NEW YORK — The AL Central is good?
The AL Central is good.
Yes, you read that correctly. Contrary to the expectations of many around the game, the group has been one of the best and most consistent divisions in the game. It’s currently the only division in the American League that would have three teams make the postseason if they started today.
Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was one of the few people who saw this coming.
“I think the teams in our division are much better than what the media has covered,” Vogt said on May 6. “Everybody got better and I think, for us, I try not to look at the standings. I try not to look and see but you notice that you have four teams doing really, really well, and I’m not surprised by that. This is a good division. It’s a tough division, and everybody’s playing good ball right now.”
At the time, the first-year manager’s outlook on the division seemed premature. But with just five weeks left in the season, he could not have been any more right. His Guardians are 73-53 entering play Thursday, and the Royals and Twins are both 71-56.
What did Vogt see that others didn’t? Why was he so sure?
“Not knowing a whole lot about it, but then doing my homework once I got the job, they play good baseball in the Central. Everyone,” Vogt told Yahoo Sports. “It’s fundamental. It’s not sit back and wait for the three-run homer. You make things happen, you know?
“The Twins have been good for years and the Royals are up-and-coming, and they made some good key additions. … So it’s just a good division of baseball and they play good, clean baseball. You never know what’s going to happen in games like that. So it’s going to come down to the wire. We know that because these are really good teams that are going to be battling.”
The Guardians have been leading the division for most of the year, and while they still hold a 2.5-game lead, they’ve had a lull since the All-Star break. Their offense, which carried them in the first half, sits in the bottom half of the league in that span. And while the bullpen has continued to thrive, their starters have an ERA near 5.
And while the Guardians haven’t been horrible by any stretch, conversely, the Royals have started to hit their stride at the right time, with Kansas City going 19-11 since the break. Minnesota has stayed somewhat steady, going 16-14 in that span.
We’ve already seen teams like the Mariners enter a tailspin when the teams behind them in the standings get hot. But amid its tough stretch, Cleveland isn’t going to hit the panic button. The Guardians have made a habit of getting to the postseason in recent years, and this year, despite increased pressure from KC and Minnesota, the expectations are the same.
“Today’s the only day that matters,” catcher Austin Hedges told Yahoo Sports. “We got to go out and win today. It’s distracting when you feel like you’re playing really great baseball, then you have a couple other teams that are right there with you. But at the same time, we’d love to win the division, but our goal is not to win the division.
“I was on a World Series team last year [in Texas] that did not win the division. You could even say that getting a first-round bye isn’t an advantage, because you’re about to play a team that just won a playoff series. And there’s no type of momentum like winning a playoff series and then going into playing another team who just was practicing for a week. That’s a tough thing to do.”
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There doesn’t seem to be any panic in the Guardians’ clubhouse, even with two teams behind them breathing down their neck in the AL Central. And Cleveland also has an opportunity to take care of business themselves, with seven more games against Kansas City and four against Minnesota in September.
The AL Central hasn’t had a close race at the top like this since 2014. With five weeks left until the end of the season, all three teams look prepared for a photo finish.
