The World Series has been around for 120 years, and some teams are still waiting for their chance to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy.
Teams such as the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, and Boston Red Sox have been crowned champions many times throughout history. Other teams such as the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, and Washington Nationals tasted World Series glory for the first time in the 21st century.
As a result, several teams will miss out on the championship, including one that has a chance to come back in 2023.
Let’s take a look at MLB teams that have never won the World Series.
What MLB team has never won a World Series?
The following six MLB organizations have never won a World Series.
MLB teams with multiple World Series appearances but no titles
Three of the teams that have never won a World Series have been to the World Series multiple times.
The Rangers appeared in back-to-back Fall Classics in 2010 and 2011. The team lost to the San Francisco Giants in 2010, and despite coming close to winning the 2011 title, suffered a heartbreaking seven-game losing streak to the Cardinals. Now, the Rangers are facing the Houston Astros in the 2023 ALCS with a chance to finally win the World Series.
The Rays are the most recent team without a title to appear in the World Series. Tampa Bay made its first appearance in the World Series in 2008, but ultimately lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games. The Los Angeles Dodgers returned to the World Series in the 2020 season, which was shortened due to the pandemic, and won it all.
Next up is the San Diego Padres. The team reached the World Series for the first time in 1984 and returned there again in 1998. The Padres advanced to the NLCS in 2022, but it was the Phillies who advanced to the Fall Classic thanks to a gentlemanly blowout victory.
MLB team with one World Series appearance but no title
The Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies have each appeared in one World Series.
The Milwaukees were founded in 1982 and were part of the American League at the time. Similar to the Rangers in 2011, the Brewers took a 3-2 series lead against the Cardinals before losing Games 6 and 7 in St. Louis.
The Rockies swept the NLDS and NLCS and advanced to the 2007 World Series. However, they got a taste of their own medicine in the World Series, as the Red Sox won in four games. Colorado has won just one postseason game since clinching the National League pennant in 2007.
MLB teams not participating in the World Series
Seattle has never hosted a World Series.
The Mariners are the only MLB team that is close to the Fall Classic but has not yet reached it.
The team advanced to the ALCS three times from 1995 to 2001. The 2001 ALCS loss to the Yankees came after the Mariners tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs with an MLB record 116 regular season wins.
Since then, it has been extremely difficult for the team to make it to the playoffs, let alone the World Series. Seattle endured a 20-year playoff drought before clinching a playoff berth in 2022, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card Series and being swept by the Astros in the ALDS.
