Major League Baseball will crown a new champion for the 24th consecutive season.
The Texas Rangers, the 2023 World Series champion, were officially eliminated from the playoffs, meaning they won’t repeat as champions.
The New York Yankees were the last team to win multiple championships in a row, winning World Series titles in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Those Yankees teams, with Hall-of-Famers Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and manager Joe Torre, are widely considered the last dynasty club in Major League Baseball.
The San Francisco Giants were close to breaking the trend of teams in the mid-2000s. However, San Francisco won World Series titles in alternate years—2010, 2012, and 2014. The Los Angeles Dodgers lost back-to-back World Series in 2017 and 2018, but finally earned the title in 2020.
The recent World Series has been highlighted by unlikely teams making a run through October to win the championship.
Last season, the Rangers were tied for the third-best record in the American League behind the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays. Texas didn’t even win the AL West outright, tying for the division title with the Houston Astros. Still, the Rangers got hot in the playoffs and won their first World Series title by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks, four games to one.
There are now five MLB franchises that have never won the World Series—the Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, and Tampa Bay Rays.
In 2o21, the Atlanta Braves had the fifth-best record in the National League. However, Atlanta had a solid pitching staff that included Drew Smyly, Charlie Morton, and Max Fried, and those players, along with the solid bullpen, helped carry them through the postseason. The Braves won the title by beating the favored Houston Astros four games to two. Atlanta outfielder Jorge Soler was named the World Series MVP after batting .300 with three home runs.
One of the biggest upsets in World Series history came in 2003 when the Florida Marlins knocked off the Yankees four games to two. The Marlins had a payroll ($47.9 million) that was less than one-third of the Yankees ($153 million) and had fired their manager Jeff Torborg 38 games into the season. New manager Jack McKeon steadied the roster and they went on to stun the Yankees, who finished with 101 wins during the regular season.
This year, there is more parity than ever heading into the postseason with multiple teams capable of winning titles.
So far, the Yankees, Cleveland Guardians, Philadelphia Phillies, Brewers, and Los Angeles Dodgers have clinched playoff spots.
The Orioles lead the American League wild-card standings with the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, and Mariners pushing for the final playoff spots.
The Padres lead the National League wild-card standings and are trailed by the New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Braves.
The Dodgers are the favorite to win this year’s World Series, followed by the Yankees, Phillies, Astros, Guardians, and Orioles. However, as history has shown, the favorites are primed for an upset in MLB’s topsy-turvy playoff picture.
