World Series Trivia – Did You Know?
• Five teams have never appeared in the World Series: the
Texas Rangers (originally the second Washington Senators franchise,
created in the 1961 expansion), Washington Nationals (originally the
Montreal Expos), Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, and Tampa Bay
Devil Rays.
• Only three National League teams have won back-to-back World
Series titles: the 1907-1908 Chicago Cubs, the 1921-1922 New York
Giants, and the 1975-1976 Cincinnati “Big Red Machine.”
• Since its inception, there have only been two years without a
World Series: 1904 and 1994. The 1994 Series was canceled by a
players’ strike, while the proposed 1904 Series, which would have
matched Boston from the AL against New York from the NL, was boycotted
by the owner of the New York Giants.
• Four World Series were best-of-nine affairs: 1903 (the
inaugural, won by Boston), 1919 (won by Cincinnati in the infamous
“Black Sox” Series), 1920 (won by Cleveland), and 1921 (won by the New
York Giants).
• Since the postseason expansion to include wild-card teams, three
wild-card teams have won the World Series: Florida Marlins (1997
and 2003), Anaheim (now Los Angeles) Angels (2002), and Boston Red Sox
(2004). Three other wild-card qualifiers – the 2000 New York Mets, 2002
San Francisco Giants, and 2005 Houston Astros – advanced to the World
Series but lost.
• Of all expansion teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks were the fastest
to win a World Series (first season 1998, won in 2001), followed by the
Florida Marlins (first season 1993, won in 1997), and New York Mets
(first season 1962, won in 1969).