There have been over 110 editions of the World Series and 24 out of the 30 active MLB teams can brag about having at least one World Series title. Even so, there are some clubs that are still waiting to wrap their hands around the commissioner’s trophy once and for all.
Not all MLB teams are suited to become World Series champions. It takes a lot of consistency to compete for such a long season but you also need to stay healthy and, why not, even have luck on your side more often than not.
Teams have to endure a 162-game season but records simply don’t matter when they reach the postseason. A good final stretch can lead an underdog all the way to the ultimate stage, as we’ve seen it before.
Baseball is a game of passion so you can never lose hope. The day will also come for those unlucky six MLB teams that haveyet to win their first World Series title, and we’ll let you know everything about them.
Tampa Bay Rays
Evan Longoria led the Rays from 2008-2017. (Getty)
The Tampa Bay Rays have been slowly working their way through contention and, despite their ups and downs and the lack of a supportive fanbase, they even won an American League pennant in 2008. Sadly, they lost 4-1 in the World Series vs. the Phillies.
There has even been some talk about potentially relocating the Rays to a bigger market so the team could finally take a step forward toward contention, but that’s a conversation for another day.
Colorado Rockies
Carlos González, 2010 NL Batting Champion. (Getty)
The Colorado Rockies have had their fair share of struggles throughout their history. They’re far from being a perennial contender and had never made it to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons until 2017 and 2018.
The Rockies did make the World Series in 2007 but the Boston Red Sox were just too much to handle and swept them. They’ve struggled to win a playoffs series ever since and it doesn’t seem like that’s going to change any time soon.
Seattle Mariners
Ken Griffey Jr led the AL in home runs 4 times . (Getty)
The Seattle Mariners have seen some of the greatest players of all-time break out with their team. Ken Griffey Jr, Álex Rodríguez, Randy Johnson, Ichiro Suzuki, Edgar Martínez, Félix Hernández, you name it, they’ve had it all.
Even so, they have never made it to the World Series and are currently sitting on a 17-year playoff drought, which also happens to be the longest in all Major League Baseball. How does that even happen?
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Texas Rangers
The Rangers retired Adrián Beltré’s number. (Getty)
The Texas Rangers have been pretty close to the glory over the past decade but they’ve never been able to seal the deal when it mattered the most. They’ve become steady contenders for a playoffs berth but constantly underperform in tough situations.
The Rangers even made it to back-to-back World Series in 2010 and 2011 but they lost to the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively. Hopefully, they’ll get back to the Fall Classic again in no time.
Milwaukee Brewers
Christian Yelich, 2018 NL MVP. (Getty)
The Milwaukee Brewers are perhaps the MLB team with the best tradition and culture of all in this list. They have a strong and supportive fanbase and have been around the league long enough to win – at least – a World Series title but it just hasn’t happened yet.
The Brewers were pretty close to winning the World Series in 1982, when they faced their lifelong fans St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. They almost made it back in 2018 but the Dodgers beat them in seven games in the NLCS.
San Diego Padres
Gaylord Perry won the CY Young award with the Padres in 1978. (Getty)
The San Diego Padres have the smallest market in California and that has been quite tough to overcome considering their lack of playoffs success and how much the team has struggled throughout history.
They did make it to a couple of World Series in 1984 and 1998 but both times they had to deal with incredibly overpowered teams, the Detroit Tigers and the 114-game-winners New York Yankees. Tough luck.
