The baseball season — a 162 game marathon over six months — can be a grind. But all that hard work pays off when teams put together winning seasons and reach the playoffs, earning a shot to compete for the World Series.
Some teams have a rich history of dominant seasons, while others only have a few glorious seasons to recall fondly. The San Diego Padres have just five postseason appearances to show for their 50 seasons and zero World Series rings. The Seattle Mariners have won a total of just 15 playoff games in their entire 42 season history and have never even been to the World Series.
Storied and successful franchises that have existed for over a century have had many more chances to rack up wins and championships. The New York Yankees are the best example, with 20 seasons of 100 or more wins and 27 World Series trophies.
But longevity is not a guarantee of success. The Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Boston Red Sox all had championship droughts that stretched from the early 1900s into the 2000s. But some teams have never had any World Series titles at all.
Of the 30 active MLB franchises, 23 have won the World Series since the Fall Classic became an annual tradition in 1903. Only two current teams, the Seattle Mariners and the Washington Nationals, have never made it to the World Series. Still, all seven of the teams without titles have at least reached the playoffs.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed the history of each MLB franchise using data from Baseball Reference to determine each team’s best season.
To determine each Major League Baseball team’s best season, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the histories of all 30 current MLB franchises based on data from Baseball Reference. Seasons were ranked based on postseason success and regular season win totals. Only the current iteration of each franchise was considered. For instance, the Brooklyn Dodgers were not considered for the Dodgers franchise, as only the Dodgers teams in Los Angeles were considered. Teams that played before the World Series era, which began in 1903, were not considered. Top players were determined by wins above replacement. Data was collected during the 2018 postseason, so 2018 teams were not considered.
Click here to see each baseball team’s best season.
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