List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason droughts
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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 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 107-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.
Only two expansion franchises (the Expos/Nationals and Mariners) have never won a pennant (i.e., the league championship, the two winners of which meet in the World Series), while the Rangers recently ended the longest-ever founding pennant drought (49 years, ending in 2010). Only the Cubs (at 70 years) have a current pennant drought that predates the expansion era.
Every MLB franchise has at least been to the postseason, especially since expansion of the playoffs in 1994 made that feat easier. The Mariners have the longest active postseason drought at 14 years. Long postseason droughts were ended recently by the Nationals (30 years for the franchise, 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 drought
Longest World Series championship 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 107 | Chicago Cubs | 1908 | — |
| 87 | Chicago White Sox | 1917 | 2005 |
| 85 | Boston Red Sox | 1918 | 2004 |
| 77 | Philadelphia Phillies | 1903* | 1980 |
| 67 | 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 |
| 55 | Washington Senators/Texas Rangers | 1961* | — |
| 54 | Houston Colt .45s/Astros | 1962* | — |
| 52 | Brooklyn Dodgers | 1903* | 1955 |
| 47 | Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers | 1969* | — |
| 47 | San Diego Padres | 1969* | — |
| 47 | 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 |
| 39 | Seattle Mariners | 1977* | — |
| 37 | Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves | 1957 | 1995 |
| 36 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1979 | — |
| 34 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1925 | 1960 |
| 34 | Cincinnati Reds | 1940 | 1975 |
| 32 | Detroit Tigers | 1903* | 1935 |
| 32 | Baltimore Orioles | 1983 | — |
| 31 | Detroit Tigers | 1984 | — |
* 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 | 67 | Cleveland Indians, 1948 |
| Washington, D.C. | 58^ | Washington Senators (original A.L.), 1924 |
| Milwaukee | 54^^ | Milwaukee Braves, 1957 |
| Houston | 54** | None |
| San Diego | 47** | None |
| Dallas-Ft. Worth | 44** | None |
| Seattle | 40** ^^^ | None |
| Pittsburgh | 36 | Pittsburgh Pirates, 1979 |
| Baltimore | 32 | Baltimore Orioles, 1983 |
| Detroit | 31 | Detroit Tigers, 1984 |
| Cincinnati | 25 | Cincinnati Reds, 1990 |
| Minneapolis–Saint Paul | 24 | Minnesota Twins, 1991 |
| Denver | 23** | None |
| Toronto | 22 | Toronto Blue Jays, 1993 |
| Atlanta | 20 | Atlanta Braves, 1995 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg | 18** | None |
| Phoenix | 14 | Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001 |
| Greater Los Angeles Area | 13 | Anaheim Angels, 2002 |
| Miami-Ft. Lauderdale | 12 | Florida Marlins, 2003 |
| Chicago | 10 | Chicago White Sox, 2005 |
| Philadelphia | 7 | Philadelphia Phillies, 2008 |
| New York City | 6 | New York Yankees, 2009 |
| St. Louis | 4 | St. Louis Cardinals, 2011 |
| Boston | 2 | Boston Red Sox, 2013 |
| San Francisco Bay Area | 1 | San Francisco Giants, 2014 |
| Kansas City | 0 | Kansas City Royals, 2015 |
^city without Major League Baseball franchise for 33 seasons (1972–2004)
^^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 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.
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 drought
| Seasons | Team | Last pennant |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | Chicago Cubs | 1945 |
| 47 | Washington Nationals | never (franchise started in 1969) |
| 39 | Seattle Mariners | never (franchise started in 1977) |
| 36 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1979 |
| 33 | Milwaukee Brewers | 1982 (never since joining NL in 1998) |
| 32 | Baltimore Orioles | 1983 |
| 27 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1988 |
| 25 | Cincinnati Reds | 1990 |
| 25 | Oakland Athletics | 1990 |
| 24 | Minnesota Twins | 1991 |
| 22 | Toronto Blue Jays | 1993 |
| 18 | Cleveland Indians | 1997 |
| 17 | San Diego Padres | 1998 |
| 16 | Atlanta Braves | 1999 |
| 14 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 2001 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 2002 |
| 12 | Miami Marlins | 2003 |
| 10 | Chicago White Sox | 2005 |
| 10 | Houston Astros | 2005 (never since joining AL in 2013) |
| 8 | Colorado Rockies | 2007 |
| 7 | Tampa Bay Rays | 2008 |
| 6 | New York Yankees | 2009 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Phillies | 2009 |
| 4 | Texas Rangers | 2011 |
| 3 | Detroit Tigers | 2012 |
| 2 | St. Louis Cardinals | 2013 |
| 2 | Boston Red Sox | 2013 |
| 1 | San Francisco Giants | 2014 |
| 0 | Kansas City Royals | 2015 |
| 0 | New York Mets | 2015 |
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).
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 33 seasons (1972–2004)
^^city without Major League Baseball franchise for 7 seasons (1970–1976)
**number doesn't indicate a title won, but rather total seasons played.
Postseason droughts
Longest current postseason drought
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 | Prev. Postseason Appearance | Next Postseason Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | Washington Senators/Texas Rangers | never | 1996 |
| 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 |
| 18 | Detroit Tigers | 1987 | 2006 |
| 15 | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 1986 | 2002 |
See also
- List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason streaks
- Major League Baseball postseason teams
- 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
- List of Major League Soccer franchise post-season droughts
External links
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