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 104-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 35 years, and only the Cubs (at 67 years) 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. Only three franchises (the Royals, Pirates, and Blue Jays) have current postseason droughts of 19 years or more, while all others are at 11 years or less. In 2012, the Nationals broke their franchise postseason drought of 31 years (since the 1981 playoff appearance of the Montreal Expos) and a 79-year postseason drought for the city of Washington (since the Senators' 1933 pennant).
Longest current World Series championship drought [edit]
Longest World Series championship droughts through history [edit]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 104 | Chicago Cubs | 1908 | — |
| 87 | Chicago White Sox | 1917 | 2005 |
| 85 | Boston Red Sox | 1918 | 2004 |
| 77 | Philadelphia Phillies | 1903* | 1980 |
| 64 | Cleveland Indians | 1948 | — |
| 63 | St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles | 1903* | 1966 |
| 62 | Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins | 1924 | 1987 |
| 55 | New York-San Francisco Giants | 1954 | 2010 |
| 52 | Brooklyn Dodgers | 1903* | 1955 |
| 52 | Washington Senators/Texas Rangers | 1961* | — |
| 51 | Houston Colt .45s/Astros | 1962* | — |
| 44 | Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers | 1969* | — |
| 44 | San Diego Padres | 1969* | — |
| 44 | 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 |
| 36 | Seattle Mariners | 1977* | — |
| 34 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1925 | 1960 |
| 34 | Cincinnati Reds | 1940 | 1975 |
| 33 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1979 | — |
| 32 | Detroit Tigers | 1903* | 1935 |
* 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).
Longest current Major League pennant drought [edit]
| Seasons | Team | Last pennant |
|---|---|---|
| 67 | Chicago Cubs | 1945 |
| 44 | Washington Nationals | never (franchise started in 1969) |
| 36 | Seattle Mariners | never (franchise started in 1977) |
| 33 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1979 |
| 30 | Milwaukee Brewers | 1982 (never since joining NL in 1998) |
| 29 | Baltimore Orioles | 1983 |
| 27 | Kansas City Royals | 1985 |
| 24 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1988 |
| 22 | Cincinnati Reds | 1990 |
| 22 | Oakland Athletics | 1990 |
| 21 | Minnesota Twins | 1991 |
| 19 | Toronto Blue Jays | 1993 |
| 15 | Cleveland Indians | 1997 |
| 14 | San Diego Padres | 1998 |
| 13 | Atlanta Braves | 1999 |
| 12 | New York Mets | 2000 |
| 11 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 2001 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 2002 |
| 9 | Miami Marlins | 2003 |
| 7 | Chicago White Sox | 2005 |
| 7 | Houston Astros | 2005 |
| 5 | Boston Red Sox | 2007 |
| 5 | Colorado Rockies | 2007 |
| 4 | Tampa Bay Rays | 2008 |
| 3 | New York Yankees | 2009 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Phillies | 2009 |
| 1 | St. Louis Cardinals | 2011 |
| 1 | Texas Rangers | 2011 |
| 0 | Detroit Tigers | 2012 |
| 0 | San Francisco Giants | 2012 |
Longest Major League pennant droughts through history [edit]
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).
Longest current postseason drought [edit]
World Series championship droughts by city/region [edit]
This list only includes cities/regions with current Major League Baseball franchises. Years during which a city/region did not field a Major League Baseball team are not counted.
| Region | Drought (seasons) | Last World Series title |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 64 | Cleveland Indians, 1948 |
| Washington, D.C. | 55^ | Washington Senators (original A.L.), 1924 |
| Milwaukee | 51^^ | Milwaukee Braves, 1957 |
| Houston | 51** | None |
| San Diego | 44** | None |
| Dallas-Ft. Worth | 41** | None |
| Seattle | 36** | None |
| Pittsburgh | 33 | Pittsburgh Pirates, 1979 |
| Baltimore | 29 | Baltimore Orioles, 1983 |
| Detroit | 28 | Detroit Tigers, 1984 |
| Kansas City | 27 | Kansas City Royals, 1985 |
| Cincinnati | 22 | Cincinnati Reds, 1990 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | 21 | Minnesota Twins, 1991 |
| Denver | 20** | None |
| Toronto | 19 | Toronto Blue Jays, 1993 |
| Atlanta | 17 | Atlanta Braves, 1995 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg | 15** | None |
| Phoenix | 11 | Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001 |
| Greater Los Angeles Area | 10 | Anaheim Angels, 2002 |
| Miami-Ft. Lauderdale | 9 | Florida Marlins, 2003 |
| Chicago | 7 | Chicago White Sox, 2005 |
| Boston | 5 | Boston Red Sox, 2007 |
| Philadelphia | 4 | Philadelphia Phillies, 2008 |
| New York City | 3 | New York Yankees, 2009 |
| St. Louis | 1 | St. Louis Cardinals, 2011 |
| San Francisco Bay Area | 0 | San Francisco Giants, 2012 |
^city without Major League Baseball franchise for 33 seasons (1972-2004)
^^city without Major League Baseball franchise for 4 seasons (1966-1969)
**number doesn't indicate a title won, but rather total seasons played
Major League pennant droughts by city/region [edit]
This list only includes cities/regions with current Major League Baseball franchises. Years during which a city/region did not field a Major League Baseball team are not counted.
^city without Major League Baseball franchise for 33 seasons (1972-2004)
**number doesn't indicate a title won, but rather total seasons played
World Series in which neither team had previously won a championship [edit]
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. The only two current Major League Baseball franchise who could appear on this list in the future are the Washington Nationals (NL) and the Seattle Mariners (AL).
World Series in which both teams had ended pennant droughts of 20-plus seasons [edit]
| 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 [edit]
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 [edit]
- 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
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