Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Braves loss means no repeat WS champion for 22nd straight year

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 10/16/22

When the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, it pushed the Phillies to their first NLCS since 2010 and ended the Braves' hopes of a repeat World Series title.

The latter development should probably be expected at this point as it is the 22nd consecutive season in which Major League Baseball will not have a repeat World Series champion.

That is not only the longest drought in baseball history, it is the longest drought in sports.

The defending champs have not reached the World Series since 2009 (Phillies). The now 13-season drought is the longest in the World Series Era (since 1903).

This 22-season streak without a repeat champion is also the longest repeat champion drought across MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL. pic.twitter.com/oOrM7dchhc
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 15, 2022

The last repeat champion in Major League Baseball was the New York Yankees three-peat in the 1998, 1999, and 2000 seasons.

Just for comparison, the last repeat champions in the other three leagues are the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2020 and 2021 NHL seasons, the New England Patriots in the 2003 and 2004 NFL seasons and the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Major League Baseball has had 15 different World Series champions over the past 22 years. In terms of parity, that is the highest number of different champions over that same time period. The NHL and NFL have only had 13 different champions since the 2000 season while the NBA has only had 10 different champions during that stretch.

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