We rebuilt every season since 1903 from MLB's Stats API: the final American and National League standings and every postseason series, game by game. For each season we took the team with the best winning percentage in the majors and followed it through October. Our World Series results match MLB.com's list of champions.
How often the team with the best record wins the World Series
It depends on how many rounds stand in the way. Through 1968 the two pennant winners went straight to the World Series, so the best record always got there, and it won 38 of 65. Since the leagues split into divisions in 1969 it has had to win at least one playoff series first, and it has won the title in 15 of 56 seasons, 27 percent.
| Era | Seasons | Won World Series | Lost World Series | Out earlier | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1903-1968: World Series only | 65 | 38 | 27 | 0 | 58% |
| 1969-1993: divisions and LCS | 25 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 28% |
| 1995-2011: one wild card | 17 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 18% |
| 2012-2021: two wild cards | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 40% |
| 2022-2025: 12 teams | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25% |
| All seasons | 121 | 53 | 42 | 26 | 44% |
Six times two teams shared the best record. In 1949 and 1958 they met in the World Series, and the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Milwaukee Braves. A title counts for the best record when either co-leader won it, which also credits the Boston Red Sox of 2007 and 2013. In 1908, 1948, 1962 and 1978 two teams finished level and met in a tiebreaker, which the official records count as regular season, so its winner holds the best record here.
Two seasons are left out: 1904, when the New York Giants had the best record and refused to play the American League champions, and 1994, when a strike ended the season with the Montreal Expos on top at 74-40. Only the 1981 Cincinnati Reds missed the postseason with the best record: 66-42, but second in their division in both halves of a season split by a strike.
Best record in MLB and World Series winners since 1995
Since the wild card arrived in 1995, the best record has needed three series wins to take the title, four in the 60-game season of 2020. It reached the World Series in 14 of 31 seasons and won 8 of them, and in 11 seasons it went out in the Division Series.
| Season | Best record | Record | How it ended |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Cleveland Indians | 100-44 | Lost World Series 2-4 to Braves |
| 1996 | Cleveland Indians | 99-62 | Lost ALDS 1-3 to Orioles |
| 1997 | Atlanta Braves | 101-61 | Lost NLCS 2-4 to Marlins |
| 1998 | New York Yankees | 114-48 | Won World Series 4-0 vs. Padres |
| 1999 | Atlanta Braves | 103-59 | Lost World Series 0-4 to Yankees |
| 2000 | San Francisco Giants | 97-65 | Lost NLDS 1-3 to Mets |
| 2001 | Seattle Mariners | 116-46 | Lost ALCS 1-4 to Yankees |
| 2002 | New York Yankees | 103-58 | Lost ALDS 1-3 to Angels |
| 2003 | New York Yankees (tied) | 101-61 | Lost World Series 2-4 to Marlins |
| 2003 | Atlanta Braves (tied) | 101-61 | Lost NLDS 2-3 to Cubs |
| 2004 | St. Louis Cardinals | 105-57 | Lost World Series 0-4 to Red Sox |
| 2005 | St. Louis Cardinals | 100-62 | Lost NLCS 2-4 to Astros |
| 2006 | New York Yankees (tied) | 97-65 | Lost ALDS 1-3 to Tigers |
| 2006 | New York Mets (tied) | 97-65 | Lost NLCS 3-4 to Cardinals |
| 2007 | Boston Red Sox (tied) | 96-66 | Won World Series 4-0 vs. Rockies |
| 2007 | Cleveland Indians (tied) | 96-66 | Lost ALCS 3-4 to Red Sox |
| 2008 | Los Angeles Angels | 100-62 | Lost ALDS 1-3 to Red Sox |
| 2009 | New York Yankees | 103-59 | Won World Series 4-2 vs. Phillies |
| 2010 | Philadelphia Phillies | 97-65 | Lost NLCS 2-4 to Giants |
| 2011 | Philadelphia Phillies | 102-60 | Lost NLDS 2-3 to Cardinals |
| 2012 | Washington Nationals | 98-64 | Lost NLDS 2-3 to Cardinals |
| 2013 | Boston Red Sox (tied) | 97-65 | Won World Series 4-2 vs. Cardinals |
| 2013 | St. Louis Cardinals (tied) | 97-65 | Lost World Series 2-4 to Red Sox |
| 2014 | Los Angeles Angels | 98-64 | Lost ALDS 0-3 to Royals |
| 2015 | St. Louis Cardinals | 100-62 | Lost NLDS 1-3 to Cubs |
| 2016 | Chicago Cubs | 103-58 | Won World Series 4-3 vs. Indians |
| 2017 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 104-58 | Lost World Series 3-4 to Astros |
| 2018 | Boston Red Sox | 108-54 | Won World Series 4-1 vs. Dodgers |
| 2019 | Houston Astros | 107-55 | Lost World Series 3-4 to Nationals |
| 2020 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 43-17 | Won World Series 4-2 vs. Rays |
| 2021 | San Francisco Giants | 107-55 | Lost NLDS 2-3 to Dodgers |
| 2022 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 111-51 | Lost NLDS 1-3 to Padres |
| 2023 | Atlanta Braves | 104-58 | Lost NLDS 1-3 to Phillies |
| 2024 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 98-64 | Won World Series 4-1 vs. Yankees |
| 2025 | Milwaukee Brewers | 97-65 | Lost NLCS 0-4 to Dodgers |
| 2026 | Milwaukee Brewers | 103-59 | NLDS from October 3 |
A huge regular season has not changed that. The 2001 Seattle Mariners won 116 games and lost the ALCS to the Yankees in five, and the 111-51 Los Angeles Dodgers of 2022 lost their Division Series to the San Diego Padres. In 2025 the 97-65 Milwaukee Brewers were swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS.
From the champions' side the spread is wide. Nine of the 31 champions since 1995 had the sixth-best record in the majors or worse, one more than won from the top, down to the 83-78 St. Louis Cardinals of 2006, who ranked 13th. Eight were wild cards, as our count of wild card World Series winners shows.
MLB best record playoff history: more rounds, fewer titles
Round by round, the best record has not gotten worse. Leaving out the four series between co-leaders, it has won 103 of its 172 playoff series, 60 percent, close to the 106 wins its regular-season records predicted. It won 57 percent of its World Series before 1969, 58 percent of its series from 1969 to 1993 and 64 percent since 1995.
What changed is the number of rounds. A team that wins 60 percent of its series wins two in a row 36 percent of the time and three in a row 22 percent. Since 1995 the best record has usually needed three, and three wins at its own 64 percent rate come to the same 26 percent it has actually managed.
Big leads have gone with titles. Since 1969, best records that finished five or more games clear of the next-best team won 9 of 16 World Series; with a smaller lead, or a share of the top spot, they won 6 of 40. The NBA's best records show the same pattern.
100-win teams and the World Series
Of the 114 teams to win 100 games in a season that ended with a World Series, 38 won it, a third. Before 1969 it was 24 of 46, and 6 of the 46 never got a chance because another team in their league won even more. Since 1995, 6 of 43 have won the title and 22 lost their first playoff series.
- The most wins without a title is 116: the 1906 Chicago Cubs lost the World Series to the Chicago White Sox, and the 2001 Mariners the ALCS.
- The 1954 Cleveland Indians went 111-43 and were swept in the World Series by the New York Giants.
- The last 100-win team to miss the postseason was the 1993 San Francisco Giants, 103-59 in the last season before the wild card.
- MLB.com counted eight first-series exits among the ten 100-win teams of 2021 to 2023, and our data agrees; only the 2022 Houston Astros, 106-56, won the World Series.
Five of those eight exits came in a Division Series straight after a first-round bye. Our analysis of the MLB playoff bye tests that pattern against each team's strength.
The best record in MLB in 2026: the Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers finished 103-59, three games ahead of the Dodgers, for the best record in the majors for the second year running. It is the first 100-win season in franchise history, and it earned them the No. 1 overall seed and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The Dodgers, at 100-62, are the other 100-win team and the champions of the last two seasons.
As of September 30, Milwaukee is waiting. As the top seed it skipped the Wild Card Series and will play the winner of the Padres and the Chicago Cubs; San Diego won Game 1 of that best-of-three, 8-0, on September 29. The Division Series opens in Milwaukee on Saturday, October 3. The Vertize MLB playoff bracket has every series score and the next game, the MLB schedule every 2026 regular-season result, and the MLB season simulator each club's final record.
Best record and the World Series: frequently asked questions
How often does the team with the best record win the World Series? In 53 of the 121 seasons with a World Series from 1903 to 2025, or 44 percent. Since 1995 it is 8 of 31, 26 percent.
When did the team with the best record last win the World Series? In 2024, when the 98-64 Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 4-1.
How many 100-win teams have won the World Series? 38 of the 114 that did it in a season with a World Series. Since 1995, 6 of 43: the 1998 and 2009 Yankees, the 2016 Cubs, the 2017 and 2022 Astros and the 2018 Red Sox.
What is the most wins by a team that did not win the World Series? 116, by the 1906 Chicago Cubs, who lost the World Series, and the 2001 Seattle Mariners, who lost the ALCS.
Who has the best record in MLB in 2026? The Milwaukee Brewers, at 103-59. The Los Angeles Dodgers were next at 100-62 and the Tampa Bay Rays, the American League's top seed, at 98-64.
How this was built: final American and National League standings and every postseason series from 1903 to 2025, from MLB's Stats API, with World Series results checked against MLB.com's list. The best record is the highest winning percentage on the official records, which count tiebreaker games as regular season. A shared best record counts as a title if either co-leader won, and series between co-leaders are left out of the series counts. Expected series wins turn each pairing's winning percentages into a one-game probability with the log5 formula, then into a series probability. A team's lead is the games-behind gap to the next-best record. The 2026 data is from the same API, early on September 30, before the second games of the Wild Card Series.