How tortured is the Brewers fanbase? A look at the longest World Series droughts in MLB.
The Milwaukee Brewers finished one game shy of snapping one of the longest World Series droughts in Major League Baseball. After the team's 5-1 loss to the Dodgers on Saturday in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, Milwaukee fans will have to wait at least one more year.
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Although the Brewers haven't been to the Fall Classic since 1982, it's not the longest wait a team has had. There are still two franchises (Washington Nationals and Seattle Mariners) who have never made a trip to the World Series, and two others (Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles) who haven’t been since before 1982.
Given that the Pirates and Orioles are two of the more storied franchises in baseball history, they’re perhaps more of a surprise. The Nationals, who began as the Montreal Expos, are one of the biggest modern cases of “what if” in Major League Baseball. They had the most wins in 1994 before the players’ strike shut down the season, and recent Nationals teams have been regular visitors to the playoffs (four times since 2012) but haven’t broken through with a series win.
A look at the longest-suffering MLB fan bases:
Last time reaching a World Series
Washington Nationals – never (founded as Montreal Expos in 1969)
Seattle Mariners – never (founded in 1977)
Milwaukee Brewers – 1982
Cincinnati Reds – 1990
Oakland Athletics – 1990
Minnesota Twins – 1991
Toronto Blue Jays – 1993
Last time winning a World Series
Texas Rangers – never (founded as second incarnation of Washington Senators in 1961, last World Series trip in 2011)
Milwaukee Brewers – never (founded as Seattle Pilots in 1969, last WS trip in 1982)
Washington Nationals – never (founded as Montreal Expos in 1969)
San Diego Padres – never (founded in 1969, last WS trip in 1998)
Seattle Mariners – never (founded in 1977)
Colorado Rockies – never (founded in 1993, last WS trip in 2007)
Tampa Bay Rays – never (founded in 1998, last WS trip in 2008)
Cleveland Indians – 1948 (last WS trip in 2016)
Pittsburgh Pirates – 1979 (last WS trip in 1979)
Baltimore Orioles – 1983 (last WS trip in 1983)
Detroit Tigers – 1984 (last WS trip in 2012)
New York Mets – 1986 (last WS trip in 2015)
Los Angeles Dodgers – 1988 (last WS trip in 2018)
Thus, the longest official drought since the last World Series victory belongs to the Indians, with 70 seasons. In the interim, Cleveland has been to the World Series in 2016, 1997, 1995 and 1954 without winning the title. The Brewers have suffered two decades fewer.