The Seattle Mariners ended a streak no team should ever want to maintain.
After their win on Friday, the Mariners are in the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. It ends the longest active streak of most seasons without making the playoffs in the four major North American sports leagues.
The Mariners holed their ticket to the 2022 playoffs by earning one of the three American League wildcards a year after missing the playoffs by two games.
With the Mariners getting the monkey off their backs, here are the 12 most active longest post-season droughts between the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.
1. Sacramento Kings — 16 seasons (last playoff appearance 2005–06)
The Kings not only have the longest active playoff drought of any team in the four major North American professional leagues, they also have the longest active playoff drought in NBA history. They haven’t appeared in the playoffs since Mike Bibby was their starting point guard. Sacramento went 30-52 in 2021-22, missing out on the final play-in berth by four games.
T-2. New York Jets — 11 seasons (last appearance 2010)
Two New York fan bases have experienced hardship over the past decade. Since then, the Jets have not made the playoffs Mark Sanchez was playing quarterback and Rex Ryan was at the top in 2010 when they upset that patriots in the divisional round and appeared in a second straight AFC title game. From there, the Jets slowly eroded, seemingly bottoming out in 2020 at a 2-14 mark. Unfortunately for Jets fans, this is only tied to the longest playoff drought in franchise history, missing the playoffs every season between 1970 and 1980.
T-2. buffalo saber — 11 seasons (last appearance 2010-11)
The Sabers have mostly finished bottom or near bottom in their respective divisions since 2011. Buffalo drafted Jack Acorn No. 2 overall four seasons in his drought and traded the young star last season. The Sabers’ playoff drought is the longest in NHL history.
4. Philadelphia Phillies — 10 seasons (last appearance in 2011 season)
The Phillies were one of the best teams in baseball in the late 2000s, winning the World Series in 2008 and making it there again in 2009. In 2010 they also made it into the NLCS.
Luckily for the Phillies and their fans, they could be taken off that list very soon. They’re a half-game ahead of the Brewers for the last wildcard spot in the National League.
T-5. Detroit Tigers — eight seasons (last appearance 2014)
The Tigers haven’t made the playoffs since their appearance Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in their starting rotation.
T-5. Angels from Los Angeles — eight seasons (last appearance 2014)
The Angels could boast the two best players in baseball – three-time MVP Mike Trout and reigning MVP Shhei Ohtani — but they missed the postseason three times when one of them took home the individual hardware.
T-7 Kansas City Royals — seven seasons (last appearance 2015)
The Royals reached baseball’s mountain top in 2015, winning the World Series a year after losing in seven games on baseball’s biggest stage. Kansas City holds one of the worst records in baseball this season.
T-7 Pittsburgh Pirates — seven seasons (last appearance 2015)
The Pirates have earned three straight playoff appearances (2013-15), but they haven’t recovered since the Cubs beat them in the 2015 NL wild card round.
T-9 Texas Rangers — six seasons (last appearance 2016)
Rangers have been a mainstay in the postseason over the past decade, securing a berth five times in seven seasons between 2010 and 2016. Even after the signature Corey Seeger and Markus Semien too big contracts last season will land Texas at the bottom of the league.
T-9 Charlotte Hornets — six seasons (last appearance 2015-16)
The Hornets almost made the playoffs last spring. They made it to the play-in tournament but were eliminated in the opening game. LaMelo ballThe emergence of could put them over the hump in 2022-23.
T-9 Detroit Red Wings — six seasons (last appearance 2015-16)
Longtime Red Wings fans weren’t all that used to the team’s recent track. The franchise had a 25-year playoff streak prior to its current drought. Detroit appears a long way from returning to the postseason after falling 26 points from last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference in 2021-22.
T-9 Denver Broncos — six seasons (last appearance 2015)
The Broncos have not made the playoffs since their triumphant Super Bowl victory to close out the 2015 season. That was, of course, Peyton Manning’s last game. Denver was recently traded to quarterback Russell Wilson solving his chronic quarterback problem, which could also solve his postseason problem.
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