List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason droughts - wikipedia List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason droughts Part of a series on the Major League Baseball postseason Wild Card Wild Card Game Division Series ALDS NLDS League Championship Series ALCS ( Winners list ) NLCS ( Winners list ) World Series List of World Series champions Commissioner 's Trophy Teams Appearances Series Streaks 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 years, ending in 1980 ). Since expansion began in 1961, seven of the 14 expansion teams have never won the World Series. Further, one franchise ( the Indians ) has a current championship drought that pre-dates the expansion era. The three longest championship droughts in history were ended recently by the Red Sox ( 85 years, ending in 2004 ), the White Sox ( 87 years, ending in 2005 ), and the Cubs ( 107 years, ending in 2016 ). Discounting the 33 years in which there was no MLB franchise in Washington, there have been 61 seasons played in Washington since their last World Series championship ( in 1924 ). Only two expansion franchises ( the Expos / Nationals and the Mariners ) have never won a pennant ( i.e., the league championship, the two winners of which meet in the World Series ). The two longest pennant droughts in history were recently ended by the Rangers ( 49 years, starting with the team 's foundation, ending in 2010 ) and the Cubs ( 70 years, ending in 2016 ). The Expos / Nationals pennant drought includes 36 years in Montreal, which no longer hosts a team, and 13 years since the move to Washington ; discounting the 33 years in which there was no MLB franchise in Washington, there have been 51 seasons played in Washington since their last pennant ( in 1933 ). 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 16 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. Contents 1 World Series championship droughts 1.1 Longest current World Series championship droughts 1.2 Longest World Series championship droughts through history 1.3 World Series championship droughts by city / region 1.4 World Series in which neither team had previously won a championship 1.5 World Series in which both teams had ended pennant droughts of 20 - plus seasons 1.6 World Series in which neither franchise had won a championship in 30 - plus seasons 2 Major League pennant droughts 2.1 Longest current Major League pennant droughts 2.2 Longest Major League pennant droughts through history 2.3 Major League pennant droughts by city / region 2.4 World Series droughts by division 3 League championship appearance droughts 3.1 Longest current league championship appearance droughts 4 Postseason droughts 4.1 Longest current postseason droughts 4.2 Longest postseason droughts in the expanded - postseason era 5 See also 6 External links 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 70 Cleveland Indians 1948 2016 58 Texas Rangers Never ( franchise began 1961 ) 2011 50 Milwaukee Brewers Never ( franchise began 1969 ) 1982 50 San Diego Padres Never ( franchise began 1969 ) 1998 50 Washington Nationals Never ( franchise began 1969 ) Never 42 Seattle Mariners Never ( franchise began 1977 ) Never 39 Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 1979 35 Baltimore Orioles 34 Detroit Tigers 1984 2012 32 New York Mets 1986 2015 30 Los Angeles Dodgers 1988 2018 29 Oakland Athletics 1989 1990 28 Cincinnati Reds 1990 1990 27 Minnesota Twins 1991 1991 26 Colorado Rockies Never ( franchise began 1993 ) 2007 25 Toronto Blue Jays 1993 1993 23 Atlanta Braves 1995 1999 21 Tampa Bay Rays Never ( franchise began 1998 ) 2008 17 Arizona Diamondbacks 2001 2001 16 Los Angeles Angels 2002 2002 15 Miami Marlins 2003 2003 13 Chicago White Sox 2005 2005 10 Philadelphia Phillies 2008 2009 9 New York Yankees 2009 2009 7 St. Louis Cardinals 2011 2013 San Francisco Giants 2014 2014 Kansas City Royals 2015 2015 Chicago Cubs 2016 2016 Houston Astros 2017 2017 0 Boston Red Sox 2018 2018 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 77 Philadelphia Phillies 1903 * 1980 70 Cleveland Indians 1948 -- 63 St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles 1903 * 1966 62 Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins 1924 58 Washington Senators / Texas Rangers 1961 * -- 55 Houston Colt. 45s / Astros 1962 * 2017 55 New York / San Francisco Giants 1954 52 Brooklyn Dodgers 1903 * 1955 50 Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers 1969 * -- 50 San Diego Padres 1969 * -- 50 Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals 1969 * -- 42 Boston / Milwaukee Braves 1914 1957 42 Seattle Mariners 1977 * -- 41 Philadelphia / Kansas City / Oakland Athletics 1930 1972 41 Los Angeles - California - Anaheim Angels 1961 * 2002 39 Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 -- 37 Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves 1957 1995 35 Baltimore Orioles -- 34 Pittsburgh Pirates 1925 1960 34 Cincinnati Reds 1940 34 Detroit Tigers 1984 -- 32 Detroit Tigers 1903 * 1935 32 New York Mets 1986 -- 30 Los Angeles Dodgers 1988 -- * 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 70 Cleveland Indians, 1948 Washington, D.C. 61 * Washington Senators ( original A.L. ), 1924 Milwaukee 57 * * Milwaukee Braves, 1957 San Diego 50 ‡ None Dallas - Ft. Worth 47 ‡ None Seattle 43 ‡ † None Pittsburgh 39 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1979 Baltimore 35 Baltimore Orioles, 1983 Detroit 34 Detroit Tigers, 1984 Cincinnati 28 Cincinnati Reds, 1990 Minneapolis -- Saint Paul 27 Minnesota Twins, 1991 Denver 26 ‡ None Toronto 25 Toronto Blue Jays, 1993 Atlanta 23 Atlanta Braves, 1995 Tampa - St. Petersburg 21 ‡ None Phoenix 17 Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001 Los Angeles 16 Anaheim Angels, 2002 Miami - Ft. Lauderdale 15 Florida Marlins, 2003 Philadelphia 10 Philadelphia Phillies, 2008 New York City 9 New York Yankees, 2009 St. Louis 7 St. Louis Cardinals, 2011 San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Giants, 2014 Kansas City Kansas City Royals, 2015 Chicago Chicago Cubs, 2016 Houston Houston Astros, 2017 Boston 0 Boston Red Sox, 2018 * 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 does n'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. Bold denotes team that won. Season American League Drought ( seasons ) National League Drought ( seasons ) 2016 Cleveland Indians 67 Chicago Cubs 107 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 * 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 ). Major League pennant droughts Longest current Major League pennant droughts No pennants were won in 1994 due to the players ' strike that year. Seasons Team Last pennant 50 Washington Nationals Never ( franchise started in 1969 ) 42 Seattle Mariners Never ( franchise started in 1977 ) 39 Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 36 Milwaukee Brewers 1982 ( never since joining NL in 1998 ) 35 Baltimore Orioles 28 Cincinnati Reds 1990 28 Oakland Athletics 1990 27 Minnesota Twins 1991 25 Toronto Blue Jays 1993 20 San Diego Padres 1998 19 Atlanta Braves 1999 17 Arizona Diamondbacks 2001 16 Los Angeles Angels 2002 15 Miami Marlins 2003 13 Chicago White Sox 2005 11 Colorado Rockies 2007 10 Tampa Bay Rays 2008 9 New York Yankees 2009 9 Philadelphia Phillies 2009 7 Texas Rangers 2011 6 Detroit Tigers 2012 5 St. Louis Cardinals 2013 San Francisco Giants 2014 Kansas City Royals 2015 New York Mets 2015 Chicago Cubs 2016 Cleveland Indians 2016 Houston Astros 2017 0 Boston Red Sox 2018 0 Los Angeles Dodgers 2018 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 * -- 49 Washington Senators / Texas Rangers 1961 * 45 Chicago White Sox 1959 2005 43 Houston Colt. 45s / Astros 1962 * 2005 42 Seattle Mariners 1977 * -- 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 Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 -- 36 Milwaukee Brewers 1982 -- 35 Baltimore Orioles -- 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 29 Philadelphia Phillies 1950 1980 28 Kansas City Royals 1985 2014 28 Los Angeles Dodgers 1988 2017 28 Oakland Athletics 1990 -- 28 Cincinnati Reds 1990 -- 27 Boston Red Sox 1918 1946 27 Cleveland Indians 1920 1948 27 Minnesota Twins 1991 -- 26 San Francisco Giants 1962 1989 25 Toronto Blue Jays 1993 -- 24 Detroit Tigers 1909 1934 23 St. Louis Cardinals 1903 * 1926 22 Detroit Tigers 1945 1968 21 St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles 1944 1966 21 Minnesota Twins 1965 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 20 San Diego Padres 1998 -- * 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. 52 * Washington Senators ( original A.L. ), 1933 Seattle 43 * * † None Pittsburgh 39 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1979 Milwaukee 36 Milwaukee Brewers, 1982 ( in A.L. ) Baltimore 35 Baltimore Orioles, 1983 Cincinnati 28 Cincinnati Reds, 1990 Minneapolis -- Saint Paul 27 Minnesota Twins, 1991 Toronto 25 Toronto Blue Jays, 1993 San Diego 20 San Diego Padres, 1998 Atlanta 19 Atlanta Braves, 1999 Phoenix 17 Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001 Miami - Ft. Lauderdale 15 Florida Marlins, 2003 Denver 11 Colorado Rockies, 2007 Tampa - St. Petersburg 10 Tampa Bay Rays, 2008 Philadelphia 9 Philadelphia Phillies, 2009 Dallas - Ft. Worth 7 Texas Rangers, 2011 Detroit 6 Detroit Tigers, 2012 St. Louis 5 St. Louis Cardinals, 2013 San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Giants, 2014 Kansas City Kansas City Royals, 2015 New York City New York Mets, 2015 Cleveland Cleveland Indians, 2016 Chicago Chicago Cubs, 2016 Houston Houston Astros, 2017 Boston 0 Boston Red Sox, 2018 Los Angeles 0 Los Angeles Dodgers, 2018 * city without Major League Baseball franchise for 33 seasons ( 1972 -- 2004 ) * * city without Major League Baseball franchise for 7 seasons ( 1970 -- 1976 ) † number does n't indicate a title won, but rather total seasons played. World Series droughts by division Division Last World Series win Seasons NL East 2008 -- Phillies 10 NL West 2014 -- Giants AL Central 2015 -- Royals NL Central 2016 -- Cubs AL West 2017 -- Astros AL East 2018 -- Red Sox 0 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 37 Washington Nationals 1981 26 Pittsburgh Pirates 1992 23 Cincinnati Reds 1995 20 San Diego Padres 1998 17 Atlanta Braves 2001 17 Seattle Mariners 2001 16 Minnesota Twins 2002 15 Miami Marlins 2003 13 Chicago White Sox 2005 12 Oakland Athletics 2006 11 Arizona Diamondbacks 2007 11 Colorado Rockies 2007 10 Tampa Bay Rays 2008 9 Los Angeles Angels 2009 8 Philadelphia Phillies 7 Texas Rangers 2011 5 Detroit Tigers 2013 St. Louis Cardinals 2014 San Francisco Giants 2014 Baltimore Orioles 2014 Kansas City Royals 2015 New York Mets 2015 Toronto Blue Jays 2016 Cleveland Indians 2016 Chicago Cubs 2017 New York Yankees 2017 0 Milwaukee Brewers 2018 0 Houston Astros 2018 0 Boston Red Sox 2018 0 Los Angeles Dodgers 2018 Postseason droughts Longest current postseason droughts Seasons Team Last appearance 17 Seattle Mariners * 2001 ALCS 15 Miami Marlins 2003 World Series 12 San Diego Padres 2006 NLDS 10 Chicago White Sox 2008 ALDS 7 Philadelphia Phillies 2011 NLDS 5 Cincinnati Reds 2013 NL Wild Card 5 Tampa Bay Rays 2013 ALDS Detroit Tigers 2014 ALDS Los Angeles Angels 2014 ALDS Pittsburgh Pirates 2015 NL Wild Card St. Louis Cardinals 2015 NLDS Kansas City Royals 2015 World Series Baltimore Orioles 2016 AL Wild Card New York Mets 2016 NL Wild Card San Francisco Giants 2016 NLDS Texas Rangers 2016 ALDS Toronto Blue Jays 2016 ALCS Minnesota Twins 2017 AL Wild Card Arizona Diamondbacks 2017 NLDS Washington Nationals 2017 NLDS 0 Oakland Athletics 2018 AL Wild Card 0 Chicago Cubs 2018 NL Wild Card 0 Atlanta Braves 2018 NLDS 0 Cleveland Indians 2018 ALDS 0 Colorado Rockies 2018 NLDS 0 New York Yankees 2018 ALDS 0 Houston Astros 2018 ALCS 0 Milwaukee Brewers 2018 NLCS 0 Los Angeles Dodgers 2018 World Series 0 Boston Red Sox 2018 World Series * Also longest active drought in North American sports 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 Previous Postseason Appearance Next Postseason Appearance 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 2006 17 Seattle Mariners 2001 -- 15 Los Angeles Angels 1986 2002 15 Miami Marlins 2003 -- See also Baseball portal List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason streaks List of Major League Baseball postseason series by franchise List of Major League Baseball postseason teams List of all - time Major League Baseball win - loss records List of National Basketball Association franchise post-season droughts List of National Football League franchise post-season droughts List of National Hockey League franchise post-season droughts List of Major League Soccer franchise post-season droughts External links Major League Baseball ( 2018 ) American League East Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Central Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Minnesota Twins West Houston Astros Los Angeles Angels Oakland Athletics Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers National League East Atlanta Braves Miami Marlins New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies Washington Nationals Central Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Milwaukee Brewers Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals West Arizona Diamondbacks Colorado Rockies Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Schedule Spring training Opening Day Jackie Robinson Day Civil Rights Game All - Star Game Interleague play International games Players Weekend World Baseball Classic Postseason World Series Champions AL AL Champions ALCS ALDS NL NL Champions NLCS NLDS Wild Card Game Appearances Streaks Droughts Series Business Draft Rule 5 Players Association Highest paid players Luxury tax Lockouts / strikes Winter Meetings Hot stove league Transactions Media Logo Radio Television MLB.com MLB Advanced Media Minor League Baseball Authentication Program Miscellaneous Instant replay Team uniforms Stadiums Mascots Rivalries Players investigated for domestic violence History History AL Seasons Tie - breakers Tie - breaking procedures Records Awards Retired numbers Hall of Fame Steroid usage Drug policy suspensions Mitchell Report Juiced Vindicated Biogenesis baseball scandal BALCO scandal Game of Shadows Barry Bonds perjury case Timeline Timeline of Major League Baseball History of team nicknames Dead - ball era Live - ball era Golden age of baseball Defunct and relocated teams Relocation of the 1950s -- 60s Expansion 1961 1962 1969 1977 1993 1998 Commissioner : Rob Manfred League Presidents AL NL World Series Series not held in 1904 because the NL champions refused to participate, and in 1994 due to a players ' strike. 1900s -- 1910s 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920s -- 1930s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940s -- 1950s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s -- 1970s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s -- 1990s 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000s -- 2010s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Related Pre-World Series champions Dauvray Cup Temple Cup Chronicle - Telegraph Cup World Series champions Most Valuable Players Starting pitchers Babe Ruth Award Commissioner 's Trophy World Series ring Appearances Streaks Droughts Series ( by franchise ) Broadcasters TV ratings ALCS NLCS ALDS NLDS ALWC NLWC Game 7 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake Book : World Series Category : World Series Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Major_League_Baseball_franchise_postseason_droughts&oldid=866390690 '' Categories : Major League Baseball playoffs and champions Major League Baseball records Playoff streaks Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2018 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 30 October 2018, at 01 : 39 ( UTC ). 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Question: which mlb teams have never been to the world series
Answer: Washington Nationals