World Series

The World Series is the big championship series for Major League Baseball, the top professional baseball league in North America. Every year, the best teams from the American League and the National League compete to see who will be the champion. This series is played as a best-of-seven playoff, meaning the first team to win four games wins the whole series and gets the Commissioner's Trophy.

Usually, the World Series happens in October, which is part of the fall season. Because of this, people often call it the Fall Classic. Sometimes, it has started a little earlier or gone a bit later depending on things like weather delays or changes in the baseball schedule.

Before 1969, the teams with the best records in each league would go straight to the World Series. But since then, teams have to go through more rounds to get there. They first play in the Division Series, then the League Championship Series, and finally, the World Series. This makes it a very exciting and competitive time for baseball fans!

Through the 2025 series, the World Series has been played many times. It is one of the most watched sports events every year.

Precursors to the modern World Series (1857–1902)

Further information: List of pre-World Series baseball champions

The original World Series

Before 1882, the National League was the top level of baseball in the United States. The winner was the team with the best record at the end of the season. From 1884 to 1890, the National League and the American Association played games at the end of the season to decide an overall champion. These games were arranged by the team owners and were not as organized as today's World Series. The number of games varied.

People sometimes called these games "The Championship of the United States" or "World's Championship Series." There is a story that the name "World Series" came from a newspaper called the New York World, but this is not proven.

1892–1900: "The Monopoly Years"

After the American Association stopped in 1891, the National League was the only major league again. In 1892, they tried deciding the champion through a playoff between split season winners, but this only happened once. From 1893 to 1897, the league champion played the runner-up in a series called the Temple Cup. There was also one series called the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup in 1900.

When the American League started in 1901, there were no championship games because the two leagues were competing against each other. In 1902, the best teams played in a football championship instead.

Modern World Series (1903–present)

Further information: List of World Series champions

First attempt

After two years of strong competition, the National and American Leagues made peace. As part of their agreement, several pairs of teams played exhibition games after the 1903 season. One of these games, a best-of-nine series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Americans (later known as the Red Sox), is considered the 1903 World Series. It was arranged in advance by the team owners, as both teams were leading their leagues by a large margin.

Boston upset Pittsburgh by five games to three, winning with strong pitching by Cy Young and Bill Dinneen and support from the Royal Rooters.

Boycott of 1904

The 1904 Series, if it had been held, would have been between the AL's Boston Americans (Boston Red Sox) and the NL's New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants). At that time, there was no governing body for the World Series, and no requirement that a Series be played. The Giants' owner, John T. Brush, refused to allow his team to participate, calling the American League "inferior." Their manager, John McGraw, even said his Giants were already "world champions" since they were champions of the "only real major league."

When the announcement was made, their cross-town rivals, the New York Highlanders (now the New York Yankees), were leading the AL. Facing the Highlanders did not please Giants management. Boston won on the last day of the season, and the leagues had previously agreed to hold a World's Championship Series in 1904, but it was not binding, and Brush stuck to his decision. In addition to political reasons, Brush also cited grievances including the lack of rules for revenue sharing, where games would be played, and how they would be operated and staffed.

Emergence of formal Series rules

During the winter of 1904–1905, Brush had a change of heart and proposed what came to be known as the "Brush Rules," which governed the series from then on. One rule was that player shares would come from a portion of the gate receipts for the first four games only. This was to discourage teams from fixing early games to prolong the series and make more money. Receipts for later games were split among the two clubs and the National Baseball Commission, the sport's governing body, which used World Series revenue to cover much of its annual operating expenses. Most importantly, the now-official and compulsory World Series matches were operated strictly by the National Commission itself, not by the participating clubs.

With the new rules in place and the National Commission in control, McGraw's Giants made it to the 1905 Series and beat the Philadelphia Athletics four games to one. Since then the Series has been held every year except 1994, when it was canceled by a players' strike. The name of the event, initially known as the World's Championship Series, was gradually shortened to "World's Series" and, by the 1930s, to "World Series."

The list of postseason rules evolved over time. From 1919 to 1921, the best-of-nine format first used in 1903 was employed. In 1925, Brooklyn owner Charles Ebbets persuaded others to adopt as a permanent rule the 2–3–2 home game pattern first used in 1924. Previously, the pattern had been to alternate by game or make another arrangement convenient to both clubs. The 2–3–2 pattern has been used ever since except for the 1943 and 1945 World Series, which used a 3–4 pattern to comply with World War II travel restrictions; in 1944, the normal pattern was followed because both teams were based in the same home ballpark.

1919 Black Sox Scandal

Gambling and game-fixing had been a problem in professional baseball from the beginning; star pitcher Jim Devlin was banned for life in 1877 when the National League was just two years old. Baseball's gambling problems came to a head in 1919, when eight players of the Chicago White Sox were alleged to have conspired to throw the 1919 World Series.

The Sox had won the Series in 1917 and were heavy favorites to beat the Cincinnati Reds in 1919, but first baseman Chick Gandil had other plans. Gandil, in collaboration with gambler Joseph "Sport" Sullivan, approached his teammates and got six of them to agree to throw the Series: starting pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Lefty Williams, shortstop Swede Risberg, left fielder Shoeless Joe Jackson, center fielder Happy Felsch, and utility infielder Fred McMullin. Third baseman Buck Weaver knew of the fix but declined to participate, hitting .324 for the series from 11 hits and committing no errors in the field.

The Sox, who were promised $100,000 for cooperating, proceeded to lose the best-of-nine series in eight games, pitching poorly, hitting poorly and making many errors.

After rumors circulated for nearly a year, the players were suspended in September 1920. The "Black Sox" were eventually acquitted in a criminal conspiracy trial.

Meanwhile, to deal with the fallout from the scandal baseball owners had agreed to reform the discredited National Commission. However, when they offered esteemed federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis a role on the reformed Commission, he quickly made clear he would only accept an appointment as the sole Commissioner of Baseball with virtually unchecked authority over the game. The owners agreed. Immediately after and notwithstanding the acquittals, Landis banned all of the players involved (including Weaver) for life. The White Sox would not win a World Series again until 2005.

New York Yankees dynasty (1920–1964)

The New York Yankees purchased Babe Ruth's contract from the Boston Red Sox after the 1919 season, appeared in their first World Series two years later in 1921, and became frequent participants thereafter. The 1921 World Series was the first to be broadcast on radio. Over a period of 45 years from 1920 to 1964, the Yankees played in 29 World Series championships, winning 20. The team's dynasty reached its apex between 1949 and 1964 when the Yankees reached the World Series 14 times in 16 years, helped by an agreement with the Kansas City Athletics, after that team moved from Philadelphia during 1954–1955 offseason, whereby the teams made several deals advantageous to the Yankees, until ended by new Athletics' owner Charles O. Finley.

During that span, the Yankees played in all World Series except 1954 and 1959, winning nine of them. From 1949 to 1953, the Yankees won the World Series five years in a row; from 1936 to 1939 the Yankees won four World Series Championships in a row.

1947–1964: New York City teams dominate World Series play

In an 18-year span from 1947 to 1964, except for 1948 and 1959, the World Series was played in New York City, featuring at least one of the three teams located in New York at the time. The Dodgers and Giants moved to California after the 1957 season, leaving the Yankees as the lone team in the city until the Mets were enfranchised in 1962. In 1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956, both teams in the World Series were from New York, with the Yankees playing against either the Dodgers or Giants.

1958: The Dodgers and Giants move west

In 1958, the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants took their long-time rivalry to the west coast, moving to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively, bringing Major League Baseball west of St. Louis and Kansas City.

The Dodgers were the first of the two clubs to contest a World Series on the west coast, defeating the Chicago White Sox in 1959. The 1962 Giants made the first California World Series appearance of that franchise, losing to the Yankees. The Dodgers made three World Series appearances in the 1960s: a 1963 win over the Yankees, a 1965 win over the Minnesota Twins and a 1966 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

1969: League Championship Series

Prior to 1969, the National League and the American League each crowned its champion (the "pennant winner") based on the best win–loss record at the end of the regular season.

A structured playoff series began in 1969 when both the National and American Leagues were reorganized into two divisions each, East and West. The two division winners within each league played each other in a best-of-five League Championship Series to determine who would advance to the World Series. In 1985, the format changed to best-of-seven.

The National League Championship Series (NLCS) and American League Championship Series (ALCS), since the expansion to best-of-seven, are always played in a 2–3–2 format: Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 are played in the stadium of the team that has home-field advantage, and Games 3, 4, and 5 are played in the stadium of the team that does not.

1970s

1971: World Series at night

Night games were played in the major leagues beginning with the Cincinnati Reds in 1935, but the World Series remained a strictly daytime event for years thereafter. In the fifth and final game of the 1949 World Series, a Series game was finished under the lights for the first time due to encroaching darkness in the ninth inning. The first scheduled night World Series game was Game 4 of the 1971 World Series at Three Rivers Stadium.

Afterward, World Series games were frequently scheduled at night, when television audiences were larger.

1972–1978: Threepeat, repeats, and Fisk's home run

During this seven-year period, only three teams won the World Series: the Oakland Athletics from 1972 to 1974, Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976, and New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978. This is the only time in World Series history in which three teams have won consecutive series in succession. This period was book-ended by World Championships for the Pittsburgh Pirates, in 1971 and 1979, who defeated the Baltimore Orioles both times.

1976: The designated hitter comes to the World Series

The National and American Leagues operated under essentially identical rules until 1973, when the American League adopted the designated hitter (DH) rule, allowing its teams to use another hitter to bat in place of the (usually) weak-hitting pitcher. The National League did not adopt the DH rule. This presented a problem for the World Series, whose two contestants would now be playing their regular-season games under different rules. From 1973 to 1975, the World Series did not include a DH.

Starting in 1976, the DH rule was used in the World Series held in even-numbered years.

1980s

1984: Anderson becomes first to win in both leagues

The 1984 Detroit Tigers gained distinction as just the third team in major league history (after the 1927 New York Yankees and 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers) to lead a season wire-to-wire, from opening day through their World Series victory. In the process, Tigers skipper Sparky Anderson became the first manager to win a World Series title in both leagues, having previously won in 1975 and 1976 with the Cincinnati Reds.

1985: Umpiring controversy

The 1985 Kansas City Royals won the series four games to three over the St. Louis Cardinals.

1986: Mets Game 6 comeback

The series is best remembered for its Game 6, which saw the Mets rally from a two-run deficit in the bottom of the 10th inning, despite having two outs and no one on base.

1987: Twins First World Series champion to win every home game

The 1987 Minnesota Twins became the first team in the history of the World Series to win the championship by winning all 4 games they hosted when they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals.

1988: Kirk Gibson's home run

The 1988 World Series is remembered for the iconic home run by the Los Angeles Dodgers' Kirk Gibson with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1.

1989: Earthquake

When the 1989 World Series began, it was notable chiefly for being the first-ever World Series matchup between the two San Francisco Bay Area teams, the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics. Oakland won the first two games at home, and the two teams crossed the bridge to San Francisco to play Game 3 on Tuesday, October 17.

The earthquake caused substantial property and economic damage in the Bay Area and killed 63 people. Television viewers saw the video signal deteriorate and heard broadcasters say this before the feed from Candlestick Park was lost. Fans filing into the stadium saw Candlestick sway visibly during the quake. Television coverage later resumed, using backup generators. Approximately 30 minutes after the earthquake, Commissioner Fay Vincent ordered the game to be postponed. Fans, workers, and the teams evacuated a blacked-out (although still sunlit) Candlestick. Game 3 was finally played on October 27, and Oakland won that day and the next to complete a four-game sweep.

1990s

1991: "The Greatest of All Time"

The 1991 World Series saw the Minnesota Twins defeating the Atlanta Braves four games to three to win the championship. ESPN selected it as the "Greatest of All Time" in their "World Series 100th Anniversary" countdown.

The series-deciding seventh game was a scoreless tie (0–0) through the regular nine innings, and went into extra innings; Minnesota won by a score of 1–0 in the 10th inning, after their starting pitcher, Jack Morris, pitched a complete 10 inning shutout 7th game.

1992–1993: The World Series enters Canada

World Series games were contested outside of the United States for the first time in (/wiki/1992_World_Series), with the Toronto Blue Jays defeating the Atlanta Braves in six games. The World Series returned to Canada in (/wiki/1993_World_Series), with the Blue Jays victorious again, this time against the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

The 1993 World Series was also notable for being only the second championship concluded by a walk-off home run and the first concluded by a come-from-behind homer, after Joe Carter's three-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning sealed an 8–6 Toronto win in Game 6.

1994: League Division Series

In 1994, each league was restructured into three divisions, with the three division winners and the newly introduced wild card winner advancing to a best-of-five playoff round (the "division series"), the National League Division Series (NLDS) and American League Division Series (ALDS). The team with the best league record is matched against the wild card team unless they are in the same division, in which case, the team with the second-best record plays against the wild card winner.

The remaining two division winners are pitted against each other. The winners of the series in the first round advance to the best-of-seven NLCS and ALCS. Due to a players' strike, however, the NLDS and ALDS were not played until 1995.

1994–1995 strike

The World Series was not played for the first time in 90 years. The Montreal Expos, now the Washington Nationals, were the best team in baseball at the time of the stoppage, with a record of 74–40.

1996–2000: Yankees dynasty

In (/wiki/1996_World_Series), the Yankees beat the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves, four games to two, for the club's 23rd World Series title and its first since 1978, winning four straight games after losing the first two at home, joining the 1985 Royals and 1986 Mets as World Series teams to accomplish this feat.

The Yankees returned to the World Series in (/wiki/1998_World_Series) and (/wiki/1999_World_Series), sweeping both series against the Padres and Braves, respectively.

2000s

Early 2000s: 9/11, Red Sox end their 86-year title drought

The 2000 New York Yankees faced the Mets in the first World Series played entirely in New York since 1956. The Yankees defeated the Mets four games to one to win their 26th World Series Championship.

The 2001 World Series was the first World Series to end in November, due to the week-long delay in the regular season after the September 11 attacks.

The Boston Red Sox broke their 86-year drought, known as the Curse of the Bambino, defeating the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS after losing the first three games, and then sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series.

All-Star Game and home-field advantage (2003–2016)

Prior to 2003, home-field advantage in the World Series alternated from year to year between the NL and AL. After the 2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game ended in a tie, MLB decided to award home-field advantage in the World Series to the winner of the All-Star Game. Originally implemented as a two-year trial from 2003 to 2004, the practice was extended.

2010s

2010–2014: Giants even-year dynasty

Between 2010 and 2014, the San Francisco Giants won the World Series every other year during even-numbered years ((/wiki/2010_World_Series), (/wiki/2012_World_Series) and (/wiki/2014_World_Series)) while failing to qualify to play in the postseason in the intervening seasons during odd-numbered.

In (/wiki/2011_World_Series), the Rangers were twice only one strike away from winning their first World Series title, but the St. Louis Cardinals' David Freese, the eventual Series MVP, drove in both the tying and winning runs late in game six to force a game seven.

In 2012, the Wild Card game was added.

In 2013, the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series of the 2010s by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in six games.

In (/wiki/2014_World_Series), the Kansas City Royals reached the World Series in their first appearance in the postseason since winning the series in 1985, breaking the longest postseason drought in baseball. There, they met the San Francisco Giants, who defeated them in seven games to capture their third title in five years.

Late 2010s: Cubs end their 108-year title drought, Dodgers and Astros dominance, Astros sign-stealing scandal

In (/wiki/2016_World_Series), the Chicago Cubs ended their 108-year long drought without a World Series title by defeating the Cleveland Indians in seven games, rallying from a 3–1 Series deficit in the process.

Beginning in 2017, home-field advantage in the World Series was awarded to the league champion team with the better regular-season win–loss record.

The Houston Astros won the 2017 World Series in seven games in L.A. against the Los Angeles Dodgers on November 1, 2017, winning their first World Series since their creation in 1962 and since transferring to the American League in 2013.

The Boston Red Sox won the 2018 World Series, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games for their fourth title since 2004.

In (/wiki/2019_World_Series), the Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros in seven games, becoming the first team to win the World Series without winning a home game and the first Washington, DC team to win the series since the 1924 Washington Senators.

2020s

Dodgers and Astros dominance continued

In (/wiki/2020_World_Series), the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in six games to win their first World Series since 1988, and their seventh championship in franchise history, during a season that was shortened to 60 games by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Houston Astros received home-field advantage in both the 2021 World Series and the 2022 World Series. In 2021, they lost to the Atlanta Braves in six games, with Jorge Soler winning MVP Honors. In 2022, they won over the Philadelphia Phillies in six games, where rookie Jeremy Peña was awarded MVP, Houston manager Dusty Baker won his first World Series in his 25 years of being a manager and also became the oldest manager to win a World Series game.

In (/wiki/2023_World_Series), two teams returned: the Texas Rangers after twelve years and the Arizona Diamondbacks after twenty-two years. The Rangers, who had home-field advantage for the opening two games, went on to defeat the Diamondbacks in five games to achieve their first World Series championship in franchise history.

In (/wiki/2024_World_Series), the New York Yankees returned for the first time since their (/wiki/2009_World_Series) championship, meeting the Los Angeles Dodgers in a matchup that had not happened since (/wiki/1981_World_Series). The Dodgers, with home field advantage, took the first 2 games at Dodger Stadium, and the first game at Yankee Stadium to take a 3–0 lead. The Yankees won Game 4, and then held a 5–0 lead in Game 5, but lost 7–6, giving the Dodgers their second title in five years and first since (/wiki/2020_World_Series).

In (/wiki/2025_World_Series), the Fall Classic was a close contest for both Los Angeles and Toronto as each club matched the other's dominant performances. Toronto won Game 1 with a high-scoring 11–4 victory while the Dodgers won Game 2 with several late runs. The Dodgers won Game 3 in 18 innings, capped off by Freddie Freeman's walk-off home run. Toronto took advantage of the Dodgers’ struggling bullpen in Games 4 and 5, with the Blue Jays assuming a 3–2 series lead. However, the Dodgers prevailed in a low-scoring Game 6 to send the series into a winner-take-all Game 7. Toronto held control for a majority of the final game, but Dodgers Miguel Rojas hit a crucial game-tying home-run, and kept the Jays from scoring in the ninth. In the 11th, Will Smith hit a go-ahead home run for the Dodgers, then Yoshinobu Yamamoto (pitching on zero day's rest after starting Game 6) withstood a late Blue Jays rally to end the game and the series, 4–3 in favor of Los Angeles.

Modern World Series appearances by franchise

Further information: List of World Series champions

Notes

American League (AL) teams have won 68 of the 120 World Series played. The New York Yankees have won the World Series the most times with 27 championships. The Yankees have also been in the World Series the most, with 41 total appearances. The St. Louis Cardinals have won 11 World Series, second-most among all 30 teams. However, the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers have been in the World Series the most for the National League, with 22 total appearances.

The Yankees and the Dodgers have played each other the most, with twelve total contests. The Yankees won eight of those twelve, but the Dodgers beat the Yankees in their last two World Series match-ups in 1981 and 2024.

Television coverage and ratings

See also: List of World Series broadcasters and World Series television ratings

When the World Series was first shown on TV, only a few cities could see it. These included New York, Philadelphia, Schenectady, Albany, Washington, D.C., and nearby areas.

By 1948, more cities like Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Toledo could also watch.

Soon, people all over the country could see the games. By 1951, the World Series could be watched from one coast to the other. In 1955, the games were shown in color for the first time.

Sponsorship

The Internet television service YouTube TV was the first sponsor of the World Series from 2017 to 2019.

In 2022, the credit card provider Capital One became the new sponsor of the World Series.

Image gallery

• Rooftop view of a 1903 World Series game in Boston

• Game action in the 1906 Series in Chicago

• Bill Wambsganss completes his unassisted triple play

• Washington's Bucky Harris scores his home run in Game 7

• The Chicago Cubs celebrate winning the 2016 World Series