List of World Series champions

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In the first World Series in 1903, the Boston Americans (front row) defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates (back row) 5-3 in an eight-game series. 1903 World Series - Boston Americans.jpg
In the first World Series in 1903, the Boston Americans (front row) defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates (back row) 5-3 in an eight-game series.

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) and concludes the MLB postseason. First played in 1903, [1] the World Series championship is a best-of-seven playoff and is a contest between the champions of baseball's National League (NL) and American League (AL). [2] Often referred to as the "Fall Classic", [3] the modern World Series has been played every year since 1903 with two exceptions: in 1904, when the NL champion New York Giants declined to play the AL champion Boston Americans; and in 1994, when the series was canceled due to the players' strike. [1] [2] [4] [5] The best-of-seven style has been the format of all World Series except in 1903, 1919, 1920, 1921, when the winner was determined through a best-of-nine playoff. [1] [2] Although the large majority of contests have been played entirely during the month of October, a small number of Series have also had games played during September and November. The Series-winning team is awarded the Commissioner's Trophy. [6] Players, coaches and others associated with the team are generally given World Series rings to commemorate their victory; however, they have received other items such as pocket watches and medallions in the past. [7] The winning team is traditionally invited to the White House to meet the President of the United States.

Contents

A total of 119 World Series have been contested through 2023, with the AL champion winning 68 and the NL champion winning 51. The New York Yankees of the AL have played in 40 World Series, winning 27 – the most championship appearances and most victories by any team amongst the major North American professional sports leagues. The Dodgers of the NL have the most losses with 14, while the Yankees have the most losses among AL teams with 13. The St. Louis Cardinals have won 11 championships, the most championships among NL clubs and second-most all-time behind the Yankees, and have made 19 total appearances, third-most among NL clubs. [3] The Dodgers have represented the NL the most in the World Series with 21 appearances. The Seattle Mariners are the only MLB franchise that has never appeared in a World Series; the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, and Colorado Rockies have all played in the Series but have never won it. The Los Angeles Angels and Washington Nationals are the only teams who have won their only World Series appearance, and the Toronto Blue Jays and Miami Marlins are the only teams with multiple World Series appearances with no losses. The Toronto Blue Jays are the only franchise from outside the United States to appear in and win a World Series, winning in 1992 and 1993. The Houston Astros are the only franchise to have represented both the NL (2005) and the AL (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022), winning the Series in 2017 and 2022. The current (2023) World Series champions are the Texas Rangers.

World Series results

Numbers in parentheses in the table are World Series appearances as of the date of that World Series, and are used as follows:

  National League team (NL)
  American League team (AL)
Legend
  1. ↑ Agreement between the two clubs rather than the two leagues
  2. ↑ There was no formal arrangement in place between the two leagues regarding the staging of the World Series, so the Giants owner John T. Brush refused to play against a team from what he considered an inferior league.
  3. ↑ Boston Americans (AL) vs New York Giants (NL)
  4. ↑ Formal agreement established between the two leagues to make the World Series into an annual event
  5. ↑ The 1967 series marked the first time that the Commissioner's Trophy was presented to the World Series-winning team.

Source for this Table [9]

World Series records by franchise

In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of wins, then by number of appearances, and finally by year of first appearance. In the "Season(s)" column, bold years indicate winning appearances.

AppsTeamWinsLossesWin %Season(s)
40 New York Yankees 2713.675 1921, 1922, 1923 , 1926, 1927 , 1928 , 1932 , 1936 , 1937 , 1938 , 1939 , 1941 , 1942, 1943 , 1947 , 1949 , 1950 , 1951 , 1952 , 1953 , 1955, 1956 , 1957, 1958 , 1960, 1961 , 1962 , 1963, 1964, 1976, 1977 , 1978 , 1981, 1996 , 1998 , 1999 , 2000 , 2001, 2003, 2009
19 St. Louis Cardinals 118.579 1926 , 1928, 1930, 1931 , 1934 , 1942 , 1943, 1944 , 1946 , 1964 , 1967 , 1968, 1982 , 1985, 1987, 2004, 2006 , 2011 , 2013
14 Philadelphia / Kansas City / Oakland Athletics 95.643 1905, 1910 , 1911 , 1913 , 1914, 1929 , 1930 , 1931, 1972 , 1973 , 1974 , 1988, 1989 , 1990
13 Boston Americans / Red Sox 94.692 1903 , 1912 , 1915 , 1916 , 1918 , 1946, 1967, 1975, 1986, 2004 , 2007 , 2013 , 2018
20 New York / San Francisco Giants 812.400 1905 , 1911, 1912, 1913, 1917, 1921 , 1922 , 1923, 1924, 1933 , 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954 , 1962, 1989, 2002, 2010 , 2012 , 2014
21 Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers 714.333 1916, 1920, 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955 , 1956, 1959 , 1963 , 1965 , 1966, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981 , 1988 , 2017, 2018, 2020
9 Cincinnati Reds 54.556 1919 , 1939, 1940 , 1961, 1970, 1972, 1975 , 1976 , 1990
7 Pittsburgh Pirates 52.714 1903, 1909 , 1925 , 1927, 1960 , 1971 , 1979
11 Detroit Tigers 47.364 1907, 1908, 1909, 1934, 1935 , 1940, 1945 , 1968 , 1984 , 2006, 2012
10 Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves 46.400 1914 , 1948, 1957 , 1958, 1991, 1992, 1995 , 1996, 1999, 2021
11 Chicago Cubs 38.273 1906, 1907 , 1908 , 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, 1945, 2016
7 St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles 34.429 1944, 1966 , 1969, 1970 , 1971, 1979, 1983
6 Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins 33.500 1924 , 1925, 1933, 1965, 1987 , 1991
5 Chicago White Sox 32.600 1906 , 1917 , 1919, 1959, 2005
8 Philadelphia Phillies 26.250 1915, 1950, 1980 , 1983, 1993, 2008 , 2009, 2022
6 Cleveland Indians / Guardians 24.333 1920 , 1948 , 1954, 1995, 1997, 2016
5 New York Mets 23.400 1969 , 1973, 1986 , 2000, 2015
5 Houston Colt .45s / Astros 23.400 2005, 2017 , 2019, 2021, 2022
4 Kansas City Royals 22.500 1980, 1985 , 2014, 2015
2 Toronto Blue Jays 201.000 1992 , 1993
2 Florida / Miami Marlins 201.000 1997 , 2003
3 Washington Senators / Texas Rangers 12.333 2010, 2011, 2023
2 Arizona Diamondbacks 11.500 2001, 2023
1 California / Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels 101.000 2002
1 Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals 101.000 2019
2 San Diego Padres 02.000 1984, 1998
2 Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays 02.000 2008, 2020
1 Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers 01.000 1982
1 Colorado Rockies 01.000 2007
0 Seattle Mariners 00—

Frequent matchups

The following are the 20 matchups of teams that have occurred two or more times in the World Series. All teams that have participated in these were "Classic Eight" members of either the American or National League; no expansion team (created in 1961 or later) has faced the same opponent more than once in a World Series.

CountMatchupRecordYears
11 New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Yankees, 8–3 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1963, 1977, 1978, 1981
7 New York Yankees vs. San Francisco Giants Yankees, 5–2 1921, 1922, 1923, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1962
5 St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Yankees Cardinals, 3–2 1926, 1928, 1942, 1943, 1964
4 Oakland Athletics vs. San Francisco Giants Athletics, 3–1 1905, 1911, 1913, 1989
4 New York Yankees vs. Atlanta Braves Yankees, 3–1 1957, 1958, 1996, 1999
4 Chicago Cubs vs. Detroit Tigers Tied, 2–2 1907, 1908, 1935, 1945
4 Boston Red Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinals Tied, 2–2 1946, 1967, 2004, 2013
3 St. Louis Cardinals vs. Detroit Tigers Cardinals, 2–1 1934, 1968, 2006
3 New York Yankees vs. Cincinnati Reds Yankees, 2–1 1939, 1961, 1976
2 Oakland Athletics vs. Chicago Cubs Athletics, 2–0 1910, 1929
2 Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Red Sox, 2–0 1916, 2018
2 New York Yankees vs. Chicago Cubs Yankees, 2–0 1932, 1938
2 New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies Yankees, 2–0 1950, 2009
2 Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Baltimore Orioles Pirates, 2–0 1971, 1979
2 Minnesota Twins vs. San Francisco Giants Tied, 1–1 1924, 1933
2 New York Yankees vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Tied, 1–1 1927, 1960
2 Oakland Athletics vs. St. Louis Cardinals Tied, 1–1 1930, 1931
2 Atlanta Braves vs. Cleveland Guardians Tied, 1–1 1948, 1995
2 Cincinnati Reds vs. Oakland Athletics Tied, 1–1 1972, 1990
2 Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Oakland Athletics Tied, 1–1 1974, 1988

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Baseball-Reference Playoff and World Series Index". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 "World Series Overview". New York: MLB Advanced Media . Retrieved January 2, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "World Series History: Championships by Club". New York: MLB Advanced Media . Retrieved January 2, 2010.
  4. ↑ "History of the World Series – 1904". The Sporting News . Archived from the original on December 3, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Season interrupted". Sports Illustrated . August 26, 2002. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Phillies Announce World Series Trophy Tour Presented by Teva Pharmaceuticals and Comcast SportsNet". PR Newswire Association. January 9, 2009. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  7. ↑ Lukas, Paul (October 30, 2009). "World Series rings, the real scoop". ESPN. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Brewers switch leagues, join Reds in NL Central". The Kentucky Post (Associated Press). E. W. Scripps Company. November 6, 1997. Archived from the original on May 5, 2005.
  9. ↑ "World Series Winners". Baseball-Reference.com . Philadelphia: Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
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