Royals fans set to declare allegiance amid historic Tigers-Guardians AL Central duel

There's a certain element of gloominess around the Royals fanbase at the moment, after Kansas City was mathematically eliminated from postseason contention on Tuesday evening.

This has forced the Royals faithful to shift their focus elsewhere, whether it be in smaller 2025 storylines, the 2026 offseason or perhaps the historic race that's unfolding in their own divisional backyard at the moment.

Major League Baseball is witnessing a battle for the ages right now, as the Cleveland Guardians are on the verge of pulling off what was once considered the unthinkable just months ago.

On July 6, the Detroit Tigers built a 15.5 game lead over the Guardians and as recently as Aug. 25, that lead still looked insurmountable at 12.5 games.

But now nearly a month later, Cleveland sits tied with Detroit atop the Central record-wise, and due to owning the tiebreaker, they do in fact now hold the division's first position.

For Royals fans though, they sit in somewhat of a catch 22 situation. Obviously they would rather be the one in this position, but now they're forced to watch October from the sidelines.

Everyone has their preferences, and even if it's amongst a pair of division rivals, surely Royals fans will have one of the two teams in mind for whom they'd rather see nab the Central.

And it appears that preference is starting to make itself known.

Royals fans ready to declare allegiance amid historic Tigers-Guardians AL Central battle

Before the Royals laid claim to the division back in 2015, it was the Tigers who were the perennial champions of the Central, claiming the title in each of the four seasons prior (2011-2014).

Despite not laying claim to the division since, the Tigers-Royals rivalry seems as strong as ever and some fans and well-regarded Royals pundits have started to show there preference towards the Guardians amidst the Tigers' slide in the standings.

Obviously this isn't unanimous, as some may very well prefer a changing of the guard (no pun intended) from the reigning champion Guardians - who also happen to be the most frequent division champion since it's 1994 inception.

At the end of the day though, everyone loves an underdog story - which Royals fans can certainly speak to better than most - and that's precisely what Cleveland is providing the baseball world with at the moment.

The two bitter battling rivals will square off for Game 2 of their three-game midweek series on Wednesday night at 5:40 p.m. CT from Progressive Field in Cleveland, which will likely grab the attention of the Royals faithful before their game in Anaheim gets underway at 8:38 p.m. CT.