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The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) and concludes the MLB postseason. First played in 1903,[1] the World Series championship is a best-of-seven playoff and is a contest between the champions of baseball's National League (NL) and American League (AL).[2] Often referred to as the "Fall Classic",[3] the modern World Series has been played every year since 1903 with two exceptions: in 1904, when the NL champion New York Giants declined to play the AL champion Boston Americans; and in 1994, when the series was canceled due to the players' strike.[1][2][4][5] The best-of-seven style has been the format of all World Series except in 1903, 1919, 1920, 1921, when the winner was determined through a best-of-nine playoff.[1][2] Although the large majority of contests have been played entirely during the month of October, a small number of Series have also had games played during September and November. The Series-winning team is awarded the Commissioner's Trophy.[6] Players, coaches and others associated with the team are generally given World Series rings to commemorate their victory; however, they have received other items such as pocket watches and medallions in the past.[7] The winning team is traditionally invited to the White House to meet the President of the United States.
A total of 120 World Series have been contested through 2024, with the AL champion winning 68 and the NL champion winning 52. The New York Yankees of the AL have played in 41 World Series, winning 27 – the most championship appearances and most victories by any MLB team. The Dodgers and the Yankees are tied for the most losses with 14 each. The St. Louis Cardinals have won 11 championships, the most among NL clubs and second-most all-time behind the Yankees.[3] The Dodgers have represented the NL the most in the World Series with 22 appearances. The Seattle Mariners are the only MLB franchise that has never appeared in a World Series; the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, and Colorado Rockies have all played in the Series but have never won it, with the Padres and the Rays appearing twice. The Los Angeles Angels and Washington Nationals are the only teams who have won their only World Series appearance, and the Toronto Blue Jays and Miami Marlins are the only teams with multiple World Series appearances with no losses. The Toronto Blue Jays are the only franchise from outside the United States to appear in and win a World Series, winning in 1992 and 1993. The Houston Astros are the only franchise to have represented both the NL (2005) and the AL (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022), winning the Series in 2017 and 2022. The 1919 and 2017 World Series were both marred with cheating scandals: the Black Sox Scandal and the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal. The most recent World Series champions are the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The last team to repeat as champions were the Yankees in 2000. Two World Series matchups (in 1982 and 2005) have no possibility of a rematch due to one of the contending teams switching to the opposing league – the Milwaukee Brewers moved to the NL in 1998, and the Houston Astros moved to the AL in 2013.
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Numbers in parentheses in the table are World Series appearances as of the date of that World Series, and are used as follows:
- Winning team and Losing team columns indicate the number of times that team has appeared in a World Series as well as each respective team's World Series record to date.
National League team (NL)
American League team (AL)
- Legend
- There was no formal arrangement in place between the two leagues regarding the staging of the World Series, so the Giants owner John T. Brush refused to play against a team from what he considered an inferior league.
- Had the series been played, it would have been the Boston Americans (AL) vs the New York Giants (NL)
- The 1967 series marked the first time that the Commissioner's Trophy was presented to the World Series-winning team.
- V The 1903, 1919, 1920, and 1921 World Series were in a best-of-nine format (carried by the first team to win five games).
- T The 1907, 1912, and 1922 World Series each included one tied game.
- A The Brewers were in the American League from 1969 to 1997, after which they moved to the National League.[8]
- N The Astros were in the National League from 1962 to 2012, after which they moved to the American League.
- W Indicates a team that made the playoffs as a wild card team (rather than by winning a division).[1]
Source for this Table [9]
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In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of wins, then by number of appearances, and finally by year of first appearance. In the "Season(s)" column, bold years indicate winning appearances.
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The following are the 20 matchups of teams that have occurred two or more times in the World Series. All teams that have participated in these were "Classic Eight" members of either the American or National League; no expansion team (created in 1961 or later) has faced the same opponent more than once in a World Series.
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