When looking at the AL Central standings, we see the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Guardians as the holders of the top spot with a 57-52 record.
Those two have been the best teams in an otherwise weak division this year.
However, the current AL Central champions, the Chicago White Sox, can’t be ruled out yet.
“White Sox enter today 1 1/2 games behind the Guardians and Twins, 2 1/2 back in the third AL Wild Card, 3 back in the second Wild Card and 4 back in the top Wild Card,” Scott Merkin, MLB.com’s beat writer for the White Sox, tweeted.
White Sox enter today 1 1/2 games behind the Guardians and Twins, 2 1/2 back in the third AL Wild Card, 3 back in the second Wild Card and 4 back in the top Wild Card.
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) August 10, 2022
Three Teams Will Be Vying For The AL Central Division Title
Winning the AL Central division is very important, because with the quality of competition in the American League and the somewhat mediocre season the three top squads are having to this point, there are no guarantees that the two teams that fail to take the division crown can make the postseason via the Wild Card.
Before Wednesday’s games, four teams in the AL East, for example, have a better record than the top two organizations in the Central: the New York Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Baltimore Orioles.
The White Sox and Guardians failed to do much at the trade deadline, but the Twins did bring in some reinforcements to the starting rotation and bullpen.
It will be a fascinating three-team race from this point until the end of the season, and every squad knows that they should shoot for the division.
The playoff picture in the American League is as exciting as ever, thanks to the new format that has six teams playing in October.
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