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 120 World Series have been contested through 2024, with the AL champion winning 68 and the NL champion winning 52. The New York Yankees of the AL have played in 41 World Series, winning 27 – the most championship appearances and most victories by any MLB team. The Dodgers and the Yankees are tied for the most losses with 14 each. The St. Louis Cardinals have won 11 championships, the most among NL clubs and second-most all-time behind the Yankees. [3] The Dodgers have represented the NL the most in the World Series with 22 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, with the Padres and the Rays appearing twice. 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 1919 and 2017 World Series were both marred with cheating scandals: the Black Sox Scandal and the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal. The most recent World Series champions are the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The last team to repeat as champions were the Yankees in 2000. Two World Series matchups (in 1982 and 2005) have no possibility of a rematch due to one of the contending teams switching to the opposing league – the Milwaukee Brewers moved to the NL in 1998, and the Houston Astros moved to the AL in 2013.

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. ↑ Had the series been played, it would have been the Boston Americans (AL) vs the 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]

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.

TeamWinsLossesAppsWin %Season(s)
New York Yankees 271441.659 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 , 2024
St. Louis Cardinals 11819.579 1926 , 1928, 1930, 1931 , 1934 , 1942 , 1943, 1944 , 1946 , 1964 , 1967 , 1968, 1982 , 1985, 1987, 2004, 2006 , 2011 , 2013
Philadelphia / Kansas City / Oakland / Athletics 9514.643 1905, 1910 , 1911 , 1913 , 1914, 1929 , 1930 , 1931, 1972 , 1973 , 1974 , 1988, 1989 , 1990
Boston Americans / Red Sox 9413.692 1903 , 1912 , 1915 , 1916 , 1918 , 1946, 1967, 1975, 1986, 2004 , 2007 , 2013 , 2018
Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers 81422.364 1916, 1920, 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955 , 1956, 1959 , 1963 , 1965 , 1966, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981 , 1988 , 2017, 2018, 2020 , 2024
New York / San Francisco Giants 81220.400 1905 , 1911, 1912, 1913, 1917, 1921 , 1922 , 1923, 1924, 1933 , 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954 , 1962, 1989, 2002, 2010 , 2012 , 2014
Cincinnati Reds 549.556 1919 , 1939, 1940 , 1961, 1970, 1972, 1975 , 1976 , 1990
Pittsburgh Pirates 527.714 1903, 1909 , 1925 , 1927, 1960 , 1971 , 1979
Detroit Tigers 4711.364 1907, 1908, 1909, 1934, 1935 , 1940, 1945 , 1968 , 1984 , 2006, 2012
Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves 4610.400 1914 , 1948, 1957 , 1958, 1991, 1992, 1995 , 1996, 1999, 2021
Chicago Cubs 3811.273 1906, 1907 , 1908 , 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, 1945, 2016
St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles 347.429 1944, 1966 , 1969, 1970 , 1971, 1979, 1983
Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins 336.500 1924 , 1925, 1933, 1965, 1987 , 1991
Chicago White Sox 325.600 1906 , 1917 , 1919, 1959, 2005
Philadelphia Phillies 268.250 1915, 1950, 1980 , 1983, 1993, 2008 , 2009, 2022
Cleveland Indians / Guardians 246.333 1920 , 1948 , 1954, 1995, 1997, 2016
New York Mets 235.400 1969 , 1973, 1986 , 2000, 2015
Houston Colt .45s / Astros 235.400 2005, 2017 , 2019, 2021, 2022
Kansas City Royals 224.500 1980, 1985 , 2014, 2015
Toronto Blue Jays 2021.000 1992 , 1993
Florida / Miami Marlins 2021.000 1997 , 2003
Washington Senators / Texas Rangers 123.333 2010, 2011, 2023
Arizona Diamondbacks 112.500 2001 , 2023
California / Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels 1011.000 2002
Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals 1011.000 2019
San Diego Padres 022.000 1984, 1998
Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays 022.000 2008, 2020
Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers 011.000 1982
Colorado Rockies 011.000 2007
Seattle Mariners 000—

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.

CountMatchupRecordYearsNotes
12 New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Yankees, 8‍–‍4 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1963, 1977, 1978, 1981, 2024 Dodgers were the Brooklyn Dodgers for the 1941–1956 matchups
7 New York Yankees vs. San Francisco Giants Yankees, 5‍–‍2 1921, 1922, 1923, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1962 Giants were the New York Giants for the 1921–1951 matchups
5 St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Yankees Cardinals, 3‍–‍2 1926, 1928, 1942, 1943, 1964
4 Chicago Cubs vs. Detroit Tigers Tied, 2‍–‍2 1907, 1908, 1935, 1945
4 Athletics vs. San Francisco Giants Athletics, 3‍–‍1 1905, 1911, 1913, 1989 Athletics were the Philadelphia Athletics for the 1905–1913 matchups, Oakland Athletics for the 1989 matchup; Giants were the New York Giants for the 1905–1913 matchups
4 New York Yankees vs. Atlanta Braves Yankees, 3‍–‍1 1957, 1958, 1996, 1999 Braves were the Milwaukee Braves for the 1957–1958 matchups
4 Boston Red Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinals Tied, 2‍–‍2 1946, 1967, 2004, 2013
3 New York Yankees vs. Cincinnati Reds Yankees, 2‍–‍1 1939, 1961, 1976
3 St. Louis Cardinals vs. Detroit Tigers Cardinals, 2‍–‍1 1934, 1968, 2006
2 Athletics vs. Chicago Cubs Athletics, 2‍–‍0 1910, 1929 Athletics were the Philadelphia Athletics for the matchups
2 Athletics vs. St. Louis Cardinals Tied, 1‍–‍1 1930, 1931 Athletics were the Philadelphia Athletics for the matchups
2 Minnesota Twins vs. San Francisco Giants Tied, 1‍–‍1 1924, 1933 Twins were the Washington Senators; Giants were the New York Giants for the matchups
2 New York Yankees vs. Chicago Cubs Yankees, 2‍–‍0 1932, 1938
2 New York Yankees vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Tied, 1‍–‍1 1927, 1960
2 Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Baltimore Orioles Pirates, 2‍–‍0 1971, 1979
2 Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Athletics Tied, 1‍–‍1 1974, 1988 Athletics were the Oakland Athletics for the matchups
2 Cincinnati Reds vs. Athletics Tied, 1‍–‍1 1972, 1990 Athletics were the Oakland Athletics for the matchups
2 Atlanta Braves vs. Cleveland Guardians Tied, 1‍–‍1 1948, 1995 Braves were the Boston Braves for the 1948 matchup; Guardians were the Cleveland Indians for the matchups
2 New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies Yankees, 2‍–‍0 1950, 2009
2 Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Red Sox, 2‍–‍0 1916, 2018 Dodgers were the Brooklyn Dodgers for the 1916 matchup

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. Archived from the original on August 28, 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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