What MLB Teams Have Never Been To A World Series?
The World Series represents Major League Baseball’s championship series, and has crowned the league’s overall champion every year since 1903. Over the years, most teams have made it to the World Series at least once, and many have won multiple times. However, there is one remaining MLB team that has never reached the World Series. The Seattle Mariners are the only modern team to have never appeared in a World Series.
The Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are the only current MLB team to have never appeared in a World Series. The team was established in 1977 and has only made the postseason five times. The Mariners had their first winning season in 1991 and made the playoffs for the first time in 1995. Seattle made it to Game Six of the American League Championship Series that season.
The ALCS is the farthest the team has ever made it in the playoffs. The Mariners set the American League record for the most regular-season wins in 2001, yet they were bounced in the ALCS by the Yankees. It took another 21 seasons for Seattle to make it to the playoffs, as the team returned in 2022, only to be swept by Houston in the ALDS.
Teams Without a World Series Title
Five teams in the MLB have made it to the World Series but have never won it. These teams are the Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, and Milwaukee Brewers.
The Rays most recently went to the World Series in 2020 before falling to the Dodgers in six games. Tampa Bay also played in the World Series in 2008. The Rays were only founded in 1998, making them tied as the youngest team in the league.
The Rockies were established five years earlier, yet they only have one World Series appearance. Colorado lost its only trip to the World Series against the Red Sox in 2007. The Rangers made it to back-to-back World Series in 2010 and 2011 but fell short in both years. Those are the only two times Texas has made it that far in the team’s 51-year history.
The Padres have two World Series appearances and are the oldest team on this part of the list. San Diego fell short in 1984 to Detroit and in 1998 to the Yankees. Finally, the Brewers haven’t been to the World Series since 1982. Milwaukee lost in seven games to St. Louis in its first and only appearance.
World Series Winners
In total, 24 teams in Major League Baseball have won at least one World Series. The Yankees have won the most World Series titles with 27. The Cardinals are the only other team with double-digit World Series titles, winning 11. The Nationals were the last team to claim their first title. Washington defeated the Houston Astros to win the World Series in 2019. That was also the team’s first World Series appearance in history.