Every baseball fan knows that October success in Major League Baseball can be fleeting. But when a team goes decades without a championship, that becomes a painful point in the team’s history. The longest active mlb hardest hit balls championship droughts are a difficult topic for many fans – particularly those who follow the teams in question.
For the Cleveland Indians, the last time they tasted success was in 1948, so it has been an agonizing 70 years. Coming close is cruel consolation; the Indians made it to the World Series in 1995, 1997 and 2016 but came up short each time. That years-long period of almost-victories, heartbreaking losses and heartache has become known as “The Drought”.
Let’s not forget the Seattle Mariners, who have never even won a World Series, and have been without a title since entering the Major Leagues in 1977. Every year, fans hold out hope that the Mariners will break the streak and bring home the trophy – but it hasn’t happened yet.
The Texas Rangers have the third-longest drought overall, coming in at 44 years. Though they’ve appeared in the World Series twice since, they’ve yet to win it all. The Rangers have been knocking on the door, so to speak – the 2004 and 2011 World Series both ended in heartbreaking Game 5 losses – but fans of the team remain extremely optimistic that it’s only a matter of time.
The San Diego Padres have managed to stay relevant in the majors, but they have not seen a championship since their birth in 1969. Their last World Series appearances were in 1984 and 1998, but both years ended in defeat. With a current team filled with talented young players, Padres Nation hopes they’ll finally break through and end the 47-year drought.
The longest active championship drought belogs to the Washington Nationals. athletes selling their memorabilia mlb last title came in 1924 when they were known as the Montreal Expos, so it’s been 95 years since they’ve won the World Series – an impossibly long wait for long-suffering fans.
The Nats have had their chances – in 2012 they were eliminated in the Divisional Series after leading 6-0 in Game 5; they made the National League Division Series again in 2014 and 2016, but were eliminated in the fifth game both times. Leaving fans with only one word: heartbreak.
Though it’s a difficult topic for fans to discuss, it has served to highlight every team’s journey to reach the summit of baseball. We all hope that all teams with long droughts will one day have a championship to call their own, and until then, all we can do is wait for glory days.