Which Teams Have Never Won the MLB World Series?

In the grand theater of October baseball, the shadows are deepest for five franchises that, year after year, chase—not capture—baseball’s highest prize. While the Los Angeles Dodgers were busy completing the first successful World Series defense since the heavyweight Yankees of the new millennium, some were wondering whether their time in the sun would ever finally come. 

Amid the MLB landscape, there are living epics: chronicles of heartbreak, false dawns, and wild hope. They are the case studies of just how hard greatness is to grasp in the planet’s most challenging baseball league, where the dynasty can flicker out in the space of a bad week, and legends are forged through agony as much as ecstasy. What prevents a ballclub from touching glory? What fuels the conviction that—just maybe—next season is the one?

And which teams are the ones that have suffered the most pain over the years? Here are the only five teams in the MLB today without a Commissioner’s Trophy on the mantelpiece. 

Seattle Mariners

No team wears the weight of longing quite like the Seattle Mariners. Statistically, theirs is the most striking drought in baseball: the only active club to have never even appeared in a World Series, although in 2025, they came closer than ever before to reaching the promised land, transfixing fans in their seats and creating sparks of hope for the coming year. 

The Washington State outfit clinched the AL West for the first time in 24 years, riding a wave of electric pitching (over 1,500 strikeouts, fourth-most in franchise history) and jaw-dropping power—Cal Raleigh’s 60 home runs placing him second in MVP balloting. Bryan Woo sliced through lineups with a 2.94 ERA and 198 Ks. The stage was set for an ALCS for the ages, with a maiden World Series appearance on the line. 

The Mariners first led 2-0, throwing that away to again lead 3-2, needing just one victory from the final two games against the Toronto Blue Jays to finally punch their ticket. Instead, Canada’s finest wouldn’t bow down. Julio Rodriguez’s game seven homer looked as though it would get them over the line, but the Blue Jays found a way back into the contest, with George Springer’s three-run homer enough to secure their spot opposite the Dodgers. Another October heartbreak for the Mariners, but not quite the same old story.

Beneath the pain is transformation: a pitching nucleus in Woo and Castillo, a core of Raleigh and Rodríguez, and a slew of online betting sites underscoring their status as contenders. If you like to bet on MLB at Bovada, you’ll already know that the Mariners are priced at just +1300 to finally claim their maiden World Series title in 2026, the fourth shortest odds of anybody. 

Is a first-timer’s coronation on the horizon? All the ingredients—talent, scars, statistical muscle—are there. The question, still, is not whether they will get their chance—but when.

San Diego Padres

Some droughts are defined not by futility, but by cruel opportunity dangled just out of reach. The Padres, crowned NL champs in ‘84 and ‘98, watched both seasons end in painful World Series defeats—the first a five-game loss to the Tigers, the second, a merciless sweep by the ‘98 Yankees juggernaut. Tony Gwynn, Trevor Hoffman, and the ghosts of Petco have haunted San Diego’s dream ever since.

Fast-forward to 2025. A 90-72 mark and a Wild Card entry triggered memories of past magic, only for the Cubs to snuff out the dream. Is optimism justified ahead of next season? With their rotation in flux and Yu Darvish’s health a critical watch point, the pressure falls on front office chess moves. The smart money? Vegas lines at +1800 suggest they’re a contender in waiting, but their challenge is psychological as much as technical: to turn the lessons of collapse into a parade through the Gaslamp Quarter.

Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee’s story is one of stubborn resilience and near-mythic heartbreak. In 1982, “Harvey’s Wallbangers”—featuring Hall of Famer Robin Yount, whose .414 average and 6 RBIs powered a seven-game war—came within nine outs of immortality before the Cardinals stormed back. It remains the Brewers’ only World Series appearance, a wound reopened each October the drought stretches. Fans remember it with both enthusiasm and bitterness.

But the script may be changing. The 2025 Brewers stormed their way to a Central crown with a league-best 97-65 record, thanks to the brilliance of Freddy Peralta, Christian Yelich, and William Contreras providing stability. Yet a swift NLCS exit against Los Angeles underscored how thin the margins are.

With young talent like Brice Turang (.288, 18 HRs), the return of Brandon Woodruff, and a relentless bullpen, the Brewers’ competitive window is wide open. Futures odds at +2000 suggest the market is hedging its bets. But in American Family Field, the optimism is visceral—one senses that the 2020s just might be the decade Milwaukee fans have craved for 40 years.

Brewers vs Dodgers NLCS 🍿

pic.twitter.com/i4lUKZejOf

— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) October 12, 2025

Tampa Bay Rays

What the Rays lack in payroll, they more than compensate for with creativity and willpower. Twice they’ve reached the summit—falling to the Phillies in 2008 and the Dodgers in the spectator-less 2020 campaign. The path has never been easy, often requiring tactical wizardry in the front office, a masterclass in player development, and a bullpen engineered for flexibility.

In 2025, adversity came not just from AL East rivals, but from Mother Nature: hurricane damage forced the Rays out of Tropicana Field, yet hope flickered late into September. Junior Caminero detonated for 45 home runs and 110 RBIs, Yandy Díaz mashed a cool .300 with 25 bombs, and Shane Baz shored up a staff often running on grit. Tampa’s formula—relentless depth, analytical edge, and a knack for squeezing wins from the margins—still rattles big spenders.

Current odds at +5000 keep them underdogs, but nobody is writing them off. The timeline for a parade in St. Petersburg depends on just one variable: whether ingenuity can finally outpace dollars when everything’s on the line.

Colorado Rockies

High-altitude offense, thin-air heartbreak. The Colorado Rockies’ relationship to the World Series is defined by an explosive arrival—and equally rapid descent. Their “Rocktober” miracle run in 2007 saw the Denver outfit reel off 21 wins in 22 games to power their way into the postseason and ultimately the World Series. There, they were dismantled by the Boston Red Sox, swept 4-0 in their maiden foray to the grandest stage. 

Since then? Brutal. In 2025, the Rockies collapsed to 43-119—the worst record in baseball, losing by a cumulative -403 runs, a level of futility that would make even the most optimistic fans wince. But, as always, the Rockies have seeds of hope: Hunter Goodman launched 31 homers, Ezequiel Tovar flashed future Gold Glove ability, and the ever-underrated Jordan Beck injected much-needed youthful verve. The challenge remains as it ever was—finding enough arms to compete in a hitter’s paradise.

Bookmakers peg Colorado as the rank +50000 underdogs for a title run in 2026—a nod to the scale of the rebuild ahead. But the nature of this franchise, carved from improbability, means miracle thinking is never truly out of bounds at Coors Field.