Three teams, one elusive prize
Almost 40% of the teams remaining in the 2026 Major League Baseball divisional round have never won a World Series. The Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego Padres are all still alive, and each is trying to capture a first championship. The Seattle Mariners are the only franchise that has never appeared in the World Series, and they came one win short last year. The Colorado Rockies have won a pennant but not a title. The Brewers, Rays and Padres complete the group of five that have never won it all.[S1]
A ranking of the three contenders places San Diego third, Tampa Bay second and Milwaukee first. The Padres went 91-71 in 2026 and have +1100 odds to win the World Series, according to DraftKings. The Rays finished 98-64 with +800 odds. The Brewers posted the best record in baseball at 103-59. Each club carries a distinct history of near misses and long waits into this postseason.[S1]
San Diego Padres: two pennants, no title
San Diego broke through in 1984 by winning the NL West and rallying from an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five NLCS against the Cubs to take the pennant. The Padres then lost the World Series to the Tigers in five games. They did not return to the postseason until 1996, when they were swept in the NLDS. In 1998 they reached the World Series again but were swept by the Yankees. The 2000s brought two more playoff appearances without advancement.[S1]
More recently, San Diego has earned five playoff berths in seven years but has made only one NLCS, in 2022, where the Phillies eliminated them in five games. The Padres look strong now, but they face Milwaukee, the best team in baseball this round, and could have an extremely difficult path even if they get past the Brewers.[S1]
Tampa Bay Rays: best AL record, perfect ALCS mark
Once known as the Devil Rays and often a punchline, Tampa Bay dropped the devil from its name before the 2008 season and has been a frequent contender since. The Rays went from perennial last-place finishers in the AL East to making the playoffs in four of six seasons from 2008 through 2013. After five straight playoff-less years, they made five consecutive postseasons from 2019 through 2023. They missed the next two, but are back now with the best record in the American League.[S1]
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Tampa Bay has never lost an ALCS. The Rays have reached that round only twice and won both times before falling in the World Series, to the Phillies in 2008 and the Dodgers in 2020. Their toughest test this time appears to be in the ALDS rather than the ALCS, which suggests the pattern could hold: either they lose in the ALDS or they reach the World Series. They would likely be underdogs in the Fall Classic, but they have a solid chance to win a first championship.[S1]
Milwaukee Brewers: best record, biggest threat
Milwaukee has a chance to join the Astros as the only franchises to win pennants in both leagues. The Astros won the NL pennant in 2005 before moving to the AL and winning five AL pennants and their first two World Series in recent years. The Brewers' 1982 pennant came in the American League. From that 1982 pennant through 2007, Milwaukee did not reach the postseason. The Brewers made the NLDS in 2008 and the NLCS in 2011 before another six years without a playoff berth.[S1]
Since then, Milwaukee has enjoyed its golden era. This is the Brewers' eighth playoff berth in nine seasons; they had only four previously. They had been division champions three times in their first 49 seasons and have now won the NL Central in six of the last nine years, including four straight. Postseason success has still eluded these Brewers, who have made the NLCS twice in this stretch and lost both times, been eliminated in the Wild Card round four times and in the NLDS once after a bye.[S1]
Milwaukee enters this postseason with the best record in baseball, but the question remains whether it can get over the hump, especially after being outscored 15-4 in a four-game sweep by the Dodgers in last year's NLCS. Of the three teams still alive without a title, the Brewers are the most formidable threat.[S1]
