Longest Playoff Droughts in MLB History, Active & All Time

Karl Rasmussen | Sep 3, 2025

Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout has only been to the playoffs once in his career. / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Last season, one of the longest postseason droughts in MLB finally came to an end after the Tigers reached the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Now, the Angels stand alone as the owners of the longest active playoff drought.

It's not looking likely that the Halos will be playing into October this season, either, so their league-leading streak of 10 straight seasons without a postseason berth could increase to 11. We'll take a look at some of the longest playoff droughts in the league history.

Longest Postseason Droughts in MLB History

Throughout MLB history, there have been some extremely long postseason droughts, though none of the recent stretches have been longer than that of the Montreal Expos, who's playoff drought eventually transferred to the Washington Nationals when the franchise relocated. From 1982 to 2011, the Expos/Nationals were held out of the postseason, a streak that lasted 29 years. Prior to 1969, the teams with the best record in American League and National League met in the World Series, without any expanded postseason play.

That drought remains the longest ever in MLB's divisional era, and we'll compare how it stacks up against some of the other lengthy droughts throughout league history, as well as since the introduction of the divisional era in 1969.

Longest Playoff Droughts in MLB History (All Time)

Team	Length of Drought (seasons)	Years Between Appearances
St. Louis Browns	41	1903 to 1943
Cleveland Guardians	40	1955 to 1994
Oakland Athletics	39	1932 to 1970
Chicago White Sox	39	1920 to 1958
Chicago Cubs	38	1946 to 1984

Longest Playoff Droughts in MLB's Divisional Era (Since 1969)

Team	Length of Drought (seasons)	Years Between Appearances
Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals	29	1982 to 2011
Kansas City Royals	27	1986 to 2013
Texas Rangers	26	1969 to 1995
Cleveland Guardians	24	1969 to 1993
Milwaukee Brewers	24	1983 to 2007

Longest Active Playoff Droughts in MLB

Team	Length of Drought (seasons)	Last Playoff Appearance
Los Angeles Angels	10	2014
Pittsburgh Pirates	9	2015
Colorado Rockies	6	2018
Washington Nationals	5	2019
Chicago Cubs	4	2020
Cincinnati Reds	4	2020
Oakland Athletics	4	2020

Of the teams with the longest active droughts, only the Cubs are currently on pace to reach the postseason. The Reds are still in the hunt for a wild card spot, but would need a tremendous month of September to snap their four-year long drought.

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