MLB ties its longest stretch without a repeat champion
By Ed Carroll
It might seem like an odd stat to keep track of, but after the Boston Red Sox were officially eliminated from postseason contention today, MLB has matched its longest streak without a repeat champion. The New York Yankees three-peated to win the 1998, 1999 and 2000 championships, but MLB hasn’t had a repeat winner since, a stretch of 14 consecutive seasons.
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The stretch ties the previous long, which was from 1979 until 1993, when the Toronto Blue Jays repeated. In MLB’s current streak, nine teams have won the World Series — the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, the 2002 Los Angeles Angels, the 2003 Miami (Florida) Marlins, the Boston Red Sox (2004, 2007, 2013), the 2005 Chicago White Sox, the St. Louis Cardinals (2006, 2011), the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies, the 2009 New York Yankees, and the San Francisco Giants (2010, 2012).
MLB cares about this, as it will likely be pointed to as a sign of parity in the sport. Despite the economic disparity between many of the teams in Major League Baseball, nine different teams winning the World Series in 14 seasons is pretty good odds that fans can expect a new champion in baseball year in and out.
Of course, the flip side of the equation is this stretch has occurred entirely after MLB expanded its playoffs, expanding to six divisions, with a Wild Card in each league after the 1993 season, and then expanding the playoffs again in 2012, adding a second Wild Card in each league. Since expanding the postseason, only two teams have failed to qualify for the expanded playoffs: the Toronto Blue Jays and the Kansas City Royals, although with the Royals tied for the AL Central lead that streak could end as well.