What the Leafs have finally shed here, however, is the label that this is a fatally flawed group destined only to disappoint. T-9. Toronto is partying like it's 2004 tonight. You will now be able to customize your experience on our website. Giants on Twitter: "RT @NFLonCBS: The New York Jets The three longest playoff droughts in league history began well before the first Super Bowl was played. In 2001, the last time the Mariners reached the postseason, the club won a record-tying 116 games during the regular season. Following their win on Friday, the Mariners are going to the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. playoffs pic.twitter.com/KdQBXnFVvx, Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) April 25, 2023, Most definitely, Sauce said when asked does the drought end this year. Series: What are the longest MLB title droughts now The AL East is a brutally tough division, but I think there's enough here to get Baltimore back to the postseason as a wild-card team next year. playoff Doesn't it feel like just yesterday the ultra-fun Andrew McCutchen era Pirates went to the postseason three straight years? The current grit-infused lineup has been building throughout the past few years, with additions like Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, Michael Bunting, David Kampf and others. Here are the longest active postseason droughts in the four major men's North American sports: MLB: Seattle Mariners: 20 years (last qualified in 2001) NFL: New The Royals reached the Fall Classic again in 2015 and this time finished the job, defeating the Mets in five games. Then came 1996, when Texas won its first division title with a 90-72 record behind an AL MVP season from Juan Gonzalez. On Saturday, the Seattle Mariners put the longest playoff drought across all four major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) when they clinched a playoff spot for the first time in 21 seasons. Jets have second-longest postseason drought among George W. Bush was President and, of course, there were the 9/11 attacks. At some point amongst the postseason losses, he realized that he had enough skill and what his group of young superstars really needed was more steady hands at the wheel in order to win the type of one-goal playoff nailbiters that they pulled out in overtime of Game 6 against the battle-hardened Lightning. Buffalo Sabres 11 seasons (last appearance in 2010-11). The Marlins went 16 seasons without reaching the playoffs after winning the 2003 World Series title, but they were able to end the drought during the shortened 2020 campaign. The longest postseason drought of the four major North American team sports still belongs to the Mariners, who have come agonizingly close a few times but not quite broken through. 2006 Tigers (18 seasons)Finish: Lost in World Series. Now that the Mariners and Phillies have both claimed spots in the postseason, two of the top five longest missed postseason streaks have ended. The Blue Jays defeated the Rangers in the ALDS after Bautista hit a tiebreaking homer in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 5 -- celebrating the blast with an emphatic bat flip -- but they ran out of steam against the Royals in the ALCS. 25 Apr 2023 22:03:29 Sound good? The Tigers haven't made the playoffs since featuring Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in their starting rotation. The NFLs Buffalo Bills ended their playoff drought, dating back to 1999, when they won their final regular season game against the Dolphins on Sunday. The team that now holds the longest active drought is the NBA's Sacramento Kings, who haven't tasted playoff basketball since the 2005-2006 season. However, they met their match against the eventual World Series-champion Phillies in the NLDS, scoring just nine runs in a 3-1 series defeat. That doesn't feel that long, but it's long enough to give the team the longest 4. In 2002, the Mariners won 93 games and finished in third place! It ends the longest active streak for most seasons without making the playoffs across the four major North American sports leagues. James Mirtle is the senior managing editor of The Athletic NHL. They AND the NHLs Buffalo Sabres share the dubious distinction of having the longest active playoff drought (12 seasons) Kyle did an unbelievable job throughout the offseason and the trade deadline to put us in a position to succeed, head coach Sheldon Keefe said, listing off some of the key additions that allowed them to succeed where they had previously failed. The Pittsburgh Penguins have fired general manager Ron Hextall, director of hockey operations Brian Burke and assistant general manager Chris Pryor after the club failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. You had to go back to the Barry Bonds era for the Pirates last postseason appearance before 2013, when Pittsburgh finally ended its drought. All this on tomorrow's Slow News Day. -- in Mike Trout's 11 full seasons. In the span of four days, the longest postseason drought in each league was erased. Before the 2018-19 campaign got underway a lot of analysts and fans expected the Hurricanes to finish near the bottom of the standings, but the biggest bunch of jerks in sports went out and proved everyone wrong by grabbing a spot in the playoffs. Sports By the time Milwaukee reached the postseason again, Yount and Molitor were long retired and enshrined in the Hall of Fame, and the Brewers were in a different league, having joined the NL in 1998. However, the Braves shut down Clevelands vaunted offense in the Fall Classic, leading to a 4-2 series win for Atlanta. The Nats broke through in 2012, winning 98 games with a roster that was buoyed by homegrown stars Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond, as well as offseason addition Gio Gonzlez. Boone said the best-case scenario has Judge returning sometime during the three-game series against the Guardians. So now the longest drought belongs tothe New York Jets at 12 seasons (technically theyre tied with the Buffalo Sabres). 2002 Angels: (15 seasons)Finish: Won World Series. The Sacramento Kings clinched a playoff spot Wednesday night with a 120-80 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, so the Jets (12 years) now own the longest active The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were an intimidating team to play in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but theyve become one of the least feared teams over the past decade. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. The franchise that had already long since made epic collapses its hallmark added four more heartbreaking losses in the playoffs, again and again, first to Boston in 2019, then Columbus in 2020, Montreal in 2021 and Tampa in 2022. New York also is without outfielders Giancarlo Stanton (left hamstring strain) and Harrison Bader (left oblique strain), and third baseman Josh Donaldson (right hamstring strain). Dubas was largely vindicated in his belief in his stars in this series, too. playoff drought Sacramento Kings 16 seasons (last playoff appearance in 2005-06). The decision came after a disappointing season in which Pittsburgh went 40-31-11. {{ video.Name Leafs end 19-year playoff drought with wild OT win 11:13 am ET, clinched a wild-card spot over the weekend thanks to Cal Raleigh's incredible walk-off home run, Mariners manager Scott Servais told MLB.com after the clincher, owner Arte Moreno put the team up for sale earlier this summer, and Scott Harris was hired away from the Giants to run the baseball operations, longtime baseball operations head Dayton Moore was given his pink slip, MLB Power Rankings: Rays, Pirates first to 20 wins, MLB DFS picks, May 1 lineups, strategy, advice, MLB parlay picks, bets, predictions for May 1, Why MLB front offices could be next to unionize, Report: MLB plans to return to Mexico City in 2024, Braves vs. Mets odds, picks, computer sims, Longest MLB playoff droughts: Angels, Tigers top list, Power Rankings: Rays, Pirates first to 20 wins, Why front offices could be next to unionize, Phillies star Harper could make return this week, Report: Mets' Cohen looks into cost of retractable roof, White Sox snap 10-game skid with wild comeback, Longtime Cards broadcaster Shannon dies at 83. The Halos have not had a winning season since 2015 and owner Arte Moreno put the team up for sale earlier this summer. Use of this website (including any and all parts and components) constitutes your acceptance of these, Colin Cowherd picks upsets in Week 4 'Blazin' 5'. T-5. Gosh, I love their young outfield, and some of their young arms are really good too. They can be better than they were in this series against the Lightning. The last time the Orioles played in the postseason, Zack Britton watched from the bullpen while Edwin Encarnacion clobbered a walk-off home run in the 2016 Wild Card Game. 12 longest active playoff droughts in NFL, NBA, MLB, If you forgot your password, no worries: enter your email address and we'll send you a link you can use to pick a new password. Pittsburgh Pirates seven seasons (last appearance in 2015). 2023 NCAA baseball bracket: Men's College World Series Longest Baseball's two longest postseason droughts came to an end in the last week. From day one, we havent talked about winning one round, Sheldon Keefe said. That's a sentence that hasn't been written since 2001, saddling Seattle with the longest active playoff drought not only in MLB, but in any of the four major pro You can forgive the Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans for these rambunctious celebrations, considering its been nearly two decades since their last playoff series Can Aaron Rodgers Help New York Jets Break The I think 2023 is a little too optimistic, so I'll go with 2024. He worked to dump bad contracts and squeeze in bargain buys around his stars, attempting to correct some of Lamoriellos errors. Parlez-en ! In the 19 years in between series victories, they had last seven consecutive series, as well as 11 consecutive playoff games where theyd had a chance to close out a series. It's 2023 now, meaning the Jets have not made the playoffs in 12 NFL seasons. The Phoenix Suns have been one of the youngest teams in the NBA for the past few years, but theyve also managed to be one of the worst teams during that span. RT @NFLonCBS: The New York Jets now own the longest playoff drought among the four major North American pro sports leagues. They're a half-game ahead of the Brewers for the final wild-card spot in the National League. Winning one playoff round, as the Leafs finally did on Saturday night in Tampa, was hardly the goal nine years ago when Shanahan took over this organization and then hired Dubas. Toronto Maple Leafs end 19-year playoff drought with I could see it in a winnable AL Central. One of the longest postseason droughts in MLB history ended in 1995, when a Cleveland club led by Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome and Kenny Lofton steamrolled its way through the AL. 3-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Monday, the Philadelphia Phillies ended a. playoff drought that hasnt seen the franchise in the postseason since 2011. The 2002 season not only saw the Halos adopt a fresh look, including a new logo and uniform set, but also was the start of the most successful era in team history. Chuck is all aboard the Kings bandwagon. The Charlotte Hornets last made it to the postseason in 2016. This year, its a fresh start and just making the playoffs now isnt enough for the Jets. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Pittsburgh has had one winning season since, and 2021 and 2022 are two of the nine losing-est seasons since the Pittsburgh Alleghenys became the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1891. On Friday night, the Seattle Mariners walked off against the Texas Rangers, 2-1, and walked into the playoffs for the first time since 2001, ending a 21-year postseason drought, which was the longest drought among all five major men's pro sports leagues in North America. By SCOTT CHARLES April 12, 2023. Trout and Shohei Ohtani are incredible, get a bounce-back season from Anthony Rendon, maybe a breakout from Jo Adell, invest smartly in some pitching, and yeah, they could make it next year. PHILADELPHIA (BVM) With their 3-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Monday, the Philadelphia Phillies ended a 10-season playoff drought that hasnt seen the franchise in the postseason since 2011. The Pistons and the Spurs last made into the playoffs in 2019.