Congratulations to the Houston Astros on their title. One of the best things about winning a World Series is that it’s the culmination of a process: all the problems and rough patches that a franchise and its fans must overcome over the years before winning a World Series. The world becomes “full of pain. memories” and an “interesting backstory”. Your team’s woes will disappear in an instant. Everything hurts, until it stops.
Now that the Astros have given their fans peace, it’s imperative to ask: Who’s next? What fan base wants a moment like this?
To set the parameters for this exercise, we’re going to focus on teams that have gone the longest (or at least as many years as far as their fans are concerned) without winning a title and have recently reached the postseason. On the verge of doing..even teams like the Orioles, Pirates or Tigers, it’s true, their fans are rooting for the crown too, but…well, we’d better get them to the playoffs first.
Here are the eight most affected.
I know it’s a little ridiculous to put the Dodgers at No. 1: Didn’t they win the World Series two years ago? Well, yes, they did, but there’s no doubt that the “bubble” championship is (unfairly, I’d say) considered more “random” than other titles. But, plus, the Dodgers have the best team in baseball year in and year out, but with no one in the stands to watch them beyond that season (beyond the World Series, in Texas), they’ll always be underwhelming. Postseason.
The Dodgers can’t keep winning all the time, season after season — right? Is it true? — that means they have to win a World Series. Being a 90’s Braves is delicious: you win every year! But the first thing people think of when they talk about the Braves isn’t every game they won; It’s in every season series they’ve lost. Cheaters should avoid that rule.
No one knows what would have happened had the Defenders gotten past the Yankees and challenged the Astros in the ALCS, but it would have been their first trip to the ALCS since winning the World Series in 2016. This is the second time they have won this century. That’s a problem for a franchise with as much history as Cleveland, and it’s been years since they last won a World Series. The drought will reach 75 years next season if Cleveland doesn’t clinch the crown. It is, apparently, the longest non-title streak in baseball, essentially four generations of fans who have never seen their team win a World Series.
Can defensemen ever repeat what the Cubs, White Sox and Red Sox have already done? Can’t blame his fans for asking the question.
The Brewers played in just one World Series (in 1982), losing to the Cardinals, who are now a division contender. But the Brewers’ recent winning years, no matter how disappointing they finished this year, are arguably the best time in franchise history. But they’ve still lost four straight postseason series, starting with a seven-game setback against the Dodgers in the 2018 NLCS.
The Brewers have one of the most loyal fan bases in all of baseball, a talented pitching staff and a front office — even if David Stearns is now in an advisory role — that knows what they’re doing. But they have yet to win a World Series and are one of the few teams in MLB to never win one. Does your window close? If it does, how long will it be until it reopens?
The Padres had a good vibe this year before the final weeks of the season and then the wild card series loss. It’s now been 36 years without a title, but owner Steve Cohen and manager Buck Showalter have done their best to keep it from becoming a joke. But as long as the Mets win the World Series — at least that will continue.
Well, no one will feel bad for Bombers fans: No other team has even half as many titles as New York. (If the Yankees went another 100 years without being champions, they’d still be first in rings.) But there were two times when they went 13 straight seasons without even reaching the World Series: from the debut of the Fall Classic in 1903 to the team’s first appearance in 1921, and from 1982 to 1985. Look at the frustration of the fans, even the managers and everyone in the clubhouse.
How many more years without another title before the Yankees lose the pecking order? Many may mock the Yankees because they’ve got it all, but if they lose their mystique, what sets them apart in class?
Another team that has never been champion. In fact, the last three collections on this list are untitled. If they don’t finally take the first step toward a title this year by beating the Dodgers in the NLDS, the Lovers will be high on this list.
Los Angeles was his biggest dream, and while the Padres couldn’t continue their streak to reach their third World Series, they should feel more confident about their campaign and their chances moving forward than we knew about the infielder’s suspension. Fernando Tadis Jr. They’ll get the shortstop early next season, joining a club they know can beat the Dodgers. Now the Padres have to do it again… and then beat the others.
This year’s quick trip to the postseason was his fourth straight playoff appearance in five years. But now that they qualify every year, they build their own reputations for the postseason. The Rays, like the Brewers, are on the best stretch in franchise history, but like Milwaukee, it won’t mean much if they don’t make it to the next level. Considering Tampa Bay won 14 fewer games in 2022 than last year (after they actually advanced to the World Series), some might wonder if they’re going backwards.
Congratulations sailors! They’ve gone from “the team with the longest postseason drought in North American professional sports” to “the No. 8 title with the most eager fans.” Of course, the Seattle club is in a category unlike any other team on this list, or anyone else in the majors: They’ve never been to the World Series. Never played. So it has to happen first. They know the real pain if they lose a Fall Classic.
