List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason droughts

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Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 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 116-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 79 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 23 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

Seasons Team Last championship won Last World Series appearance
116 Chicago Cubs 1908 1945
76 Cleveland Indians 1948 1997
64 Texas Rangers never (franchise began 1961) 2011
63 Houston Astros never (franchise began 1962) 2005
56 Milwaukee Brewers never (franchise began 1969) 1982
56 San Diego Padres never (franchise began 1969) 1998
56 Washington Nationals never (franchise began 1969) never
48 Seattle Mariners never (franchise began 1977) never
45 Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 1979
41 Baltimore Orioles 1983 1983
40 Detroit Tigers 1984 2012
38 New York Mets 1986 2015
36 Los Angeles Dodgers 1988 1988
35 Oakland Athletics 1989 1990
34 Cincinnati Reds 1990 1990
33 Minnesota Twins 1991 1991
32 Colorado Rockies never (franchise began 1993) 2007
31 Toronto Blue Jays 1993 1993
29 Atlanta Braves 1995 1999
27 Tampa Bay Rays never (franchise began 1998) 2008
23 Arizona Diamondbacks 2001 2001
22 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2002 2002
21 Miami Marlins 2003 2003
19 Chicago White Sox 2005 2005
16 Philadelphia Phillies 2008 2009
15 New York Yankees 2009 2009
13 St. Louis Cardinals 2011 2013
11 Boston Red Sox 2013 2013
10 San Francisco Giants 2014 2014
9 Kansas City Royals 2015 2015

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
116 Chicago Cubs 1908 —
87 Chicago White Sox 1917 2005
85 Boston Red Sox 1918 2004
77 Philadelphia Phillies 1903* 1980
76 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
64 Washington Senators/Texas Rangers 1961* —
63 Houston Colt .45s/Astros 1962* —
52 Brooklyn Dodgers 1903* 1955
56 Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers 1969* —
56 San Diego Padres 1969* —
56 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
48 Seattle Mariners 1977* —
37 Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves 1957 1995
45 Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 —
34 Pittsburgh Pirates 1925 1960
34 Cincinnati Reds 1940 1975
32 Detroit Tigers 1903* 1935
41 Baltimore Orioles 1983 —
40 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 76 Cleveland Indians, 1948
Washington, D.C. 67^ Washington Senators (original A.L.), 1924
Milwaukee 63^^ Milwaukee Braves, 1957
Houston 63** None
San Diego 56** None
Dallas-Ft. Worth 53** None
Seattle 49** ^^^ None
Pittsburgh 45 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1979
Baltimore 41 Baltimore Orioles, 1983
Detroit 40 Detroit Tigers, 1984
Cincinnati 34 Cincinnati Reds, 1990
Minneapolis-St. Paul 33 Minnesota Twins, 1991
Denver 32** None
Toronto 31 Toronto Blue Jays, 1993
Atlanta 29 Atlanta Braves, 1995
Tampa-St. Petersburg 27** None
Phoenix 23 Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001
Greater Los Angeles Area 22 Anaheim Angels, 2002
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 21 Florida Marlins, 2003
Chicago 19 Chicago White Sox, 2005
Philadelphia 16 Philadelphia Phillies, 2008
New York City 15 New York Yankees, 2009
St. Louis 13 St. Louis Cardinals, 2011
Boston 11 Boston Red Sox, 2013
San Francisco Bay Area 10 San Francisco Giants, 2014
Kansas City 9 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.

Season Won Lost
1980 Philadelphia Phillies Kansas City Royals
1920 Cleveland Indians Brooklyn Dodgers
1909 Pittsburgh Pirates Detroit Tigers
1907 Chicago Cubs Detroit Tigers
1906* Chicago White Sox Chicago Cubs
1905* New York Giants Philadelphia Athletics
1903* Boston Americans Pittsburgh Pirates

*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.

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).

Major League pennant droughts

Longest current Major League pennant drought

Seasons Team Last pennant
79 Chicago Cubs 1945
56 Washington Nationals never (franchise started in 1969)
48 Seattle Mariners never (franchise started in 1977)
45 Pittsburgh Pirates 1979
42 Milwaukee Brewers 1982 (never since joining NL in 1998)
41 Baltimore Orioles 1983
36 Los Angeles Dodgers 1988
34 Cincinnati Reds 1990
34 Oakland Athletics 1990
33 Minnesota Twins 1991
31 Toronto Blue Jays 1993
27 Cleveland Indians 1997
26 San Diego Padres 1998
25 Atlanta Braves 1999
23 Arizona Diamondbacks 2001
22 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2002
21 Miami Marlins 2003
19 Chicago White Sox 2005
19 Houston Astros 2005 (never since joining AL in 2013)
17 Colorado Rockies 2007
16 Tampa Bay Rays 2008
15 New York Yankees 2009
15 Philadelphia Phillies 2009
13 Texas Rangers 2011
12 Detroit Tigers 2012
11 St. Louis Cardinals 2013
11 Boston Red Sox 2013
10 San Francisco Giants 2014
9 Kansas City Royals 2015
9 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.

Seasons Team Prev. Pennant Next Pennant
79 Chicago Cubs 1945 —
49 Washington Senators/Texas Rangers 1961* 2010
56 Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals 1969* —
45 Chicago White Sox 1959 2005
43 Houston Colt .45s/Astros 1962* 2005
41 St. Louis Browns 1903* 1944
41 Los Angeles-California-Anaheim Angels 1961* 2002
40 Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics 1931 1972
40 Cleveland Indians 1954 1995
39 Chicago White Sox 1919 1959
48 Seattle Mariners 1977* —
45 Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 —
34 Philadelphia Phillies 1915 1950
33 Boston Braves 1914 1948
42 Milwaukee Brewers 1982 —
32 Pittsburgh Pirates 1927 1960
32 Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves 1958 1991
41 Baltimore Orioles 1983 —
31 Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins 1933 1965
29 Philadelphia Phillies 1950 1980
28 Kansas City Royals 1985 2014
36 Los Angeles Dodgers 1988 —
27 Boston Red Sox 1918 1946
27 Cleveland Indians 1920 1948
26 San Francisco Giants 1962 1989
34 Oakland Athletics 1990 —
34 Cincinnati Reds 1990 —
24 Detroit Tigers 1909 1934
33 Minnesota Twins 1991 —
23 St. Louis Cardinals 1903* 1926
22 Detroit Tigers 1945 1968
31 Toronto Blue Jays 1993 —
21 St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles 1944 1966
21 Minnesota Twins 1965 1987
21 Detroit Tigers 1984 2006
21 Washington Senators 1903* 1924
20 Brooklyn Dodgers 1920 1941
20 Cincinnati Reds 1940 1961
20 Boston Red Sox 1946 1967

* 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.

Region Drought (seasons) Last pennant
Washington, D.C. 58^ Washington Senators (original A.L.), 1933
Seattle 49** ^^ None
Pittsburgh 45 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1979
Milwaukee 42 Milwaukee Brewers, 1982 (in A.L.)
Baltimore 41 Baltimore Orioles, 1983
Cincinnati 34 Cincinnati Reds, 1990
Minneapolis-St. Paul 33 Minnesota Twins, 1991
Toronto 31 Toronto Blue Jays, 1993
Cleveland 27 Cleveland Indians, 1997
San Diego 26 San Diego Padres, 1998
Atlanta 25 Atlanta Braves, 1999
Phoenix 23 Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001
Greater Los Angeles Area 22 Anaheim Angels, 2002
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 21 Florida Marlins, 2003
Chicago 19 Chicago White Sox, 2005
Houston 19 Houston Astros, 2005 (in N.L.)
Denver 17 Colorado Rockies, 2007
Tampa-St. Petersburg 16 Tampa Bay Rays, 2008
Philadelphia 15 Philadelphia Phillies, 2009
Dallas-Ft. Worth 13 Texas Rangers, 2011
Detroit 12 Detroit Tigers, 2012
St. Louis 11 St. Louis Cardinals, 2013
Boston 11 Boston Red Sox, 2013
San Francisco Bay Area 10 San Francisco Giants, 2014
Kansas City 9 Kansas City Royals, 2015
New York City 9 New York Mets, 2015

^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.

Division championship droughts

Longest current Division championship drought

Seasons Team Last Division championship won
32 Pittsburgh Pirates 1992
32 Colorado Rockies never (franchise began 1993)
32 Miami Marlins never (franchise began 1993)
23 Houston Astros 2001
23 Seattle Mariners 2001
18 San Diego Padres 2006
17 Cleveland Indians 2007
16 Chicago Cubs 2008
16 Chicago White Sox 2008
14 Minnesota Twins 2010
14 Tampa Bay Rays 2010
13 Arizona Diamondbacks 2011
13 Milwaukee Brewers 2011
13 Philadelphia Phillies 2011
12 Cincinnati Reds 2012
12 New York Yankees 2012
12 San Francisco Giants 2012
11 Atlanta Braves 2013
11 Boston Red Sox 2013
11 Oakland Athletics 2013
10 Baltimore Orioles 2014
10 Detroit Tigers 2014
10 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2014
10 Washington Nationals 2014
9 Kansas City Royals 2015
9 Los Angeles Dodgers 2015
9 New York Mets 2015
9 St. Louis Cardinals 2015
9 Texas Rangers 2015
9 Toronto Blue Jays 2015

Postseason droughts

Longest current postseason drought

Seasons Team Last appearance
23 Seattle Mariners 2001 ALCS
21 Miami Marlins 2003 World Series
18 San Diego Padres 2006 NLDS
16 Chicago White Sox 2008 ALDS
15 Colorado Rockies 2009 NLDS
14 Minnesota Twins 2010 ALDS
13 Arizona Diamondbacks 2011 NLDS
13 Philadelphia Phillies 2011 NLDS
13 Milwaukee Brewers 2011 NLCS
11 Cincinnati Reds 2013 NL Wild Card
11 Cleveland Indians 2013 AL Wild Card
11 Atlanta Braves 2013 NLDS
11 Tampa Bay Rays 2013 ALDS
11 Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series
10 Oakland Athletics 2014 AL Wild Card
10 Detroit Tigers 2014 ALDS
10 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2014 ALDS
10 Washington Nationals 2014 NLDS
10 Baltimore Orioles 2014 ALCS
10 San Francisco Giants 2014 World Series
9 New York Yankees 2015 AL Wild Card
9 Pittsburgh Pirates 2015 NL Wild Card
9 Houston Astros 2015 ALDS
9 Los Angeles Dodgers 2015 NLDS
9 St. Louis Cardinals 2015 NLDS
9 Texas Rangers 2015 ALDS
9 Chicago Cubs 2015 NLCS
9 Toronto Blue Jays 2015 ALCS
9 Kansas City Royals 2015 World Series
9 New York Mets 2015 World Series

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

External links

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