As you may have heard via color-television sports news update, the New York Knicks are the freshly crowned champions of the NBA. It so happens to be the Knicks' first belt and title since the 1972-73 season, which means they just ended a 53-year championship drought. That's quite a lengthy title drought, and it calls to mind present title-less runs in the sport that binds us in this particular space -- Major League Baseball.
Building off the Knicks' championship run, let's now have a look at not the longest MLB title droughts, but rather which long-suffering teams have the best chance of doing what the Knicks just did -- i.e., ending their drought. This isn't going to be a mere listing of the longest current championship voids in MLB. Instead, it's going to be a rundown of which teams have the best chance of ending such respective suffering by winning the 2026 World Series. Let's get to it.
1. Milwaukee Brewers
Current drought: 57 years
The Brewers at this writing are 46-24, which puts them on pace for the first 100-win season in franchise history. They also lead the NL Central by a wide margin. This also isn't out of nowhere, as Milwaukee won 97 games a season ago, has notched three straight division titles, and is barreling toward its 10th straight winning season. With young stars like Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and otherworldly ace Jacob Misiorowski, the Brewers have been even better than their record at the underlying level of runs scored and runs allowed. Yes, the National League side of the bracket figures to be tough with the MLB-best Braves and back-to-back defending champion Dodgers (title drought = 226 days and counting), but the Brewers are absolutely good enough to go all the way. On that front, the Brewers (they were also the Seattle Pilots for the first year of their history in 1969) have to their credit one pennant in 1982 but no World Series titles.
2. Tampa Bay Rays
Current drought: 28 years
The Rays, who have been around since 1998, the most recent round of expansion in MLB, made the World Series in their 11th year of existence but have yet to get a ring. They are, though, one of the most successful franchises in recent history, as they've regularly overcome paltry levels of investment and commitment from ownership to punch above their weight in the usually brutal AL East. They're up to that again in 2026. This writing finds them playing .597 ball -- a 97-win clip -- and just one game behind the Yankees, the American League's best team, in the division. Their very modest run differential of +3 suggests the Rays have been fortunate thus far, but their performance to date, plus the largely inspiring field of AL contenders, gives them a 94.4% chance of making the playoffs, according to SportsLine. As the MLB playoffs have taught us time and again, just get in and you've got a shot at a deep run and maybe even a ring.
3. Seattle Mariners
Current drought: 49 years
The M's won 90 games a season ago and very nearly claimed the first pennant in franchise history, as they pushed the eventual AL champs, the Blue Jays, to seven games in the ALCS. They returned a talent roster in 2026, and although they've played shy of expectations so far, Seattle appears to be gradually finding its expected level. That expected level is "World Series contender." Getting Cal Raleigh back from injury and producing more in line with expectations will greatly help the cause. Also helping the cause is that the AL West has been pretty weak thus far in 2026. That helps explain why the Mariners right now have playoff odds of 87.8%, again per SportsLine, even though they're just two games over .500 at the moment. They should gain some separation over the remainder of the AL West soon enough and maybe, just maybe, hoist the trophy for the first time ever.
4. Cleveland Guardians
Current drought: 77 years, tied with the Phillies (1903-80) for the fourth-longest drought in MLB history
The Guards are the only franchise on this list to have won a World Series before, but that happened all the way back yonder in 1948. They've endured a number of close calls, including crushing World Series Game 7 defeats in 1997 and 2016, but they haven't gone all the way. Will 2026 be the year? Probably not, but let's note the Guardians are at present atop the AL Central standings, albeit by a mere half-game over the White Sox. That gives them a three-game playoff cushion overall. There are, though, downsides. Cleveland has a -3 run differential, which raises concerns about their projectable level of play, and franchise legend and future Hall of Famer José Ramírez will likely miss the rest of the first half with a hamate bone injury. All that said, let's repeat the point that the AL is pretty weak overall in 2026, and the Guardians, who have notched playoff berths in each of the last two seasons, have a real shot at making it and, thus, making it far.
5. San Diego Padres
Current drought: 57 years
The Padres right now are in the third and final wild-card slot in the NL, albeit by mere percentage points ahead of the Cubs. Another concern moving forward is that their -13 run differential suggests they should be 33-36 instead of 36-33. The NL wild-card field at the back end isn't necessarily good, but it is competitive -- six teams, including the Cubs, are within three games of the Padres' spot right now. Among the team on this list, the Padres should probably inspire the least confidence when it comes to their chances of making the postseason (SportsLine agrees, as it gives San Diego a 31.5% chance of making the field of 12). All that said, the Padres are right now on pace to make it, and that by definition gives them a shot to win it all. Lead decision-maker AJ Preller may have to do some serious work at the deadline, despite a thinned-out farm system from which to trade, if he's going to get this roster in World Series shape. As for the drought, the Padres are the fourth of five teams never to win it all. The fifth team, the Rockies, will not be joining us today.
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