Baseball's two longest postseason droughts came to an end in the last week. The Seattle Mariners, who had not been to the postseason since Ichiro's rookie year in 2001, clinched a wild-card spot over the weekend thanks to Cal Raleigh's incredible walk-off home run. The Mariners had the longest postseason drought in the four major men's North American sports.
"I have heard it for seven years," Mariners manager Scott Servais told MLB.com after the clincher. "Every day when I get up in the morning and I drive to work, that's what's on my mind. But the goal is winning a World Series. It's not just to end the drought."
The Philadelphia Phillies, meanwhile, clinched a wild-card spot Monday night. It is their first postseason trip since 2011, when the rotation was fronted by Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, and the late Hall of Famer Roy Halladay. In the span of four days, the longest postseason drought in each league was erased.
Which teams now hold the inglorious distinctions of baseball's longest postseason droughts? Let's have a look.
It is a crying shame the Angels have been to the postseason once -- once! -- in Mike Trout's 11 full seasons. Trout is the generation's greatest player and he has played only three postseason games, all losses in the 2014 ALDS to the Royals. The Angels have not won a postseason game since Game 5 of the 2009 ALCS. Brian Fuentes got the save. That's how long ago we're talking. The Halos have not had a winning season since 2015 and owner Arte Moreno put the team up for sale earlier this summer.
When will they make the postseason next? You don't have to try too hard to see the Angels making the postseason next year. Trout and Shohei Ohtani are incredible, get a bounce-back season from Anthony Rendon, maybe a breakout from Jo Adell, invest smartly in some pitching, and yeah, they could make it next year. Then again, the Angels don't deserve the benefit of the doubt. I'll say 2026 since Ohtani leaving as a free agent next offseason seems like a distinct possibility, which will set the franchise back.
The 2014 Tigers are why you can't simply pick winners based on the pitching matchup. They faced the Orioles in the ALDS that year and look at the pitching matchups:
Which team do you think got swept? It was the one that sent two future Hall of Famers and one of the best pitchers of the last 15 years to mound. As a wise man once said, you can't predict baseball. Detroit's rebuild hit a major bump this year (if not went backwards), so much so that longtime GM Al Avila was fired, and Scott Harris was hired away from the Giants to run the baseball operations. He has a lot of work ahead of him.
When will they make the postseason next? The AL Central is not exactly a powerhouse division, ostensibly giving the Tigers an easier path back to the postseason than their eight-year drought brethren in Anaheim. I'll go with 2025 for Detroit's next postseason appearance. I have little to no evidence to support this pick.
Doesn't it feel like just yesterday the ultra-fun Andrew McCutchen era Pirates went to the postseason three straight years? That was back in 2013-15. Pittsburgh has had one winning season since, and 2021 and 2022 are two of the nine losing-est seasons since the Pittsburgh Alleghenys became the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1891. I don't want to call this a "planned" postseason drought, but when you commit to a deep rebuild, what do you expect?
When will they make the postseason next? I'm thinking 2025. Another bad (possibly 100 losses) season in 2023, some signs of progress (and maybe a winning record?) in 2024, then the jump into postseason contention in 2025. Sound good?
The Royals can hang their hat on winning the World Series the last time they went to the postseason. They won a championship in 2015 and haven't played October baseball since. Reality (i.e. a stalled out rebuild) set in earlier this summer and longtime baseball operations head Dayton Moore was given his pink slip. There are some things to like about this team, namely Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino, but there is still a lot of work to be done to get this franchise back to the postseason.
When will they make the postseason next? 2024. Maybe? I could see it in a winnable AL Central. Witt and Pasquantino give the Royals two foundational pieces and that's half the battle. They really need to figure out their pitching development issues though.
The last time the Orioles played in the postseason, Zack Britton watched from the bullpen while Edwin Encarnacion clobbered a walk-off home run in the 2016 Wild Card Game. The fade began the next year and by 2018, the O's would lose 115 games as part of a massive scorched earth rebuild. A half-decade later, the Orioles finally showed signs of progress in 2022.
When will they make the postseason next? 2023. Adley Rutschman is already star and Gunnar Henderson will be one very soon. The pitching has improved as well. Things are beginning to come together. The AL East is a brutally tough division, but I think there's enough here to get Baltimore back to the postseason as a wild-card team next year.
You could have told me the Rangers last made the postseason two years ago or 12 years ago, and I would've believed it. What a weird franchise. Texas has not won a postseason game since José Bautista bat-flipped them into oblivion during Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS. Since their last postseason trip in 2016 the Rangers have opened a new ballpark, committed $500 million to two middle infielders, and lost the sixth most games in baseball.
When will they make the postseason next? How does 2024 sound? Depending how they attack their pitching this offseason, and how young players like Josh Jung and Leody Taveras develop, I could even be talked into Texas as a wild-card team next year.
Paul Goldschmidt was at first base and Patrick Corbin and Robbie Ray were in the rotation the last time the D-Backs went to the postseason. They brought in JD Martinez at the trade deadline that year and we really don't talk enough about how ridiculous it is that he hit 29 home runs in only 62 games with Arizona. Martinez was an all-time great trade deadline rental. The D-Backs are the final team with a five-year drought. Every other team in baseball has been to the postseason within the last five years.
When will they make the postseason next? Gosh, I love their young outfield, and some of their young arms are really good too. The makings of the next contending D-Backs team are coming into focus. I think 2023 is a little too optimistic, so I'll go with 2024.
The Marlins went to the postseason in 2020, so their drought is only two years, but 2020 was a bizarre 60-game pandemic season with a 16-team postseason field. Miami snuck in with a 31-29 record -- they were 18-23 in nine-inning games -- but they would not have qualified under the usual 10-game format at the time. The Marlins went to postseason under the rules that were in place in 2020. It happened and there's no taking it away. But they haven't been to the postseason in a full 162-game season since winning the 2003 World Series.
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Longest MLB playoff droughts: Angels, Tigers take top spot on list as Mariners, Phillies clinch berths - CBS Sports
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