The World Series has been around for more than 120 years, but some teams are still waiting for their chance to lift the Commissioner’s Trophy.
Teams like the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox and Athletics have been crowned champions plenty of times in their history. Other teams like the Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nationals and, most recently, the Texas Rangers have gotten their first taste of World Series glory in the 21st century.
Several teams are still chasing their first championship in 2026, though. Could this be the year that another first-time champion joins the club?
Let’s look at the MLB teams that have never won a World Series title:
Which MLB teams have never won the World Series?
After the Rangers won their first title in 2023, five MLB organizations have never won the World Series, including three that will compete in the 2026 postseason.
Milwaukee Brewers*
Seattle Mariners
Tampa Bay Rays*
Colorado Rockies
*Reached the 2026 postseason.
MLB teams with multiple World Series appearances but no titles
Two of the teams that have never won the World Series have played in it multiple times.
Among the teams without a title, the Rays have the most recent World Series appearance. Tampa Bay made its World Series debut in 2008 and lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games. It got back to the World Series in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Then there are the Padres. The team reached the World Series for the first time in 1984 and got back in 1998. The Padres made it to the NLCS in 2022, but it was the Phillies that reached the Fall Classic thanks to a gentleman’s sweep. The last two years have ended with losses in the NLDS (2024) and NL Wild Card (2025).
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MLB teams with one World Series appearance but no title
The Brewers and Rockies each have one World Series appearance.
Milwaukee’s came in 1982, back when it was in the American League. The Brewers took a 3-2 series lead over the Cardinals before dropping Games 6 and 7 in St. Louis. Their closest call to making it back came against the Dodgers in 2018 when they lost in Game 7 of the NLCS.
The Rockies stormed into the 2007 World Series after sweeping their way through the NLDS and NLCS. They got a taste of their own medicine in the World Series, though, as the Red Sox broke out the brooms in four games. Colorado has won just one postseason game since clinching the 2007 NL pennant, and it hasn’t finished above .500 in a season since 2018.
MLB teams with no World Series appearances
The World Series has never taken place in Seattle.
The Mariners are the only MLB team that has yet to reach the Fall Classic, though they have come close.
The team reached the ALCS three times from 1995 to 2001. The 2001 ALCS defeat at the hands of the Yankees came after the Mariners tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs with an MLB-record 116 regular season wins.
However, their closest call came just last season when they lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the ALCS. Seattle held a 3-1 lead in Game 7 before Toronto tacked on three runs in the seventh inning en route to a 4-3 victory.
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An earlier version of this story was published in October 2023.