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 seasons, ending in 1980). Since expansion began in 1961, five of the 14 expansion teams have never won the World Series. Furthermore, one franchise, the Cleveland Guardians, currently has a championship drought that pre-dates the expansion era. The three longest championship droughts in history were ended recently by the Red Sox (85 seasons, ending in 2004), the White Sox (87 seasons, ending in 2005), and the Cubs (107 seasons, ending in 2016).
Only one expansion franchise (the Seattle 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 Rangers (49 years, starting with the team's foundation and ending in 2010), the Cubs (70 years, ending in 2016), and the Nationals (50 years, starting with the team's foundation and ending in 2019, and including the franchise's entire 36 years as the Montreal Expos). As the Nationals are the third franchise to be based in the city of Washington, their 2019 pennant also ended a drought of 52 seasons played in Washington since their last pennant, which was in 1933 (discounting the 33 seasons during which there was no team in Washington).
As of the 2024 season, every active MLB franchise has qualified for the playoffs, especially since expansion of the playoffs in 1994 made that feat easier. The Angels have the longest active postseason drought at 10 years, while the Cincinnati Reds have the longest active postseason series-win drought at 28 years.[1] Long postseason droughts were ended recently by the Nationals (30 years, ending in 2012), the Pirates (20 years, ending in 2013), the Royals (28 years, ending in 2014), the Blue Jays (21 years, ending in 2015), and the Mariners (20 years, ending in 2022).
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.
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 and again expanded in 2022 to 12 teams, including a 16-team postseason in 2020), 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.[2] Active droughts are listed in bold type.
* Because of the wild card postseason berth, the franchise has won two World Series championships (1997, 2003) without winning the division.
Longest division championship droughts through history
List begins with 1969, the time divisional play started in Major League Baseball. This list only shows droughts of 10 or more seasons. Active droughts are listed in bold type.
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.
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.
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.
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).
