CHICAGO — Cleveland Guardians catcher Austin Hedges offered a hot take during spring training.At that time, the Detroit Tigers were the prohibitive AL Central favorite. The Kansas City Royals were a trendy pick. But the Chicago White Sox had Hedges’ attention. Laugh all you want, he said, but Chicago would prove to be a thorn in the side of the eventual AL Central winner (which, of course, he identified as his Guardians).The Guardians and White Sox will clash for the first time this week on the South Side of Chicago, and as the prophetic catcher foretold, AL Central supremacy is up for grabs. These two valiant heavyweights, both charter members of the American League with rich histories dating to 1901, have experience in jockeying for the top spot in this division.They fought for the Central in 1994 before a work stoppage wiped out what could have been an enthralling pennant race. They fought for the Central in 1997 before the White Sox infamously waved the white flag at the trade deadline and Cleveland cruised to the World Series. They fought for the Central in 2000, when the White Sox finally interrupted Cleveland’s reign. They fought for the Central in 2005, when Ozzie Guillen placed his hands around his neck to mock Cleveland’s choking away a playoff berth in the final week of the regular season, with his team sealing Cleveland’s fate en route to its first championship in 88 years. They fought for the Central in 2022, when shortstop Elvis Andrus predicted Cleveland would “crumble” down the stretch, but the Guardians instead surged to a division title, sweeping away the White Sox in Chicago along the way. They fought, quite literally, in 2023, when José Ramírez socked the talent out of Tim Anderson with the right jab heard ’round the Midwest.Why it's too early to talk about the MLB trade deadlineKen RosenthalHere these adversaries stand once again, ready to duke it out for first place in the division. They’ll play 13 times over the next three months, with an AL Central crown, a possible first-round bye, a well-paved path to a deep October run and the fate of the universe, among other things, at stake.Only, these two teams were never supposed to wield so much influence. No, Hedges’ proclamation be damned, these were projected to be the chumps bringing up the rear in the rear end of MLB divisions.