A World Series matchup featuring a "title drought" broken after a staggering 46 years! At the start of the season, their championship odds were a mere 2.1% for MIL and 1.1% for TB

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Two underdogs that even the cold prediction models of statistical sites had overlooked have finally faced off on the highest stage of autumn.

The 2026 Major League Baseball World Series, with Game 1 scheduled to begin on the 24th (Korean time), has been confirmed as a showdown between National League champion Milwaukee Brewers and American League champion Tampa Bay Rays. Both teams are representative "titleless" franchises that have never held the "World Series championship trophy" since their founding.

According to Sarah Langs, a reporter for the official Major League Baseball website MLB.com, it has been a staggering 46 years since the last time all World Series participating teams were vying for their first championship in franchise history, dating back to the matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals in 1980.

A contest where both sides carry the simultaneous burden of seeking a "first championship" in the World Series is a rare spectacle even in the more than 120-year history of Major League Baseball. The most recent such instance was 46 years ago, in 1980. At that time, Philadelphia (founded in 1883) and Kansas City (founded in 1969), both desperately hoping for their first title since inception, faced each other. After a close contest in Game 6, Philadelphia claimed its emotional first championship after 97 years of existence, finally resolving the pain of being without a title.

At the time of the season opener, almost no one predicted that these two teams would be competing for the World Series trophy. According to the prediction model on Major League Baseball statistical site FanGraphs.com, Milwaukee's probability of winning the World Series at the start of the season was a mere 2.1%. Tampa Bay was even lower, at just 1.1%. Combined, the odds for both teams amounted to only 3.2%. In other words, they were not even considered championship contenders.

Amid big-market franchises boasting astronomical total payroll figures, the position of these two small-market teams appeared narrow. However, instead of "the power of money," the two teams wrote a miracle through precise player development and systematic baseball. Milwaukee devoured the National League with a solid farm system and tight bullpen baseball, while Tampa Bay systematically dismantled formidable American League competitors by leveraging its distinctive platoon system and efficient pitcher management. In fact, Milwaukee defeated the LA Dodgers, and Tampa Bay also overcame the New York Yankees.

Now, eyes turn to the autumn of 2026. Only Milwaukee, which has been without a championship for 57 years since its founding as the Seattle Pilots in 1969, and Tampa Bay, aiming for its first summit on its third World Series stage after being founded in 1998, remain.

Among the two teams that rose through the slim probabilities of 2.1% and 1.1% at the start of the season, who will be the one to finally relieve the decades-long frustration of fans and secure a first championship ring in franchise history? On autumn nights, baseball fans' hearts are racing toward the final showdown of these two underdogs.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original