USA TODAY Sports
In the past several seasons, the National League Central has been dominated by the St. Louis Cardinals with the Pittsburgh Pirates still making the playoffs as a Wild Card in the last two seasons. Now this season, the Chicago Cubs join the party in a three-team race for the ages.
Make no mistake, the Cardinals are the clear favorites in the division given the fact that they’re six games ahead of the Pirates and six and a half games ahead of the Cubs. However, based on how hot the two teams behind them have been, the Cardinals still aren’t a sure bet.
Here is a look at the current (as of the morning of June 24) NL Central Standings:
Cardinals: 46-24 (division leader)
Pirates: 40-30 (6 games back)
Cubs: 39-30 (6.5 games back)
Cincinnati Reds: 32-37 (13.5 games back)
Milwaukee Brewers: 26-46 (21 games back)
The tale of the Cubs and Pirates are very different, but they’re in very similar places now. The Pirates didn’t finish over .500 for over 20 seasons, but now they’re routinely competitive. Meanwhile, the Cubs haven’t made the playoffs since 2008, but they look to be on track for that right now.
Of course, the Cardinals are the model franchise in terms of player development. They’re routinely competitive and this looks like one of their best regular seasons in quite some time.
Since there are only three competitive teams, it may not seem like the NL Central is baseball’s best, but the fact that these three teams are the best in the entire National League shows it is surely the best in that league. As far as the American League, only the East division can compete.
Even the AL East, though composed of a bunch of mediocre-to-good teams, is not a legit contender. In fact, the Cubs, who are in third place in the NL Central, would be tied for first place in the AL East.
Whether or not the Pirates and Cubs push the Cardinals down the stretch this season, the NL Central has been fun to watch this season. And it figures to be even more fun to watch in the season’s second half.
