- List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason droughts
-
This is a list of Major League Baseball franchise postseason and World Series droughts. Those teams which have never achieved a particular accomplishment in their franchise history are listed by the date they entered the leagues. The list includes only the modern World Series between the American League and the National League, not the various 19th-century championship series.
All 16 of the original Major League franchises (i.e., those in place when the World Series began in 1903) have won the World Series, with the longest wait for a franchise's first Championship being for the Phillies (77 years, ending in 1980). Since expansion began in 1961, eight of the 14 expansion teams have never won the World Series. Further, two franchises (the Cubs and Indians) have current Championship droughts that pre-date the expansion era. The second- and third-longest Championship droughts in history (after the Cubs' current 103-year drought) were ended recently by the Red Sox (85 years, ending in 2004) and the White Sox (87 years, ending in 2005). Notably, the Cubs' current World Series drought began before the creation of any of the other three major American sports leagues—the NHL was founded in 1917, the NFL in 1920, and the NBA in 1946.
Fewer teams have never won a pennant (i.e., the league championship, the two winners of which meet in the World Series). Two expansion franchises (the Expos/Nationals and Mariners) have never won a pennant, both of which have waited for more than 30 years, and only the Cubs have a current pennant drought that pre-dates the expansion era.
Every MLB franchise has at least been to the postseason, especially since expansion of the playoffs in 1995 made that feat easier. Two franchises (the Expos/Nationals and the Royals) have waited at least a quarter-century since their most recent playoff experience.
MLB franchises with the longest current World Series crown drought
Longest World Series crown droughts through history
The first World Series was played in 1903. Note that no World Series was played in 1904 or 1994. This list only shows droughts of 30 or more seasons. Active droughts are listed in bold type.
Seasons Team Prev. Title Next Title 103 Chicago Cubs 1908 — 87 Chicago White Sox 1917 2005 85 Boston Red Sox 1918 2004 77 Philadelphia Phillies 1903* 1980 63 St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles 1903* 1966 63 Cleveland Indians 1948 — 62 Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins 1924 1987 55 New York-San Francisco Giants 1954 2010 52 Brooklyn Dodgers 1903* 1955 51 Washington Senators/Texas Rangers 1961* — 50 Houston Colt .45s/Astros 1962* — 43 Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers 1969* — 43 San Diego Padres 1969* — 43 Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals 1969* — 42 Boston-Milwaukee Braves 1914 1957 41 Philadelphia-Kansas City-Oakland Athletics 1930 1972 41 Los Angeles-California-Anaheim Angels 1961* 2002 38 Milwaukee-Atlanta Braves 1957 1995 35 Seattle Mariners 1977* — 34 Pittsburgh Pirates 1925 1960 34 Cincinnati Reds 1940 1975 32 Detroit Tigers 1903* 1935 32 Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 — * Year does not indicate a title won, but rather the team's first year of existence or the first year of the modern World Series (1903).
MLB franchises with the longest current league pennant drought
Seasons Team Last pennant 66 Chicago Cubs 1945 43 Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos) never (franchise started in 1969) 35 Seattle Mariners never (franchise started in 1977) 32 Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 29 Milwaukee Brewers 1982 (never since joining NL in 1998) 28 Baltimore Orioles 1983 26 Kansas City Royals 1985 23 Los Angeles Dodgers 1988 21 Cincinnati Reds 1990 21 Oakland Athletics 1990 20 Minnesota Twins 1991 18 Toronto Blue Jays 1993 14 Cleveland Indians 1997 13 San Diego Padres 1998 12 Atlanta Braves 1999 11 New York Mets 2000 10 Arizona Diamondbacks 2001 9 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2002 8 Florida Marlins 2003 6 Chicago White Sox 2005 6 Houston Astros 2005 5 Detroit Tigers 2006 4 Boston Red Sox 2007 4 Colorado Rockies 2007 3 Tampa Bay Rays 2008 2 New York Yankees 2009 2 Philadelphia Phillies 2009 1 San Francisco Giants 2010 0 St. Louis Cardinals 2011 0 Texas Rangers 2011 Longest major league pennant droughts through history
List begins with 1903, about the time the current configuration of National League and American League stabilized and also the year of the first World Series. Note that no pennants were won in 1994 due to strike. This list only shows droughts of 20 or more seasons. Active droughts are listed in bold type.
* Year does not indicate a pennant, but rather the team's first year of existence or the first year of the modern World Series (1903).
MLB franchises with the longest current postseason drought
Cities waiting for their first World Series crown
- Note that while neither the Washington Nationals nor Milwaukee Brewers have ever won a World Series, their cities celebrated championships with, respectively, the 1924 Senators and 1957 Braves.
City First Season Seasons waited Furthest round reached Houston 1962 50 2005 World Series San Diego 1969 43 1984 and 1998 World Series Dallas-Fort Worth 1972 40 2010 and 2011 World Series Seattle 1977 35^ 1995, 2000, and 2001 ALCS Denver 1993 19 2007 World Series Tampa Bay Area 1998 14 2008 World Series ^Not counting 1969, when the Brewers franchise played one season as the Seattle Pilots.
World Series crown droughts by region
Years during which a region did not field a MLB team are not counted.
Region Drought (seasons) Last World Series title Cleveland 63 Cleveland Indians, 1948 Milwaukee 50^ Milwaukee Braves, 1957 Houston 50** None San Diego 43** None Dallas-Ft. Worth 40** None Montreal 36**‡ None Seattle 35** None Pittsburgh 32 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1979 Baltimore-Washington 28 Baltimore Orioles, 1983 Detroit 27 Detroit Tigers, 1984 Kansas City 26 Kansas City Royals, 1985 Cincinnati 21 Cincinnati Reds, 1990 Minneapolis-St. Paul 20 Minnesota Twins, 1991 Denver 19** None Toronto 18 Toronto Blue Jays, 1993 Atlanta 16 Atlanta Braves, 1995 Tampa-St. Petersburg 14** None Phoenix 10 Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001 Greater Los Angeles Area 9 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 2002 South Florida 8 Florida Marlins, 2003 Chicago 6 Chicago White Sox, 2005 Boston 4 Boston Red Sox, 2007 Philadelphia 3 Philadelphia Phillies, 2008 New York City 2 New York Yankees, 2009 San Francisco Bay Area 1 San Francisco Giants, 2010 St. Louis 0 St. Louis Cardinals, 2011 ^region without MLB for 4 seasons (1966-1969)
‡region no longer fields a MLB team (2005-present)
**number doesn't indicate a title won, but rather total seasons played
Pennant droughts by region
Years during which a region did not field a MLB team are not counted.
‡region no longer fields a MLB team (2005-present)
**number doesn't indicate a title won, but rather total seasons played
World Series in which neither team had previously won a championship
In these instances, the World Series matchup ensured that one team would win the first championship in its history
*In these cases, each team was making its first World Series appearance. Given Major League Baseball's current membership, the only possible future instance would be a World Series between the Washington Nationals and the Seattle Mariners.
World Series in which both teams were ending 20-season-plus pennant droughts
Season Won Drought (seasons) Lost Drought (seasons) 2005 Chicago White Sox 45 Houston Astros 43 1948 Cleveland Indians 27 Boston Braves 33 World Series in which neither franchise had won a championship in 30-plus seasons
Teams that had never won the World Series are included, even if they were less than 30 seasons old at the time.
Season Won Drought (seasons) Lost Drought (seasons) 2010 San Francisco Giants 55 Texas Rangers 49* 2005 Chicago White Sox 87 Houston Astros 43* 2002 Anaheim Angels 41* San Francisco Giants 47 1997 Florida Marlins 4* Cleveland Indians 48 1995 Atlanta Braves 37 Cleveland Indians 46 1992 Toronto Blue Jays 15* Atlanta Braves 34 1980 Philadelphia Phillies 77* Kansas City Royals 11* 1975 Cincinnati Reds 34 Boston Red Sox 56 1972 Oakland Athletics 40 Cincinnati Reds 31 1920 Cleveland Indians 17* Brooklyn Dodgers 17* 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates 6* Detroit Tigers 6* 1907 Chicago Cubs 4* Detroit Tigers 4* 1906 Chicago White Sox 3* Chicago Cubs 3* 1905 New York Giants 2* Philadelphia Athletics 2* 1903 Boston Americans 0* Pittsburgh Pirates 0* Numbers marked with * indicates that the number is counted from either the franchise's first year of existence or the first year of the modern World Series (1903).
See also
- List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason streaks
- List of National Basketball Association franchise post-season droughts
- List of National Football League franchise post-season droughts
- List of National Hockey League franchise post-season droughts
World Series 2010 • 2011 • 2012No series was held in 1904 because the NL Champions refused to participate; the 1994 Series was canceled due to a players' strike.Pre-World Series champions • World Series champions • Most Valuable Players • Starting Pitchers • Babe Ruth Award • Commissioner's Trophy • Droughts
Broadcasters • TV ratings • ALCS • NLCS • ALDS • NLDS • 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake • Temple Cup • Chronicle-Telegraph Cup • Game sevenCategories:- Major League Baseball playoffs and champions
- Major League Baseball records
- Playoff streaks
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
