. Louis Cardinals90–72.5566Won NLDS 3–2
Won NLCS 4–2
Won World Series 4–3
2012St. Louis Cardinals**88–74.5439Won NLWC
Won NLDS 3–2
Lost NLCS 4–3
2013Pittsburgh Pirates**94–68.5803Won NLWC
Lost NLDS 3–2
2013Cincinnati Reds**90–72.5567Lost NLWC
2014Pittsburgh Pirates**88–74.5432Lost NLWC
2015Pittsburgh Pirates**98–64.6052Lost NLWC
2015Chicago Cubs**97–65.5993Won NLWC
Won NLDS 3–1
Lost NLCS 4–0
2018Chicago Cubs**95–68.5831Lost NLWC
2019Milwaukee Brewers**89–73.5492Lost NLWC
2020††St. Louis Cardinals**30–28.5173Lost NLWC 2–1
2020††Cincinnati Reds**31–29.5173Lost NLWC 2–0
2020††Milwaukee Brewers** ***29–31.4835Lost NLWC 2–0
2021St. Louis Cardinals**90–72.5565Lost NLWC
2025Chicago Cubs**92–70.5685Won NLWC 2–1
Lost NLDS 3–2
2025Cincinnati Reds** ****83–79.51214Lost NLWC 2–0

* – 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.
** – From 2012 to 2019, and in 2021, the Wild Card was expanded to two teams. Those teams faced each other in the Wild Card Game to determine the final participant in the National League Division Series. In 2020 only, eight teams, including the three division winners, played in a best-of-three Wild Card Series, with the winners advancing to the Division Series. Starting in 2022, the Wild Card field was increased to three teams, and along with the lowest-ranked division winner, qualified for the best-of-three Wild Card Series to determine the remaining two slots in the 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.
**** – Finished with the same record as the New York Mets, but won the wild-card spot due to the Reds winning the season series 4–2.

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.
  • Cincinnati and the New York Mets of the National League East were tied for the third wild-card berth, but the Reds clinched the final postseason spot by winning the season series 4–2

    NL Central statistics

  • – Won division via tiebreaker
indicates no longer in division or part of NL since 2013

Rivalries