We could see another long World Series title drought end this year

In the past 10 years, we’ve seen seven teams snap a World Series title drought of 25 years or more: the 2015 Royals (30), the 2016 Cubs (108), the 2017 Astros (55), the 2019 Nationals (50), the 2020 Dodgers (32), the 2021 Braves (26) and the 2023 Rangers (62). Three of those clubs — the Astros, Nationals and Rangers — won their first championship.

Will one of this year’s postseason teams join them? Here’s a look at eight* that haven’t won a World Series in at least 20 years.

*With the NL Wild Card race too close to call entering the final day of the regular season, we include both the D-backs and the Mets here.

Guardians (76 years)
Last title: 1948

Cleveland came oh-so-close to breaking this drought when it was tied with the Cubs late in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. Rajai Davis launched a memorable game-tying, two-run homer off flamethrowing reliever Aroldis Chapman in the eighth inning, but Chicago regrouped during a rain delay and scored twice in the top of the 10th, winning the game and its first championship in 108 years.

Prior to that World Series appearance, the last time Cleveland had been in the Fall Classic was 1997, when it lost another heartbreaker in seven games, this time to the Marlins. It was the second World Series appearance in three years for Cleveland — prior to 1995, the club had not reached the World Series since 1954, when it was swept by the Giants. Six years prior, Cleveland won it all with a team that featured Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, Larry Doby and Lou Boudreau.

Brewers (55 years)
Last title: None

Milwaukee has reached the World Series once in its 55-year history, and that was in 1982. That year, franchise icon Robin Yount had a career season in which he posted a .957 OPS with 29 home runs and 114 RBIs to earn the AL MVP Award. His performance fueled the Brewers’ run to the Fall Classic, which they lost in seven games to the Cardinals. Yount was sensational, hitting .414 with three doubles, a homer and six RBIs.

The closest the Brewers have come to reaching the World Series since then was in 2018, when they lost to the Dodgers in a seven-game National League Championship Series.

Padres (55 years)
Last title: None

The Padres have been in the World Series twice, in 1984 and ’98. The ’84 club was led by Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, who won the first of his eight career batting titles by hitting .351. The Padres came back from a 2-0 deficit in what was then a best-of-five NLCS against the Cubs to reach the Fall Classic. They faced the Tigers, a 104-win team that defeated them in five games.

Fourteen years later, San Diego made another run to the World Series by knocking off the “Team of the ’90s” Braves in the NLCS. That club was led by right-handers Kevin Brown and Andy Ashby in the starting rotation, as well as Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman at the back of the bullpen. The lineup was anchored by Greg Vaughn, who hit 50 homers, as well as Gwynn and Ken Caminiti. The Yankees swept the Padres in the World Series for their second title in three years.

The closest San Diego has come to the World Series since then is an NLCS appearance in 2022 — the Padres were beaten by the Phillies in five games.

Orioles (41 years)
Last title: 1983

Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. and Eddie Murray led the O’s to a championship in a year when Ripken followed up an AL Rookie of the Year campaign with the first of two career MVP Awards. Ripken led the Majors with 211 hits and 47 doubles to go along with 27 homers and an .888 OPS in ’83. Murray, meanwhile, launched 33 homers with a .930 OPS. Baltimore beat the Phillies in five games to win their first World Series title in 13 years.

The Orioles have gotten to the ALCS three times since then, but the closest they came to the Fall Classic was in 1997, when they lost in six games to Cleveland. Baltimore’s most recent ALCS appearance was in 2014, when it was swept by the Royals.

Tigers (40 years)
Last title: 1984

The Tigers went wire to wire in first place in the AL East in 1984. Kirk Gibson, Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell and Chet Lemon led the way offensively, while Jack Morris highlighted the starting rotation. Closer Willie Hernandez was outstanding, winning both the AL MVP Award and the AL Cy Young Award. Detroit reached the World Series for the first time in 16 years and won it in five games over the Padres. Trammell hit .450 with a pair of homers and was named World Series MVP.

It wasn’t until 2006 that the Tigers returned to the Fall Classic. AL Rookie of the Year Justin Verlander paced the starting staff, and the lineup was anchored by Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen, but Detroit lost in five games to the Cardinals. Six years later, the Tigers got back to the World Series but were swept by the Giants despite an MVP season from Miguel Cabrera.

Mets (38 years)
Last title: 1986

The Mets’ last World Series title famously came back in 1986, when a Game 6 error by Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner led to an improbable Mets win before New York won Game 7 two nights later. That team was led by a star-studded lineup featuring Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez, Lenny Dykstra and Gary Carter. On the mound, three starters — Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling and Bob Ojeda — each posted an ERA under 3.00.

The next Fall Classic appearance for the Mets came in 2015, when they lost in five games to the Royals, who broke a 30-year title drought of their own. That Mets club was powered by a young starting rotation featuring rising stars Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom, and at the back of the bullpen was a lights-out closer in Jeurys Familia. At the plate, Daniel Murphy had a postseason for the ages, launching seven homers to help fuel New York’s run.

Twins (33 years)
Last title: 1991

In a classic World Series that ended with an extra-inning thriller in Game 7, the Twins last won it all in 1991 over the Braves. The seventh and deciding game was a pitching duel between Jack Morris and John Smoltz, with Morris winning a hard-fought battle thanks to an incredible 10 scoreless innings. Gene Larkin won it in the 10th with a walk-off single to left. It was the second title in five years for Minnesota.

In the 33 years since, the Twins have been to the postseason 10 times, but over that span they’ve won only seven playoff games, reaching the ALCS once, in 2002.

D-backs (23 years)
Last title: 2001

Although they very nearly ended this drought when they made a surprise run to the World Series last year, the D-backs’ sole title came in walk-off fashion back in 2001, when Luis Gonzalez’s broken-bat single over shortstop won it all for Arizona. The D-backs, then in their fourth season as a franchise, were fueled by the dynamic duo of hurlers Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, who were named co-MVPs of the Series.

Last year, Arizona won 84 games and squeaked into the postseason, but from there, the D-backs caught fire. They swept the Brewers in the NL Wild Card Series, then stunned the baseball world with a sweep of the Dodgers and a seven-game NLCS victory over the Phillies. A strong starting rotation headlined by Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, along with the power bats of Christian Walker and Ketel Marte propelled Arizona to within three victories of a second championship, but the Rangers took the World Series in five games.