(Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
Last season, the National League Central division was a two-team race between the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers.
St. Louis ultimately emerged victorious, winning 93 games and finishing seven ahead of the Brewers to capture their 13th NL Central title.
The Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Pittsburgh Pirates all struggled tremendously last season.
However, things look a little bit different in 2023.
The Pirates have busted out of the gates and taken the top spot in the division.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are at the bottom.
With the NL Central expected to be a weaker division entering 2023, it appeared that by signing Willson Contreras, St. Louis had done enough to win the division.
On Twitter, John Denton tweeted a graphic that shows why the Cardinals may have had a false sense of security.
Through the years, the #STLCards have been accused of fattening up on weak NL Central competition & that’s been true with the #Pirates, #Reds & #Cubs being in rebuild mode for seasons.
This season, the NL Central is holding its own vs. other MLB competition, per MLB Research: pic.twitter.com/FlbLFyjP3h
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) April 28, 2023
This season, the NL Central is much tougher than expected.
The graphic shows that the division is actually faring quite well against teams in other divisions.
The NL Central has the second-best record in baseball against non-divisional opponents at 68-58.
That adds up to a .540 winning percentage.
St. Louis was projected by many to be the clear-cut favorite in the NL Central this year.
But baseball is rarely that simple, and it appears that their lack of activity beyond signing Contreras has come back to haunt them early this season.
The Cardinals are just 10-16 to start the season and own the third-worst record in the National League.
Only the Washington Nationals and Colorado Rockies have worse records than St. Louis this year.
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