Since the beginning of Major League Baseball there have been rivalries between the teams that make up the Central Division in their respective leagues. There have been 16 cases of World Series between AL and NL Central teams.
In the storied history of Central Division Rivalries the Detroit Tigers have made all but one of their World Series appearances against teams who now make their home in the NL Central. The St. Louis Cardinals have won three of their 10 ‘series titles against AL Central foes. The Cleveland Indians, though they have won two World titles and appeared in the series five times, have never faced an NL Central opponent.
Though neither Central Division existed until 1994, let’s just assume they had always been there. Here is a list and description of the World Series where the AL and NL Central Divisions have met.
White Sox v. Cubs – 1906. White Sox Win: “The hitless wonders” defeated the Cubs team which boasted the best record in baseball history (until the 2001 Seattle Mariners tied it 116 wins). In the only City Championship World Series, Ed Walsh won both of his starts and held the Cubs to a sub-.200 batting average. The Sox also hit under .200 but that was expected (their team BA was .230 on the season).
Tigers v. Cubs – 1907. Cubs Win: The first go around between these two teams. Cubs are dominant, sweeping the series 4-0 after a Game one tie due to darkness. Cubs won 107 games in the regular season.
Tigers v. Cubs – 1908. Cubs Win: The Cubs’ Tinker to Evers to Chance infield and Mordecai “Three Fingers” Brown defeated Detroit and Ty Cobb at Bennett Park in Detroit. After a long and arduous pennant races, both teams came in to the series to cap off one of the most highly revered seasons in baseball history. The White Sox, Naps (Indians) and Tigers all came down to the last days of the season to claim the AL pennant. The Cubs fought off the Pirates and the Giants; winning an extra game over NY for their pennant. The victory marked the last Cubs World Series title.
Tigers v. Pirates – 1909. Pirates Win: Ty Cobb led the Tigers to their third straight World Series; third straight series loss as well. The Ty Cobb v. Honus Wagner match-up was possibly the most anticipated face-off of the “dead ball” era.
White Sox v. Reds – 1919. Reds Win: Famous as the “Black Sox Scandal” Series, the highly favored White Sox threw games 1,2,4,5,7 in the best of nine series. Series is lengthened to get baseball back on the map after WWI. After being acquitted by a grand jury, eight members of the Sox were permanently suspended from baseball.
Washington Senators (Twins) v. Pirates – 1925. Pirates Win: The future Minnesota Twins entered their second ‘series in two years behind hall-of-famers Walter Johnson and Stan Coveleski. Vic Aldridge wins two pivotal games against Coveleski and Pittsburgh takes the series despite 2 wins by Johnson.
Tigers v. Cardinals – 1934. Cardinals Win. In the tail end of the “Gas House gang’s” reign, brothers Dizzy and Paul Dean combined to win the necessary four games to clinch. Despite the power of hall-of-famers Hank Greenberg, Goose Goslin, and Charlie Gehringer, and the presence of player-manager Mickey Cochrane the Tigers fell behind losses by ace starter “Schoolboy” Rowe.
Tigers v. Cubs – 1935. Tigers Win. Despite another 100 win season by the Cubs, NL MVP Gabby Hartnett cannot push Chicago past AL MVP Hank Greenberg and the Tigers. Greenberg missed four of six games with injury but still managed a home run in one of his eight at-bats. He had 36 homers and 170 RBI in the regular season.
Tigers v. Reds – 1940. Reds Win. Reds pitcher “Bucky” Walters is nearly unhittable as he out-duels “Schoolboy” Rowe in two separate match-ups. Walters even hits one of the series six homers. Greenberg hits one for Detroit as well.
Tigers v. Cubs – 1945. Tigers Win. Despite incredible Cubs pitching in games one and three, Hank Greenberg’s two home runs push the Tigers past the Cubs. Two victories by Tigers’ hall-of-fame starter Hal Newhouser make the weak hitting by the rest of the Tiger line-up make due against the Cubs.
Tigers v. Cardinals – 1968. Tigers Win. In one of the most exciting World Series in baseball history, 30-game winner Denny McLain faces off against 22-game winner Bob Gibson and his 1.12 season ERA. Tigers’ number two starter Mickey Lolich wins three starts against three different opposing starters including Gibson and also hits a home run. Hall-of-famers Lou Brock, Orlando Cepeda , and Al Kaline hit two home runs in the series for their respective teams.
Brewers v. Cardinals – 1982. Cardinals Win. In a series with included Bruce Sutter earning two saves and a victory out of the bullpen and a two home run game by Willie McGee, the Cardinals beat the Brewers in their one and only World Series appearance. Hall-of famer Robin Yount hit the only post season home run of his career and batted .414 with six RBI in the series.
Royals v. Cardinals – 1985. Royals Win. In the first all Missouri World Series since the St. Louis Browns and Cardinals met in 1944, Kansas City wins behind two dominant, complete games by series MVP Bret Saberhagen. KC outfielder Willie Wilson stole three bases and batted .367. In the prime of “Cat and Mouse” – base stealing – baseball, there were only 16 attempted stolen bases in the series (9 successful KC 7, STL 2). Vince Coleman, who stole 110 bases in the regular season, missed the entire series with injury.
Twins v. Cardinals – 1987. Twins Win. The Cardinals play their brand of baseball, stealing 12 bases in the series -6 by Coleman, but are simply out-slugged by the Twins. Minnesota hit seven long-balls in the series and out-scored St. Louis 38-26 in seven games. Twins starter Frank Viola wins two of his three starts in the series and gets the MVP.
White Sox v. Astros – 2005. White Sox Win. After the White Sox slid through the playoffs on the coattails of incredible pitching performances, the Sox offense clicked on in the ‘series to push their final opponents out of the way. Houston hitters, including future hall-of-famer Craig Biggio, were held to a .203 batting average in the series. Chicago pitchers came into the World Series after throwing four consecutive complete games – a modern day playoff record. Chicago hitters hit .286 in the series.
Tigers v. Cardinals – 2006. Cardinals Win. Detroit and St. Louis met for the first time since 1968 and did the rivalry no justice. The Cardinals came into the playoffs on a hot streak and rode it all the way to the series. The Cardinals won only 83 games in the regular season versus the 95 by Detroit. The Tigers committed eight errors and batted .199 in the five-game series. While ’68 does down as one of the best series’ in history, this one goes down as one of the worst.
