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 seasons, ending in 1980). Since expansion began in 1961, six 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 108seasons, 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 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 20 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.

Seasons	Team	Last World Series championship won	Last World Series appearance
73	Cleveland Indians/Guardians	1948	2016
61	Texas Rangers	Never (franchise began 1961)	2011
53	Milwaukee Brewers	Never (franchise began 1969)	1982
53	San Diego Padres	Never (franchise began 1969)	1998
45	Seattle Mariners	Never (franchise began 1977)	Never
42	Pittsburgh Pirates	1979	1979
38	Baltimore Orioles	1983	1983
37	Detroit Tigers	1984	2012
35	New York Mets	1986	2015
32	Oakland Athletics	1989	1990
31	Cincinnati Reds	1990	1990
30	Minnesota Twins	1991	1991
29	Colorado Rockies	Never (franchise began 1993)	2007
28	Toronto Blue Jays	1993	1993
24	Tampa Bay Rays	Never (franchise began 1998)	2020
20	Arizona Diamondbacks	2001	2001
19	Los Angeles Angels	2002	2002
18	Miami Marlins	2003	2003
16	Chicago White Sox	2005	2005
13	Philadelphia Phillies	2008	2009
12	New York Yankees	2009	2009
10	St. Louis Cardinals	2011	2013
7	San Francisco Giants	2014	2014
6	Kansas City Royals	2015	2015
5	Chicago Cubs	2016	2016
4	Houston Astros	2017	2021
3	Boston Red Sox	2018	2018
2	Washington Nationals	2019	2019
1	Los Angeles Dodgers	2020	2020
0	Atlanta Braves	2021	2021

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
73	Cleveland Indians/Guardians	1948	—
63	St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles	1903*	1966
62	Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins	1924	1987
61	Washington Senators/Texas Rangers	1961*	—
55	Houston Colt .45s/Astros	1962*	2017
55	New York/San Francisco Giants	1954	2010
53	San Diego Padres	1969*	—
53	Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers	1969*	—
52	Brooklyn Dodgers	1903*	1955
50	Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals	1969*	2019
45	Seattle Mariners	1977*	—
42	Boston/Milwaukee Braves	1914	1957
42	Pittsburgh Pirates	1979	—
41	Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics	1930	1972
41	Los Angeles/California/Anaheim Angels	1961*	2002
38	Baltimore Orioles	1983	—
37	Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves	1957	1995
37	Detroit Tigers	1984	—
35	New York Mets	1986	—
34	Pittsburgh Pirates	1925	1960
34	Cincinnati Reds	1940	1975
32	Detroit Tigers	1903*	1935
32	Oakland Athletics	1989	—
31	Los Angeles Dodgers	1988	2020
31	Cincinnati Reds	1990	—
30	Minnesota Twins	1991	—

* 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	73	Cleveland Indians, 1948
Milwaukee	60*	Milwaukee Braves, 1957
San Diego	53‡	None
Dallas-Ft. Worth	50‡	None
Seattle	46‡ †	None
Pittsburgh	42	Pittsburgh Pirates, 1979
Baltimore	38	Baltimore Orioles, 1983
Detroit	37	Detroit Tigers, 1984
Cincinnati	31	Cincinnati Reds, 1990
Minneapolis–Saint Paul	30	Minnesota Twins, 1991
Denver	29‡	None
Toronto	28	Toronto Blue Jays, 1993
Tampa-St. Petersburg	24‡	None
Phoenix	20	Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale	18	Florida Marlins, 2003
Philadelphia	13	Philadelphia Phillies, 2008
New York City	12	New York Yankees, 2009
St. Louis	10	St. Louis Cardinals, 2011
San Francisco Bay Area	7	San Francisco Giants, 2014
Kansas City	6	Kansas City Royals, 2015
Chicago	5	Chicago Cubs, 2016
Houston	4	Houston Astros, 2017
Boston	3	Boston Red Sox, 2018
Washington, D.C.	2	Washington Nationals, 2019
Los Angeles	1	Los Angeles Dodgers, 2020
Atlanta	0	Atlanta Braves, 2021

*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 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.

Season	Won	Lost
1948	Cleveland Indians	Boston Braves
1915	Boston Red Sox	Philadelphia Phillies
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. 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	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).

World Series appearance droughts[]

Longest current World Series appearance droughts[]

No World Series was played in 1994 due to the players' strike that year.

Seasons	Team	Last World Series appearance
45	Seattle Mariners	Never (franchise started in 1977)
42	Pittsburgh Pirates	1979
39	Milwaukee Brewers	1982 (never since joining NL in 1998)
38	Baltimore Orioles	1983
31	Cincinnati Reds	1990
31	Oakland Athletics	1990
30	Minnesota Twins	1991
28	Toronto Blue Jays	1993
23	San Diego Padres	1998
20	Arizona Diamondbacks	2001
19	Los Angeles Angels	2002
18	Miami Marlins	2003
16	Chicago White Sox	2005
14	Colorado Rockies	2007
12	New York Yankees	2009
12	Philadelphia Phillies	2009
10	Texas Rangers	2011
9	Detroit Tigers	2012
8	St. Louis Cardinals	2013
7	San Francisco Giants	2014
6	Kansas City Royals	2015
6	New York Mets	2015
5	Chicago Cubs	2016
5	Cleveland Indians	2016
3	Boston Red Sox	2018
2	Washington Nationals	2019
1	Tampa Bay Rays	2020
1	Los Angeles Dodgers	2020
0	Atlanta Braves	2021
0	Houston Astros	2021

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.

Seasons	Team	Prev. Pennant	Next Pennant
70	Chicago Cubs	1945	2016
50	Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals	1969*	2019
49	Washington Senators/Texas Rangers	1961*	2010
45	Chicago White Sox	1959	2005
45	Seattle Mariners	1977*	—
43	Houston Colt .45s/Astros	1962*	2005
42	Pittsburgh Pirates	1979	—
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
39	Milwaukee Brewers	1982	—
38	Baltimore Orioles	1983	—
34	Philadelphia Phillies	1915	1950
33	Boston Braves	1914	1948
32	Pittsburgh Pirates	1927	1960
32	Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves	1958	1991
31	Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins	1933	1965
31	Oakland Athletics	1990	—
31	Cincinnati Reds	1990	—
30	Minnesota Twins	1991	—
29	Philadelphia Phillies	1950	1980
28	Kansas City Royals	1985	2014
28	Los Angeles Dodgers	1988	2017
28	Toronto Blue Jays	1993	—
27	Boston Red Sox	1918	1946
27	Cleveland Indians	1920	1948
26	San Francisco Giants	1962	1989
24	Detroit Tigers	1909	1934
23	St. Louis Cardinals	1903*	1926
23	San Diego Padres	1998	—
22	Detroit Tigers	1945	1968
21	Washington Senators	1903*	1924
21	St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles	1944	1966
21	Minnesota Twins	1965	1987
21	Detroit Tigers	1984	2006
21	Atlanta Braves	1999	2021
20	Brooklyn Dodgers	1920	1941
20	Cincinnati Reds	1940	1961
20	Boston Red Sox	1946	1967
20	Arizona Diamondbacks	2001	—

* 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
Seattle	46* †	None
Pittsburgh	42	Pittsburgh Pirates, 1979
Milwaukee	39	Milwaukee Brewers, 1982 (in A.L.)
Baltimore	38	Baltimore Orioles, 1983
Cincinnati	31	Cincinnati Reds, 1990
Minneapolis–Saint Paul	30	Minnesota Twins, 1991
Toronto	28	Toronto Blue Jays, 1993
San Diego	23	San Diego Padres, 1998
Phoenix	20	Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale	18	Florida Marlins, 2003
Denver	14	Colorado Rockies, 2007
Philadelphia	12	Philadelphia Phillies, 2009
Dallas-Ft. Worth	10	Texas Rangers, 2011
Detroit	9	Detroit Tigers, 2012
St. Louis	8	St. Louis Cardinals, 2013
San Francisco Bay Area	7	San Francisco Giants, 2014
Kansas City	6	Kansas City Royals, 2015
New York City	6	New York Mets, 2015
Cleveland	5	Cleveland Indians, 2016
Chicago	5	Chicago Cubs, 2016
Boston	3	Boston Red Sox, 2018
Washington, D.C.	2	Washington Nationals, 2019
Tampa-St. Petersburg	1	Tampa Bay Rays, 2020
Los Angeles	1	Los Angeles Dodgers, 2020
Atlanta	0	Atlanta Braves, 2021
Houston	0	Houston Astros, 2021

*city without Major League Baseball franchise for 7 seasons (1970–1976)

†number does not 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.

Seasons	Team	Last appearance
29	Pittsburgh Pirates	1992
26	Cincinnati Reds	1995
23	San Diego Padres	1998
20	Seattle Mariners	2001
19	Minnesota Twins	2002
18	Miami Marlins	2003
16	Chicago White Sox	2005
15	Oakland Athletics	2006
14	Arizona Diamondbacks	2007
14	Colorado Rockies	2007
12	Los Angeles Angels	2009
11	Philadelphia Phillies	2010
10	Texas Rangers	2011
8	Detroit Tigers	2013
7	San Francisco Giants	2014
7	Baltimore Orioles	2014
6	Kansas City Royals	2015
6	New York Mets	2015
5	Toronto Blue Jays	2016
5	Cleveland Indians	2016
4	Chicago Cubs	2017
3	Milwaukee Brewers	2018
2	New York Yankees	2019
2	St. Louis Cardinals	2019
2	Washington Nationals	2019
1	Tampa Bay Rays	2020
0	Atlanta Braves	2021
0	Boston Red Sox	2021
0	Houston Astros	2021
0	Los Angeles Dodgers	2021

League division champion droughts[]

Longest current division champion droughts[]

No league division champions were won in 1994 due to the players' strike that year.

Seasons	Team	Division	Last division champion
29	Colorado Rockies	NL West	Never (franchise began in 1993)
29	Miami Marlins*	NL East	Never (franchise began in 1993)
29	Pittsburgh Pirates**	NL Central	1992 (never since moved from NL East in 1994)
20	Seattle Mariners	AL West	2001
15	San Diego Padres	NL West	2006
10	Arizona Diamondbacks	NL West	2011
10	Philadelphia Phillies	NL East	2011
9	Cincinnati Reds	NL Central	2012
7	Baltimore Orioles	AL East	2014
7	Detroit Tigers	AL Central	2014
7	Los Angeles Angels	AL West	2014
6	Kansas City Royals	AL Central	2015
6	New York Mets	NL East	2015
6	Toronto Blue Jays	AL East	2015
5	Texas Rangers	AL West	2016
4	Washington Nationals	NL East	2017
3	Boston Red Sox	AL East	2018
3	Cleveland Indians	AL Central	2018
2	New York Yankees	AL East	2019
2	St. Louis Cardinals	NL Central	2019
1	Chicago Cubs	NL Central	2020
1	Oakland Athletics***	AL West	2020
1	Minnesota Twins	AL Central	2020
1	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL West	2020
0	San Francisco Giants	NL West	2021
0	Tampa Bay Rays	AL East	2021
0	Chicago White Sox	AL Central	2021
0	Atlanta Braves	NL East	2021
0	Milwaukee Brewers	NL Central	2021
0	Houston Astros	AL West	2021

* Because of the wild card postseason berth, the franchise have won two World Series championships (1997, 2003) without winning the division.
** Also the franchise without a winning record for 20 consecutive seasons (1993–2012).
*** Lost in ALDS to Division Rival Houston.

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.

Seasons	Team	Prev. Division	Next Division
30	Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals	1981	2012
29	Kansas City Royals	1985	2015
29	Pittsburgh Pirates	1992	—
29	Colorado Rockies	1993*	—
29	Florida/Miami Marlins	1993*	—
28	Milwaukee Brewers	1982	2011
27	Washington Senators/Texas Rangers	1969*	1996
26	Cleveland Indians	1969*	1995
23	Detroit Tigers	1987	2011
21	Toronto Blue Jays	1993	2015
20	Seattle Mariners	2001	—
18	Seattle Mariners	1977*	1995
17	California/Anaheim Angels	1986	2004
17	New York Mets	1988	2006
16	Minnesota Twins	1970	1987
16	Baltimore Orioles	1997	2014
15	Chicago Cubs	1969*	1984
15	San Diego Padres	1969*	1984
15	San Francisco Giants	1971	1987
15	Houston Astros	2001	2017
15	San Diego Padres	2006	—
14	Chicago White Sox	1969*	1983
14	New York Yankees	1981	1996
14	Cincinnati Reds	1995	2010
13	St. Louis Cardinals	1969*	1982
13	Baltimore Orioles	1983	1997
13	Chicago Cubs	1989	2003
13	Philadelphia Phillies	1993	2007
12	Montreal Expos	1969*	1981
12	Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers	1969*	1981
12	New York Mets	1973	1986
12	Chicago White Sox	2008	2021
11	Atlanta Braves	1969	1981
11	Houston Astros	1969*	1980
11	Detroit Tigers	1972	1984
11	San Diego Padres	1984	1996
11	Boston Red Sox	1995	2007
10	California Angels	1969*	1979
10	Boston Red Sox	1975	1986
10	Cincinnati Reds	1979	1990
10	Pittsburgh Pirates	1979	1990
10	Houston Astros	1986	1997
10	Minnesota Twins	1991	2002
10	Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays	1998*	2008
10	Texas Rangers	1999	2010
10	Arizona Diamondbacks	2011	—
10	Philadelphia Phillies	2011	—