Greatest MLB franchises of all time
Baseball has been America's pastime for over a century, and few debates spark as much passion among fans as which franchise truly reigns supreme. From storied dynasties built on legendary players and iconic ballparks to unforgettable championship runs, every team has a case to make for greatness. Now it's your turn to weigh in—cast your vote and help settle the score on which MLB franchise stands above the rest.
What counts: Seeded with approximate real-world figures — the crowd's votes decide the order from here.
New York Yankees▲ Rising
Twenty-seven World Series titles, a lineage running from Ruth to Gehrig to DiMaggio to Mantle to Jeter, and a payroll-fueled swagger that turned pinstripes into the sport's ultimate status symbol. The 1998 team won 114 games and looked unbeatable because for a century, more often than not, they were.
World Series: 27Pennants: 41
added by IJRin 7 rankings
31
Cincinnati Reds▲ Rising
The Big Red Machine of the 1970s—Bench, Morgan, Rose, Perez—was arguably the most talent-dense lineup ever assembled, steamrolling to back-to-back titles in '75 and '76. As the oldest professional franchise in the game, dating to 1869, Cincinnati's fingerprints are on the sport's very origin story.
World Series: 5Pennants: 9
added by IJRin 2 rankings
20
Oakland Athletics▲ Rising
The Swingin' A's of the early '70s won three straight titles with mustaches and mayhem, but it's Moneyball that cemented their legend—Billy Beane's stat-nerd revolution proved a small-market team could out-think the rich guys. Nine pennants and a franchise that's reinvented baseball strategy more than once, even while getting stiffed on stadiums.
World Series: 9Pennants: 14
added by IJRin 2 rankings
17
Boston Red Sox▲ Rising
The Curse of the Bambino wasn't just bad luck—86 years of gut-punch losses, capped by Bill Buckner's error in '86, turned Red Sox fandom into a shared trauma. Then 2004 happened: down 0-3 to the hated Yankees, they ripped off eight straight wins and finally broke the curse, adding three more titles since to prove it wasn't a fluke.
World Series: 9Pennants: 13
added by IJRin 5 rankings
12
Atlanta Braves
Fourteen straight division titles from 1991 to 2005 behind the Hall of Fame trio of Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz made Atlanta the model of sustained excellence, even if it only yielded one championship. The 2021 title, capped by a scrappy roster that lost Ronald Acuña Jr. to injury and won anyway, proved the Braves' baseball infrastructure could still deliver.
World Series: 4Pennants: 10
added by IJRin 2 rankings
5
St. Louis Cardinals
Eleven championships and a fan base so devoted it's been anointed 'best in baseball' by writers who've seen every ballpark in the country. From the Gashouse Gang to Ozzie Smith's backflips to Albert Pujols hammering Brad Lidge into submission in 2005, the Cardinal Way has produced sustained excellence rivaled only by the Yankees.
World Series: 11Pennants: 19
added by IJRin 4 rankings
4
Los Angeles Dodgers
Jackie Robinson broke the color line in Dodger blue in 1947, forever tying the franchise to baseball's most important moment, and the Boys of Summer era gave way to a West Coast dynasty under Lasorda, Kershaw, and eventually Ohtani. Seven championships and counting, with a modern juggernaut that's made the postseason nearly every year this century.
World Series: 8Pennants: 22
added by IJRin 3 rankings
2
Chicago Cubs
108 years. The Billy Goat Curse. Steve Bartman. The Cubs turned losing into an art form and Wrigley Field into a shrine for suffering fans—until 2016, when they erased a 3-1 World Series deficit against Cleveland in a Game 7 that went to extra innings and broke a century of heartbreak in one unforgettable night.
World Series: 3Pennants: 11
added by IJRin 5 rankings
2
Detroit Tigers
Ty Cobb terrorized basepaths in old-school wool flannel, and decades later Kirk Gibson's fist-pumping run around the bases in the '84 World Series became one of the sport's iconic images. Four championships and a blue-collar identity forged in a city that lives and dies with its ballclub.
World Series: 4Pennants: 11
added by IJRin 2 rankings
1
Houston Astros
The 2017 championship will forever be an asterisk after the sign-stealing scandal exposed just how far the front office pushed the rules, but the run of dominance that followed—four pennants in six years—was undeniably real. A franchise that jumped from the NL to the AL and built a homegrown core of Altuve, Bregman, and Correa into a genuine dynasty, warts and all.
World Series: 2Pennants: 5
added by IJR
1
San Francisco Giants
From the Polo Grounds glory of McGraw and Mathewson to Willie Mays' basket catch to Bonds' assault on the record books, the Giants have always had superstar wattage. Three championships in five years (2010-2014) built on homegrown arms and even-year magic gave a new generation its own dynasty to obsess over.
World Series: 8Pennants: 20
added by IJRin 2 rankings
0
New York Mets
Born from the ashes of the Dodgers' and Giants' departure, the '69 Miracle Mets shocked the world by going from lovable losers to champions in just seven years, and the '86 team's Game 6 comeback against Boston (thank you, Bill Buckner) delivered another iconic title. A franchise defined by chaos, heartbreak, and occasional magic in the shadow of the Yankees.
World Series: 2Pennants: 5
added by IJRin 2 rankings
-5
Philadelphia Phillies
The most losses of any franchise in professional sports history, yet also the home of Mike Schmidt's power and the beloved 2008 champions who gave Philly its first title in 25 years. 'Red October' 2022 showed the fanbase's ride-or-die intensity hasn't dimmed, even after a century of mostly frustration.
World Series: 2Pennants: 8
added by IJRin 2 rankings
-6
Chicago White Sox▼ Falling
The 1919 Black Sox scandal, where eight players conspired to throw the World Series for gambling money, remains the darkest chapter in American sports history and cast a shadow over the franchise for generations. Redemption came slowly, but the 2005 sweep of Houston—Chicago's first title in 88 years—finally gave the South Side something to celebrate.
World Series: 3Pennants: 6
added by IJRin 3 rankings
-10Texas Rangers▼ Falling
For decades the Rangers were the epitome of also-rans, blowing multiple World Series leads in 2011 including being one strike away from a title twice. That heartbreak made 2023's championship—finally, after 62 years of franchise history in Washington and Texas—an especially sweet validation for a fan base that had waited its entire existence.
World Series: 1Pennants: 3
added by IJR
-10
Kansas City Royals▼ Falling
George Brett's pine-tar fury and a scrappy small-market ethos defined the Royals through the '70s and '80s, capped by their 1985 title. Nearly three decades of irrelevance followed until the 2014-2015 teams, built on speed and bullpen dominance, rode 'Whiteyball' principles back to a championship and reminded baseball that small markets can still win big.
World Series: 2Pennants: 4
added by IJRin 2 rankings
-11
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Comments (7)
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No debate for me — New York Yankees at the top is exactly right.
Put some respect on the defensive end of this argument.
- HHana PatelJul 27, 2026
Rings aren't everything, look at the supporting casts.
The eye test and the stats finally agree on this one.