This World Series brings together two franchises that have never climbed the sport’s biggest mountain, and that alone makes the matchup feel rare. The Brewers and Rays both enter with blank championship résumés, which means the Fall Classic is guaranteed to hand out a first title to somebody on the other side of the line.
That kind of setup almost never happens. Since the 1921 season began, this is only the second World Series pairing of franchises that were both still chasing their first championship.
The previous one came in 1980, when the Phillies beat the Royals. Before that, you have to go all the way back to 1920, when Cleveland defeated the Dodgers.
The other instances all came in the World Series’ earliest years: 1909, 1907, 1906, 1905 and 1903, with no Series in 1904.
That makes this the eighth World Series ever between two franchises trying to win for the first time. It is also the first such matchup in which both clubs have been waiting at least 25 years.
For the winner, the significance goes beyond the obvious. This will be the fourth first-time champion in the last 10 seasons, joining the 2023 Rangers, 2019 Nationals and 2017 Astros.
The only other stretch like that since 1920 came in the early part of the live-ball era, when the 1926 Cardinals, 1924 Senators, 1923 Yankees and 1920 Cleveland all won their first titles. The most recent 10-World Series stretch with that many first-time winners before this one came when the 2002 Angels, 2001 Diamondbacks, 1997 Marlins and 1992 Blue Jays got there.
There is also a notable line attached to the Brewers’ side of this matchup. Their franchise has now gone 57 seasons without a title, with 2026 not included because the outcome is still undecided.
That puts the Brewers at 10th on the all-time list of World Series droughts starting from 1903. But among franchises waiting for their first championship, 57 seasons would rank fourth.
The Phillies needed 77 seasons, the Orioles/Browns 63 and the Rangers/Senators 62. The Padres, with 58, are right there too, with an active drought of their own for now.
The World Series experience level on these rosters is just as unusual. Only three players across both teams have appeared in a World Series before: Yandy Díaz, who played five games in 2020; Dustin May, who pitched two games in 2020 with the Dodgers; and Steven Matz, who appeared in one game in 2015 with the Mets.
That total of three players would tie for the third-fewest combined World Series veterans on both teams in a Fall Classic, not counting 1903. There were also three in 2017 - Carlos Beltrán, Justin Verlander and Chase Utley - but that group brought 20 games of experience. This one brings only eight.
The fewest combined games of prior World Series experience belongs to 1905, when there were none, followed by 1906, when Patsy Dougherty accounted for all eight. By that measure, this World Series will feature the fewest combined games of experience for any Fall Classic starting with the fourth edition.
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For Milwaukee, the decision says plenty about how far Misiorowski has come in a single season and how much pressure the club is willing to place on its best starter right away. The Rays have not yet revealed who they will send out for Game 1, leaving the matchup picture incomplete for the moment, but the Brewers have already made clear where their own confidence sits as the series opens. [Read more 🡒]