List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason droughts
Throughout the history of Major League Baseball (MLB), franchises have had various postseason and World Series droughts.
All 16 of the original Major League franchises (i.e., those in place when the first World Series was played 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, six of the 14 expansion teams have never won the World Series. Further, one franchise (the Indians) has a current championship drought that pre-dates the expansion era. The three longest championship droughts in history were ended recently by the Red Sox (85 years, ending in 2004), the White Sox (87 years, ending in 2005), and the Cubs (107 years, ending in 2016).
Only one expansion franchise (the Mariners) has never won a pennant (i.e., the league championship, the two winners of which meet in the World Series). The three longest pennant droughts in history were recently ended by the Nationals (51 years, starting with the team's foundation and ending in 2019, and including the franchise's entire 36 years as the Montreal Expos), the Rangers (49 years, starting with the team's foundation and ending in 2010) and the Cubs (70 years, ending in 2016). As the Nationals are the third franchise to be based in the city of Washington, their 2019 pennant also ended a drought of 53 seasons played in Washington since their last pennant, which was in 1933 (here we discount the 33 seasons during which there was no team in Washington).
As of the 2020 season, every active MLB franchise has qualified for the playoffs, especially since expansion of the playoffs in 1994 made that feat easier. The Mariners have the longest active postseason drought at 19 years. Long postseason droughts were ended recently by the Nationals (30 years for the franchise, 45 seasons over 78 years for the city, ending in 2012), the Pirates (20 years, ending in 2013), the Royals (28 years, ending in 2014), and the Blue Jays (21 years, ending in 2015).
This list includes only the modern World Series between the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), not the various 19th-century championship series. Those teams which have never achieved a particular accomplishment in their franchise history are listed by the date they entered the leagues.
World Series championship droughts
Longest current World Series championship droughts
No World Series was played in 1994, and counts as a drought season for those franchises.
Longest World Series championship droughts through history
The first World Series was played in 1903. 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 | Previous Title | Next Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 107 | Chicago Cubs | 1908 | 2016 |
| 87 | Chicago White Sox | 1917 | 2005 |
| 85 | Boston Red Sox | 1918 | 2004 |
| 77 | Philadelphia Phillies | 1903* | 1980 |
| 72 | Cleveland Indians | 1948 | — |
| 63 | St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles | 1903* | 1966 |
| 62 | Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins | 1924 | 1987 |
| 60 | Washington Senators/Texas Rangers | 1961* | — |
| 55 | Houston Colt .45s/Astros | 1962* | 2017 |
| 55 | New York/San Francisco Giants | 1954 | 2010 |
| 52 | Brooklyn Dodgers | 1903* | 1955 |
| 52 | Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers | 1969* | — |
| 52 | San Diego Padres | 1969* | — |
| 50 | Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals | 1969* | 2019 |
| 44 | Seattle Mariners | 1977* | — |
| 42 | Boston/Milwaukee Braves | 1914 | 1957 |
| 41 | Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics | 1930 | 1972 |
| 41 | Los Angeles/California/Anaheim Angels | 1961* | 2002 |
| 41 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1979 | — |
| 37 | Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves | 1957 | 1995 |
| 37 | Baltimore Orioles | 1983 | — |
| 36 | Detroit Tigers | 1984 | — |
| 34 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1925 | 1960 |
| 34 | Cincinnati Reds | 1940 | 1975 |
| 34 | New York Mets | 1986 | — |
| 32 | Detroit Tigers | 1903* | 1935 |
| 31 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1988 | 2020 |
| 31 | Oakland Athletics | 1989 | — |
| 30 | Cincinnati Reds | 1990 | — |
* 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).
World Series championship droughts by city/region
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 | 72 | Cleveland Indians, 1948 |
| Milwaukee | 59* | Milwaukee Braves, 1957 |
| San Diego | 52‡ | None |
| Dallas-Ft. Worth | 49‡ | None |
| Seattle | 45‡ † | None |
| Pittsburgh | 41 | Pittsburgh Pirates, 1979 |
| Baltimore | 37 | Baltimore Orioles, 1983 |
| Detroit | 36 | Detroit Tigers, 1984 |
| Cincinnati | 30 | Cincinnati Reds, 1990 |
| Minneapolis–Saint Paul | 29 | Minnesota Twins, 1991 |
| Denver | 28‡ | None |
| Toronto | 27 | Toronto Blue Jays, 1993 |
| Atlanta | 25 | Atlanta Braves, 1995 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg | 23‡ | None |
| Phoenix | 19 | Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001 |
| Miami-Ft. Lauderdale | 17 | Florida Marlins, 2003 |
| Philadelphia | 12 | Philadelphia Phillies, 2008 |
| New York City | 11 | New York Yankees, 2009 |
| St. Louis | 9 | St. Louis Cardinals, 2011 |
| San Francisco Bay Area | 6 | San Francisco Giants, 2014 |
| Kansas City | 5 | Kansas City Royals, 2015 |
| Chicago | 4 | Chicago Cubs, 2016 |
| Houston | 3 | Houston Astros, 2017 |
| Boston | 2 | Boston Red Sox, 2018 |
| Washington, D.C. | 1 | Washington Nationals, 2019 |
| Los Angeles | 0 | Los Angeles Dodgers, 2020 |
*city without Major League Baseball franchise for 4 seasons (1966–1969)
†city without Major League Baseball franchise for 7 seasons (1970–1976)
‡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.
World Series in which neither team had previously lost a championship
In these instances, the World Series matchup ensured that one team would lose the first championship in its history.
*In these cases, each team was making its first World Series appearance.
World Series in which both teams had ended pennant droughts of 20-plus seasons
| 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. Bold denotes team that won.
| Season | American League | Drought (seasons) | National League | Drought (seasons) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Tampa Bay Rays | 22* | Los Angeles Dodgers | 31 |
| 2016 | Cleveland Indians | 67 | Chicago Cubs | 107 |
| 2010 | Texas Rangers | 49* | San Francisco Giants | 55 |
| 2005 | Chicago White Sox | 87 | Houston Astros | 43* |
| 2002 | Anaheim Angels | 41* | San Francisco Giants | 47 |
| 1997 | Cleveland Indians | 48 | Florida Marlins | 4* |
| 1995 | Cleveland Indians | 46 | Atlanta Braves | 37 |
| 1992 | Toronto Blue Jays | 15* | Atlanta Braves | 34 |
| 1980 | Kansas City Royals | 11* | Philadelphia Phillies | 77* |
| 1975 | Boston Red Sox | 56 | Cincinnati Reds | 34 |
| 1972 | Oakland Athletics | 40 | Cincinnati Reds | 31 |
| 1920 | Cleveland Indians | 17* | Brooklyn Dodgers | 17* |
| 1909 | Detroit Tigers | 6* | Pittsburgh Pirates | 6* |
| 1907 | Detroit Tigers | 4* | Chicago Cubs | 4* |
| 1906 | Chicago White Sox | 3* | Chicago Cubs | 3* |
| 1905 | Philadelphia Athletics | 2* | New York Giants | 2* |
| 1903 | Boston Americans | * | Pittsburgh Pirates | * |
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).
Major League pennant droughts
Longest current Major League pennant droughts
No pennants were won in 1994 due to the players' strike that year.
| Seasons | Team | Last pennant |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | Seattle Mariners | Never (franchise started in 1977) |
| 41 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1979 |
| 38 | Milwaukee Brewers | 1982 (never since joining NL in 1998) |
| 37 | Baltimore Orioles | 1983 |
| 30 | Cincinnati Reds | 1990 |
| 30 | Oakland Athletics | 1990 |
| 29 | Minnesota Twins | 1991 |
| 27 | Toronto Blue Jays | 1993 |
| 22 | San Diego Padres | 1998 |
| 21 | Atlanta Braves | 1999 |
| 19 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 2001 |
| 18 | Los Angeles Angels | 2002 |
| 17 | Miami Marlins | 2003 |
| 15 | Chicago White Sox | 2005 |
| 13 | Colorado Rockies | 2007 |
| 11 | New York Yankees | 2009 |
| 11 | Philadelphia Phillies | 2009 |
| 9 | Texas Rangers | 2011 |
| 8 | Detroit Tigers | 2012 |
| 7 | St. Louis Cardinals | 2013 |
| 6 | San Francisco Giants | 2014 |
| 5 | Kansas City Royals | 2015 |
| 5 | New York Mets | 2015 |
| 4 | Chicago Cubs | 2016 |
| 4 | Cleveland Indians | 2016 |
| 2 | Boston Red Sox | 2018 |
| 1 | Washington Nationals | 2019 |
| 1 | Houston Astros | 2019 |
| 0 | Tampa Bay Rays | 2020 |
| 0 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 2020 |
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. No pennants were won in 1994 due to the players strike that year. 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).
Major League pennant droughts by city/region
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 7 seasons (1970–1976)
†number doesn't indicate a title won, but rather total seasons played.
League championship appearance droughts
Longest current league championship appearance droughts
No league championships were played in 1994 due to the players' strike that year.
League division champion droughts
Longest current division champion droughts
No league division champions were won in 1994 due to the players' strike that year.
* Because of the wild card postseason berth, the franchise have won two World Series champions (1997, 2003) without winning the division.
** Also the franchise without a winning record for 20 consecutive seasons (1993–2012).
Postseason droughts
Longest current postseason droughts
* Also longest active drought in North American sports[1]
Longest postseason droughts in the expanded-postseason era
After the postseason was expanded in 1995 to include eight teams (further expanded in 2012 to ten teams), 18 of the 30 teams qualified within the first five years, and few teams went for long droughts without at least participating in the first round of the postseason. This list only shows droughts of 15 or more seasons that occurred primarily in the expanded-postseason era. Active droughts are listed in bold type.
| Seasons | Team | Previous Postseason Appearance | Next Postseason Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals | 1981 | 2012 |
| 28 | Kansas City Royals | 1985 | 2014 |
| 25 | Milwaukee Brewers | 1982 | 2008 |
| 21 | Toronto Blue Jays | 1993 | 2015 |
| 20 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1992 | 2013 |
| 19 | Seattle Mariners | 2001 | — |
| 18 | Detroit Tigers | 1987 | 2006 |
| 16 | Florida/Miami Marlins | 2003 | 2020 |
| 15 | California/Anaheim Angels | 1986 | 2002 |
See also
- List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason streaks
- List of Major League Baseball postseason series
- List of Major League Baseball postseason teams
- List of all-time Major League Baseball win-loss records
- List of NBA franchise post-season droughts
- List of NFL franchise post-season droughts
- List of NHL franchise post-season droughts
- List of MLS club post-season droughts
References
- McKay, John (September 26, 2019). "Longest Pro Sports Postseason Drought? Mariners". KFLD NEWStalk 870. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
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