World Series Losers

29 different teams have lost the world series; or put another way, 21 different franchises have lost the world series - some of which have moved and gone on to lose the series in their new city. The Atlanta Braves have the dubious distinction of having lost the World Series as 3 of those teams: the Boston Braves, Milwaukee Braves, and the Atlanta Braves. Other recidivist losers include the St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles, Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, New York/San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia/Oakland A's and the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins.

We all know of the New York Yankees prowess at winning the World Series - 26 world championships of 103, better than a quarter of all the series played have been won by the Bronx Bombers. What's often excluded is the 13 times the Yankees have lost the series (12.6% of all the series), but in the end it's "hats off" to the New York American League Franchise - they've played in an astonishing 37.8% of all world championship series ever held. They lead all of baseball in world championships and as runners up.

What of the other franchises?

The and Dodgers have appeared in 18 series - the second highest total behind the Yankees; followed by the Cardinals and Giants with 17. Given the Yankees' unbelievable totals, it's not surprising that 3 of the 4 are National League teams. The next most is the Boston Red Sox with 11.

Even with the Yankees dominance there have been more, different world series champions than losers: 22 different franchises have won; 21 have lost. There are 17 franchises that have both won and lost. The 5 teams which have won, but not lost are: The Anaheim Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks, Florida Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Toronto Blue Jays. Those 5 champions represent 7 series winners.

There are also 4 teams which have lost, but never won a series: Colorado Rockies, Milwuakee Brewers, Houston Astros, and the San Diego Padres. Those 4 teams make up 5 series runners-up.

The Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York/San Francisco Giants have gone on to be the world series runners-up 12 times each. Their combined record in the series: 11-24. 6 of the Trolley Dodgers' losses have come at the hands of the Yankees; of course, 3 of their championships (of which there are 6) have come at the expense of the Yankees. They're tied with the Cardinals as the team having handed the Yankees' a World Series loss the most frequently.

The San Francisco Giants have won 5 world championships as the New York Giants, but none as the San Francisco Giants. Sadly for the Giants and their fans, they've lost 5 times to the Yankees - the Yankees' second most victimized foe. They're also the A's most victimized foe - first as the New York Giants then as the San Francisco team - having gone down to the Athletics 3 times (1/3 of the A's championships).

Of the teams that have both won and lost a series, the Cubs and Phillies have the worst winning percentage at .200 (2 wins, 8 losses for the Cubs, 1 win, 4 losses for the Phils). The Cubs are #3 on the "most frequently having been bridesmaids" list. The Pirates have the best winning percentage at .714 (5-2

The Padres have been to 2 World Series, and have won 1 game of the 9 they've played: game 2 of the 1984 series with the Detroit Tigers (October 10), 5-3 in front of their home town crowd. The Brewers have fared slightly better with 3 wins in their 1 series appearance. The Phillies have been to five World Series and have won exactly 4 games - the 4 leading to their one championship in 1980

The Yankees have won 130 games in their 39 World Series appearances and lost 53. The Cardinals have won 52 games in their 17 appearances and lost 28. The Giants, on the other hand, have won 45 games in their 17. Those 7 games are the difference between 5 World Championships and 10. The Red Sox have won 41 World Series games in their 7 championships - their first in 1903 required winning 5 games in an 8-game series. The Phillies have won 20 world series games in their better than 100 year history - 16 of those have come in losing efforts.