List of Major League Baseball longest losing streaks

This is a list of the longest team losing streaks in Major League Baseball history. Streaks started at the end of one season are carried over into the following season. Two lists are provided—one with streaks that consist entirely of regular-season games and one with streaks of playoff games only.

The 1889 Louisville Colonels hold the record for the longest losing streak in official MLB history at 26 games, though the 1875 Brooklyn Atlantics lost 31 consecutive games in the National Association, a number that is not considered official by MLB. In the modern two-league era, the longest losing streak belongs to the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies at 23 games. In the American League, the 1988 Baltimore Orioles hold the record at 21 games. The longest ever losing streak consisting entirely of postseason games belongs to the Boston Red Sox, who following their historic loss in the 1986 World Series were swept in three consecutive postseason appearances from 1988 to 1995, losing a total of 13 games in a row.

The longest losing streak by a defending World Series Champion is 11 by both the 1998 Florida Marlins (Now Miami Marlins) (2x) and the 1986 Kansas City Royals.

Key

^ Denotes streaks that included unofficial ties
** Denotes streaks that spanned over two seasons
Denotes streaks that are currently in progress
* Denotes season in which team won the World Series

Streak

Regular season

This list contains only the top 20 streaks consisting entirely of regular-season games.

Rank Games Team Season(s) Season
record(s)		 Date Score Opponent Date Score Opponent
Beginning (first defeat) End (first victory)
1 26 Louisville Colonels 1889 27–111 May 22, 1889 2–11 Baltimore Orioles June 23, 1889 7–3 St. Louis Browns
2 24 Cleveland Spiders 1899 20–134 August 26, 1899 1–2 New York Giants September 18, 1899 5–4 Washington Senators
3 (tie) 23 Pittsburgh Alleghenys 1890 23–113 August 12, 1890 12–13 Chicago Colts September 4, 1890 6–2 Cleveland Spiders
3 (tie) 23 Philadelphia Phillies 1961 47–107 July 29, 1961 3–4 San Francisco Giants August 20, 1961 7–4 Milwaukee Braves
5 22 Philadelphia Athletics 1890 54–78 September 16, 1890 1–5 Baltimore Orioles Foldeda N/A N/A
6 21 Baltimore Orioles 1988 54–107 April 4, 1988 0–12 Milwaukee Brewers April 29, 1988 9–0 Chicago White Sox
7 (tie) 20 Louisville Colonels 1894 36–94 May 28, 1894 2–4 Pittsburgh Pirates June 19, 1894 9–4 Pittsburgh Pirates
7 (tie) 20 Boston Americans 1906 49–105 May 1, 1906 0–8 New York Highlanders May 25, 1906 3–0 Chicago White Sox
7 (tie) 20 Philadelphia Athletics 1916 36–117 July 21, 1916 2–7 Cleveland Indians August 9, 1916 7–1 Detroit Tigers
7 (tie) 20 Philadelphia Athletics 1943 49–105 August 7, 1943 1–3 New York Yankees August 24, 1943 8–1 Chicago White Sox
7 (tie) 20 Montreal Expos 1969 52–110 May 13, 1969 3–10 Houston Astros June 8, 1969 4–3 Los Angeles Dodgers
12 (tie) 19 Boston Beaneaters 1906 49–102 May 17, 1906 0–2 Cincinnati Reds June 9, 1906 6–3 St. Louis Cardinals
12 (tie) 19 Cincinnati Reds 1914 60–94 September 5, 1914 2–12 St. Louis Cardinals September 23, 1914 3–0 Boston Braves
12 (tie) 19 Detroit Tigers 1975 57–102 July 29, 1975 2–4 New York Yankees August 16, 1975 8–0 California Angels
12 (tie) 19 Kansas City Royals 2005 56–106 July 28, 2005 5–10 Tampa Bay Devil Rays August 20, 2005 2–1 Oakland Athletics
16 (tie) 18 Cincinnati Reds 1876 9–56 July 11, 1876 2–8 New York Mutuals August 25, 1876 3–1 Louisville Colonels
16 (tie) 18 Louisville Colonels^ 1894 36–94 August 15, 1894 4–14 Philadelphia Phillies September 6, 1894 15–10 Boston Beaneaters
16 (tie) 18 St. Louis Browns 1897 29–102 September 3, 1897 1–22 Baltimore Orioles September 27, 1897 5–4 Cincinnati Reds
16 (tie) 18 Washington Senators** 1903
1904		 43–94
38–113		 September 24, 1903 2–12 Cleveland Indians May 5, 1904 9–4 New York Highlanders
16 (tie) 18 Philadelphia Athletics 1920 48–106 June 8, 1920 5–7 Cleveland Indians June 28, 1920 6–2 Washington Senators
16 (tie) 18 Washington Senators 1948 56–97 September 3, 1948 2–6 New York Yankees September 19, 1948 10–7 Chicago White Sox
16 (tie) 18 Washington Senators 1959 63–91 July 19, 1959 5–6 (10) Kansas City Athletics August 5, 1959 9–0 Cleveland Indians

Playoffs

This list contains only streaks consisting entirely of postseason games.

Rank Games Team Season(s) Date Score Opponent Date Score Opponent
Beginning (first defeat) End (first victory)
1 (tie) 13 Boston Red Sox 1986, 1988, 1990, 1995 October 25, 1986 5–6 (10) New York Mets September 29, 1998 11–3 Cleveland Indians
1 (tie) 13 Minnesota Twins 2004, 2006, 2009–10, 2017 October 5, 2004 6–7 (12) New York Yankees
3 (tie) 10 Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves 1958, 1969, 1982, 1991 October 6, 1958 0–7 New York Yankees October 10, 1991 1–0 Pittsburgh Pirates
3 (tie) 10 Kansas City Royals 1980–81, 1984–85 October 19, 1980 3–4 Philadelphia Phillies October 11, 1985 6–5 Toronto Blue Jays
3 (tie) 10 Texas Rangers 1996, 1998–99 October 2, 1996 4–5 (12) New York Yankees October 6, 2010 5–1 Tampa Bay Rays
5 (tie) 9 San Diego Padres 1998, 2005–06 October 17, 1998 6–9 New York Yankees October 7, 2006 3–1 St. Louis Cardinals
5 (tie) 9 Chicago Cubs 2003, 2007–08 October 12, 2003 0–4 Florida Marlins October 7, 2015 4-0 Pittsburgh Pirates
5 (tie) 9 Los Angeles Angels 2005, 2007–08 October 12, 2005 1–2 Chicago White Sox October 5, 2008 5–4 (12) Boston Red Sox
9 (tie) 7 Minnesota Twins 1965, 1969–70 October 14, 1965 0–2 Los Angeles Dodgers October 7, 1987 8–5 Detroit Tigers
9 (tie) 7 San Francisco Giants 1989, 1997 October 14, 1989 0–5 Oakland Athletics October 4, 2000 5–1 New York Mets
9 (tie) 7 Cincinnati Reds 1995, 2010 October 10, 1995 1–2 (10) Atlanta Braves October 6, 2012 5–2 San Francisco Giants

Regular season and playoffs

This list includes streaks that involve both regular season games and games which occurred in the playoffs.

Rank Total games Playoff games Team Season(s) Season
record(s)		 Date Score Opponent Date Score Opponent
Beginning (first defeat) End (first victory)
1 11 4 Boston Red Sox 1988
1989		 89–73
83–79		 September 30, 1988 2–4 Cleveland Indians April 9, 1989 8–6 Kansas City Royals
2 (tie) 9 3 St. Louis Cardinals 1996
1997		 88–74
73–89		 October 14, 1996 0–14 Atlanta Braves April 8, 1997 2–1 Montreal Expos
2 (tie) 9 3 Boston Red Sox 1995
1996		 86–58
85–77		 October 1, 1995 1–8 Milwaukee Brewers April 7, 1996 3–1 Kansas City Royals
2 (tie) 9 4 New York Yankees 1963
1964		 104–57
99–63		 September 27, 1963 3–4 Minnesota Twins April 19, 1964 5–3 Baltimore Orioles
5 (tie) 8 1 New York Yankees 2000* 87–74 September 25, 2000 4–15 Detroit Tigers October 4, 2000 4–0 Oakland Athletics
5 (tie) 8 3 Los Angeles Dodgers 1996
1997		 90–72
88–74		 September 26, 1996 1–6 San Francisco Giants April 2, 1997 5–1 Philadelphia Phillies
5 (tie) 8 4 Los Angeles Dodgers 1966
1967		 95–67
73–89		 October 5, 1966 2–5 Baltimore Orioles April 18, 1967 7–2 Cincinnati Reds
5 (tie) 8 4 Pittsburgh Pirates 1927
1928		 94-60
85–67		 October 2, 1927 0–1 Cincinnati Reds April 15, 1928 3–2 Cincinnati Reds
9 (tie) 7 3 Los Angeles Angels 2014
2015		 98–64
85–77		 September 26, 2014 3–4 Seattle Mariners April 7, 2015 2–0 Seattle Mariners
9 (tie) 7 1 Cincinnati Reds 2013
2014		 90–72
76–86		 September 24, 2013 2-4 New York Mets April 2, 2014 1–0 St. Louis Cardinals
9 (tie) 7 1 Tampa Bay Rays 2010
2011		 96–66
91–71		 October 12, 2010 1–5 Texas Rangers April 8, 2011 9–7 Chicago White Sox
9 (tie) 7 3 Philadelphia Phillies 1976
1977		 101–61
101–61		 October 9, 1976 3–6 Cincinnati Reds April 15, 1977 7–2 Montreal Expos
9 (tie) 7 4 Detroit Tigers^ 1907
1908		 92–58
90–63		 October 6, 1907 4–10 St. Louis Browns April 16, 1908 4–2 Chicago White Sox

Footnotes

  • a The Philadelphia Athletics folded following the 1890 season without breaking their losing streak.

See also

References

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