List of MLB franchise post-season droughts
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This is a list of Major League Baseball franchise postseason and World Series droughts. Those teams which have never made it in 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.
[edit] MLB franchises with the longest current post-season drought
* Year does not indicate a postseason appearance, but rather the team's first year of existence
[edit] MLB franchises with the longest current league pennant drought
| Seasons | Team | Last pennant |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | Chicago Cubs | 1945 |
| 47 | Texas Rangers (Washington Senators) | never (franchise started in 1961*) |
| 39 | Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos) | never (franchise started in 1969*) |
| 31 | Seattle Mariners | never (franchise started in 1977*) |
| 28 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1979 |
| 25 | Milwaukee Brewers | 1982 |
| 24 | Baltimore Orioles | 1983 |
| 22 | Kansas City Royals | 1985 |
| 19 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1988 |
| 17 | Cincinnati Reds | 1990 |
| 17 | Oakland Athletics | 1990 |
| 16 | Minnesota Twins | 1991 |
| 14 | Philadelphia Phillies | 1993 |
| 14 | Toronto Blue Jays | 1993 |
| 10 | Cleveland Indians | 1997 |
| 10 | Tampa Bay Rays | never (franchise started in 1998*) |
| 9 | San Diego Padres | 1998 |
| 8 | Atlanta Braves | 1999 |
| 7 | New York Mets | 2000 |
| 6 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 2001 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 2002 |
| 5 | San Francisco Giants | 2002 |
| 4 | Florida Marlins | 2003 |
| 4 | New York Yankees | 2003 |
| 2 | Chicago White Sox | 2005 |
| 2 | Houston Astros | 2005 |
| 1 | Detroit Tigers | 2006 |
| 1 | St. Louis Cardinals | 2006 |
| -- | Boston Red Sox | 2007 |
| -- | Colorado Rockies | 2007 |
* Year does not indicate a pennant, but rather the team's first year of existence.
[edit] MLB franchises with the longest current World Series crown drought
* Year does not indicate a championship, but rather the team's first year of existence.
[edit] Cities waiting for their first World Series crown
- Only includes cities which currently host a major league franchise
- 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 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 1958 | 50 | Giants last won in 1954, before relocating from New York. |
| Houston | 1962 | 46 | |
| San Diego | 1969 | 39 | |
| Arlington, Texas** | 1972 | 36 | |
| Seattle* | 1977 | 31 | Not counting 1969, when the Brewers franchise played one season as the Seattle Pilots. |
| Denver | 1993 | 15 | |
| St. Petersburg, Florida*** | 1998 | 10 |
* Has yet to host a World Series game
** Has yet to host an LCS game
*** Has yet to host a playoff game
[edit] 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.
* Year does not indicate a pennant, but rather the team's first year of existence or the first year of this list (1903).
[edit] 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.
| Seasons** | Team | Prev. Title | Next Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 99 | 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 |
| 62 | Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins | 1924 | 1987 |
| 59 | Cleveland Indians | 1948 | |
| 53 | New York-San Francisco Giants | 1954 | |
| 52 | Brooklyn Dodgers | 1903* | 1955 |
| 47 | Washington Senators/Texas Rangers | 1961* | |
| 46 | Houston Colt .45s/Astros | 1962* | |
| 42 | Boston-Milwaukee Braves | 1914 | 1957 |
| 41 | Philadelphia-Kansas City-Oakland Athletics | 1930 | 1972 |
| 41 | Los Angeles-California-Anaheim Angels | 1961* | 2002 |
| 39 | Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals | 1969* | |
| 39 | Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers | 1969* | |
| 39 | San Diego Padres | 1969* | |
| 37 | Milwaukee-Atlanta Braves | 1957 | 1995 |
| 34 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1925 | 1960 |
| 34 | Cincinnati Reds | 1940 | 1975 |
| 32 | Detroit Tigers | 1903* | 1935 |
| 31 | Seattle Mariners | 1977* |
* Year does not indicate a title won, but rather the team's first year of existence or the first year of this list (1903).
**Bold is active drought.
[edit] World Series in which both teams were making their first Series appearance
| Season | Won | Lost |
|---|---|---|
| 1906 | Chicago White Sox | Chicago Cubs |
| 1905 | New York Giants | Philadelphia Athletics |
| 1903 | Boston Americans | Pittsburgh Pirates |
[edit] World Series in which both teams were ending 20-season-plus pennant droughts
| Season | Won | Drought (seasons) | Lost | Drought (seasons) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Chicago White Sox | 46 | Houston Astros | 44 |
| 1948 | Cleveland Indians | 28 | Boston Braves | 34 |
[edit] 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Chicago White Sox | 88 | Houston Astros | 43* |
| 2002 | Anaheim Angels | 41* | San Francisco Giants | 48 |
| 1997 | Florida Marlins | 4* | Cleveland Indians | 49 |
| 1995 | Atlanta Braves | 38 | Cleveland Indians | 47 |
| 1992 | Toronto Blue Jays | 15* | Atlanta Braves | 35 |
| 1980 | Philadelphia Phillies | 77* | Kansas City Royals | 11* |
| 1975 | Cincinnati Reds | 35 | Boston Red Sox | 57 |
| 1972 | Oakland Athletics | 42 | Cincinnati Reds | 32 |
| 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 Red Sox | 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 this list (1903).
[edit] World Series crown droughts by region
Includes only regions which currently field an MLB club.
| Region | Drought (seasons) | Last World Series title |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 59 | Cleveland Indians, 1948 |
| Washington, D.C. | 50* | Washington Nationals/Senators, 1924 |
| Houston | 46** | None |
| Milwaukee | 46 | Milwaukee Braves, 1957 |
| San Diego | 39** | None |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | 36** | None |
| Seattle | 32** | None |
| Pittsburgh | 28 | Pittsburgh Pirates, 1979 |
| Philadelphia | 27 | Philadelphia Phillies, 1980 |
| Baltimore | 24 | Baltimore Orioles, 1983 |
| Detroit | 23 | Detroit Tigers, 1984 |
| Kansas City | 22 | Kansas City Royals, 1985 |
| San Francisco Bay Area | 18 | Oakland Athletics, 1989 |
| Cincinnati | 17 | Cincinnati Reds, 1990 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | 16 | Minnesota Twins, 1991 |
| Denver | 15** | None |
| Toronto | 14 | Toronto Blue Jays, 1993 |
| Atlanta | 12 | Atlanta Braves, 1995 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg | 10** | None |
| New York City | 7 | New York Yankees, 2000 |
| Phoenix | 6 | Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001 |
| Greater Los Angeles Area | 5 | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 2002 |
| South Florida | 4 | Florida Marlins, 2003 |
| Chicago | 2 | Chicago White Sox, 2005 |
| St. Louis | 1 | St. Louis Cardinals, 2006 |
| Boston | -- | Boston Red Sox, 2007 |
*region without MLB for 33 seasons (1972-2004)
**number doesn't indicate a title won, but rather total seasons played
[edit] Pennant droughts by region
Includes only regions which currently field an MLB club.
*region without MLB for 33 seasons (1972-2004)
**number doesn't indicate a title won, but rather total seasons played
