Last updated on June 15th, 2023
27. Randy Johnson
On May 2004, Randy Johnson became the oldest pitcher (34) to throw a perfect game. At 6′ 10″, he was among the tallest players to play in the MLB. He is a 10-time MLB All-Star.
28. Felix Hernandez
Felix Hernandez has the record for most strikeouts by a Seattle Mariners pitcher. He is a 6-time All-Star. He was the most recent pitcher to have a perfect game. He was also the 13th player to throw an immaculate inning.[i]
Facts About Baseball Teams
1. Boston Red Sox
The Curse of the Bambino refers to the Red Sox’ World Series championship drought starting from 1918, when the Sox traded the great Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. The drought was broken when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004. Before reaching the World Series, the Red Sox also became the first team in baseball to force and win a 7-game series after being down 0-3 during the AL championship.[i,s]
2. Houston Astros
The Houston Astros were penalized in 2019 for stealing the signs of opposing players during the 2017 season, a season where they reached and won the World Series. The Astros general manager and field manager were suspended for the 2020 season, the team lost 2020 and 2021 first and second draft picks, and the team was fined $5 million, the maximum allowed penalty for the offense. Taken all together, the collective penalties are one if not the most severe ever imposed against a team.[i]
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
The D-backs are the most recent team added to the National League, with the franchise beginning play in 1998. The team is also the fastest expansion team to ever win a World Series, winning the 2001 World Series against the Yankees.[i]
4. Los Angeles Angels
The Angels won their first wildcard berth, their first AL championship and their first and only World Series in 2002. The team’s official name is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.[i]
5. New York Mets
The New York Mets won their first World Series in 1969 against the Orioles. They were the first expansion team to win a World Series. Considered as heavy underdogs against the Orioles, the Mets’ victory earned them the moniker “Miracle Mets”.[i]
6. Cleveland Indians
During the 2017 season, the Indians won 22 consecutive games, giving them the record for the longest winning streak in the American League. They also hold the longest active World Series championship drought at 71 years.[i]
7. St. Louis Cardinals
Branch Rickey of the Cardinals was the first proponent of the farm system in Major League Baseball. In, 1930s, he created a talent pipeline that funneled talented players from Cardinals’ owned minor league team into the majors, thus ensuring a steady supply of talented players.[i]
8. Chicago Cubs
The 2016 National League pennant win and the World Series championship ended the team’s world record 71-year NL pennant drought and its 108-year World Series drought.[i]
9. New York Yankees
The Yankees hold the record for most American League pennants with 40 and the most World Series championships with 27. The Yankees also has the most retired jersey numbers with 21.[i]
10. Toronto Blue Jays
Based in Toronto, Canada, the Blue Jays are the only franchise currently not based in the United States. They are the first and only team outside the United States to win a World Series. They won back-to-back World Championships in 1992 and 1993. They are the only American League team that is undefeated in a World Series.[i]
11. Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers hold the distinction as the only MLB team to play in 4 divisions, starting in the American League West Division in 1969, moving to the AL East Division in 1972, then moving to the AL Central Division in 1994. The team then moved to the National League in 1998 where it currently plays in the Central Division.[i]
12. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers holds the record for having the most Rookie of the Year awards with 18. They have won the most consecutive Rookie of the Year awards with 5 from 1992 to 1996.[i]
13. Washington Nationals
The Nationals won their first wildcard game, their first NL pennant, and their first and only World Series championship in 2019. The team has only a single retired number, Jackie Robinson’s jersey number 42, which the entire league retired in 1997.[i]
14. Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Quakers changed their name to the “Phillies” in 1890. The team has retained the same name and has stayed in the same city, giving them the distinction as the longest continuous use of a team name in the same city not just in baseball but among all major American sports.[i,s]
15. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates hold several diversity records in the MLB. They were the first team to field an all-minority lineup (1971), the first team to sign Indian players (2008), and the first team to field the first African-born player (Gift Ngoepe, 2017).[i]
16. Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves hold the distinction of being the first and only MLB franchise to win the World Series in three different home cities. The team won the 1914 World Series as the Boston Braves, the 1957 World Series as the Milwaukee Braves, and the 1995 World Series as the Atlanta Braves.[i]
17. Minnesota Twins
The Twins finished 74-88 in 1990, which made the last in the division. The following year, in 1991, they posted a 95-67 record, netting first place in the AL West division. They would go on to win the pennant and the World series that year, making them the first team to go from a last-place finish to a World Series championship.[i]
18. Colorado Rockies
The team’s home field, Coors Field, is the highest baseball park home field in the majors, located 5,200 ft above sea level. The low air density and low air humidity has an impact on how the ball moves. Coors field holds the record for most home runs hit in a season with 303 in 1999.[i]
19. Seattle Mariners
The Mariners has never appeared in a World Series, the only team in the MLB who holds this distinction. They have the longest postseason drought at 18 years, and the longest pennant drought, having never won a pennant in its 43 years of existence.[i]
20. Oakland Athletics
The year 1914 was the last year a player played in the MLB sporting facial hair until 1972. In 1972 the Oakland Athletics showed up with moustaches, first as a gag, then as dare when the owner said he’ll pay them $300 to keep the moustaches, then as a superstition as the team kept on winning. They won the World Series that year.[i]
21. San Francisco Giants
The Giants are the MLB’s oldest franchise, starting at 1883 as the New York Gothams, New York’s first baseball franchise. The team also holds the record for the most total wins with 11,165.[i]
22. Texas Rangers
Although the team has two AL pennants (2010, 2011), it has never won a World Series.[i]
23. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays have played the fewest total games in MLB with 3412 and has the least overall wins with 1686. They have yet to win a World Series.[i]
24. Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are one of the American league’s 8 charter franchises and holds the record for being the oldest continuous one name-one city franchise in the American League.[i]
25. San Diego Padres
Since the team’s 1969 entry to the National League, the Padres have never had a no-hitter. This makes them team with the longest no-hitter drought to begin their existence and the only team in the ML to not have a no-hitter.[i]
26. Baltimore Orioles
In 1965, the Orioles traded for slugging outfielder Frank Robinson. In 1966, the team won their first pennant and first World Series while Robinson won the American League Most Valuable Player award, making him the only man to win the MVP in each league since Robinson won the NL MVP in 1961 as part of the Cincinnati Reds.[i]
27. Kansas City Royals
The team’s highest season homerun record was set 36 by Steve Balboni in 1985. The Royals are the only team where the highest season homerun record by a player is less than 40 runs.[i]
28. Chicago White Sox
The teams was originally known as White Stockings, which was eventually abbreviated to Sox. In 2018, the White Sox became the first team to discontinue the use of plastic straws.[i]
29. Miami Marlins
The Marlins have never lost a playoff round in the two years, 1997 and 2003, that they made the postseason. They have never lost a World Series, winning both times they won the NL pennant.[i]
30. Cincinnati Reds
The team changed its name to Redlegs from 1953 to 1959 to avoid being associated with communists.[i]