Greatest Baseball Players to Never Win a World Series

It's a shame that some of the best professional baseball players never made it to the World Series.

Are you familiar with the phrase, “Play like there’s no tomorrow?” Well, there’s more than a splinter of truth to it. Because for many major league players, tomorrow can be like a small-market baseball fan after the All-Star break — it doesn’t show up at all.

Here are the best players who waited and waited and waited for a World Series celebration that never came. The rankings are based on a combination of production and longevity with an assist from Wins Above Replacement (WAR).

Be forewarned: You’re gonna see a lot of Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox and Cubs on here.

30. Jim Thome

David Richard / AP Photo

Career: 22 seasons (1991-2012)

Teams: Cleveland Indians (1991-2002, 2011), Philadelphia Phillies (2003-05 2012), Chicago White Sox (2006-09), Los Angeles Dodgers (2009), Minnesota Twins (2010-11), Baltimore Orioles (2012)

Regular season statistics: 2,543 games played/.276 batting average/612 home runs/1,699 RBI

Bottom line: In the late 1990s, Thome and the Indians were perennial contenders but couldn’t close the deal. “You get the opportunity once; it’s addictive,” he said per FOX Sports. “But I realize the process. You can’t really think about it too much. It just has to happen.”

Or not.

29. Sam Crawford

Bain News Service / Wikimedia Commons

Career: 19 seasons (1899-1917)

Teams: Cincinnati Reds (1899-1902), Detroit Tigers (1903-17)

Regular season statistics: 2,517 games played/.309 batting average/367 stolen bases/1,523 RBI

Bottom line: Wahoo Sam had three World Series chances in as many seasons (1907-09) to get off the schneid. (After all, he is the all-time triples leader.) The last was also the best, but Tigers bats turned into sawdust in the decisive seventh game.

28. Andruw Jones

Charles Bennett / AP Photo

Career: 17 seasons (1996-1912)

Teams: Atlanta Braves (1996-2007), Los Angeles Dodgers (2008), Texas Rangers (2009), Chicago White Sox (2010), New York Yankees (2011-12)

Regular season statistics: 2,196 games played/.254 batting average/434 home runs/1,289 RBI

Bottom line: This 19-year-old wunderkind was all the rage in the 1996 World Series opener, which saw him hit a pair of home runs and drive in five runs. But the Braves blew a 2-0 lead in the series, and Jones would never get that close to a league championship again.

27. Gaylord Perry

AP Photo

Career: 22 seasons (1962-83)

Teams: San Francisco Giants (1962-71), Cleveland Indians (1972-75), Texas Rangers (1975-77, 1980), San Diego Padres (1978-79), New York Yankees (1980), Atlanta Braves (1981), Seattle Mariners (1982-83), Kansas City Royals (1983)

Regular season statistics: 777 games pitched/314-265 record/3.11 earned run average

Bottom line: One would think that a Giants team with Orlando Cepeda, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey in the line-up and Perry and Juan Marichal on the mound would be good for, say, a couple or three World Series titles along the way. As Bob Uecker might say, “Juuuuust a bit outside.”

26. Joe Cronin

AP Photo

Career: 22 seasons (1926-45)

Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates (1926-27), Washington Senators (1928-34), Boston Red Sox (1935-45)

Regular season statistics: 2,164 games played/.301 batting average/170 home runs/1,424 RBI

Bottom line: From player to manager to general manager to league president, this Hall of Famer did it all in a career that spanned six decades. Except win the Big One, that is. Alas, the 19-year-old kid arrived in Pittsburgh one year after the Pirates had done just that.

25. Ryne Sandberg

Michael Conroy / AP Photo

Career: 17 seasons (1981-94, 1995-97)

Teams: Philadelphia Phillies (1981), Chicago Cubs (1982-94, 1996-97)

Regular season statistics: 2,124 games played/.285 batting average/282 home runs/1,061 RBI

Bottom line: The future Hall of Famer produced a .385/.457/.641 slash line in 10 postseason games. If the Cubbies hadn’t gagged away a 3-0 lead in Game 7 of the 1984 NLCS, who knows what he would have done next.

24. Frank Thomas

Fred Jewell / AP Photo

Career: 19 seasons (1990-2008)

Teams: Chicago White Sox (1990-2005), Oakland Athletics (2008), Toronto Blue Jays (2007-08),

Regular season statistics: 2,322 games played/.301 batting average/521 home runs/1,704 RBI

Bottom line: In his only real shot at a World Series appearance, Ballpark Frank was afforded Barry Bonds treatment in the 1994 ALCS, when the Toronto Blue Jays walked him 10 times in 27 trips to the plate. Only years later, Bonds would be given Frank Thomas treatment himself.

23. Phil Niekro

Ray Stublebine / AP Photo

Career: 25 seasons (1964-1987)

Teams: Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves (1964-83, 1987), New York Yankees (1984-85), Cleveland Indians (1986-87), Toronto Blue Jays (1987)

Regular season statistics: 864 games pitched/318-274 record/3.35 earned run average

Bottom line: In a quarter that spanned a quarter of a century, luckless Knucksie pitched 5,404 innings, 5,390 of them in the regular season. His two postseason assignments came 13 years apart.

22. Kenny Lofton

Gene J. Puskar / AP Photo

Career: 17 seasons (1991-2007)

Teams: Houston Astros (1991), Cleveland Indians (1992-96, 1998-2001, 2007), Chicago White Sox (2002), San Francisco Giants (2002), Pittsburgh Pirates (2003), Chicago Cubs (2003), New York Yankees (2004), Philadelphia Phillies (2005), Los Angeles Dodgers (2006), Texas Rangers (2007)

Regular season statistics: 2,103 games played/.299 batting average/622 stolen bases/1,528 runs scored

Bottom line: Lofton took part in 11 postseasons with seven different teams, but it wasn’t until the outfielder was 35 years old that he could almost smell the Champagne. His team squandered a 5-0 lead in Game 6, and they had a Giants-sized letdown in the next one as well.

21. Ken Griffey Jr.

Robert Kaiser / AP Photo

Career: 22 seasons (1989-2010)

Teams: Seattle Mariners (1989-99, 2009-10), Cincinnati Reds (2000-08), Chicago White Sox (2008)

Regular season statistics: 2,671 games played/.284 batting average/630 home runs/1,836 runs scored

Bottom line: It’s a darn shame that The Kid wasted his prime years in a Mariners organization that considered pitching and defense to be optional. The guy gave us a hint of what might have been in the 1995 ALDS when he pole-axed five home runs in as many games. It was his only postseason dubyah.

20. Robin Roberts

Rooney / AP Photo

Career: 19 seasons (1948-1966)

Teams: Philadelphia Phillies (1948-61), Baltimore Orioles (1962-65), Houston Astros (1965-66), Chicago Cubs (1966)

Regular season statistics: 676 games pitched/286-245 record/3.41 earned run average

Bottom line: The future Hall of Famer averaged 23 wins and 323 innings pitched over one stretch of six brilliant seasons (1950-55). His postseason reward was one start against the New York Yankees, which he lost 1-0 on a Joe DiMaggio home run in the 10th inning. If there’s any justice whatsoever, he’ll come back as the ace of a Brooklyn Dodgers dynasty in his next lifetime.

19. Juan Marichal

RHH / AP Photo

Career: 16 seasons (1960-1975)

Teams: San Francisco Giants (1960-73), Boston Red Sox (1974), Los Angeles Dodgers (1975)

Regular season statistics: 471 games pitched/243-142 record/2.89 earned run average

Bottom line: The Juanderful right-hander was only 24 years old when he out-pitched New York Yankees star Whitey Ford in his World Series debut. Even though he played for several contenders in the interim, it took nine years for him to get a second (and final) opportunity.

18. Ron Santo

Robert H. Houston / AP Photo

Career: 15 seasons (1960-1974)

Teams: Chicago Cubs (1960-73), Chicago White Sox (1974)

Regular season statistics: 2,243 games played/.277 batting average/342 home runs/1,331 RBI

Bottom line: Mr. Perfect was as good a third baseman as he was a lousy teammate. His lack of leadership played no small role in the epic collapse of the ’69 Cubs, as teammate Don Young would attest. That he and Dick Allen couldn’t stand each other in their one turbulent season on the South Side came as no surprise to anyone who knew them.

17. Luke Appling

AP Photo

Career: 20 seasons (1930-43, 1945-50)

Teams: Chicago White Sox (1930-43, 1945-50)

Regular season statistics: 2,422 games played/.310 batting average/179 stolen bases/1,319 runs scored

Bottom line: In 18 of his 20 seasons, this Hall of Fame shortstop finished no better than fourth place. Holey White Sox, Batman! It gets even worse — his team finished closer than 15 games of the lead exactly one time. There has to be a special place for Old Aches and Pains in baseball heaven.

16. Fergie Jenkins

Stubblebine / AP Photo

Career: 19 seasons (1965-83)

Teams: Philadelphia Phillies (1965-66), Chicago Cubs (1966-73, 1982-83), Texas Rangers (1974-75, 1978-81), Boston Red Sox (1976-77)

Regular season statistics: 644 games pitched/284-226 record/3.34 earned run average

Bottom line: Six times Ferguson Arthur was a 20-game winner. He was the 1971 Cy Young Award winner and finished second or third in the vote on four occasions. Now please explain how a guy so good for so long never pitched in a postseason game.

15. Rod Carew

JM / AP Photo

Career: 19 seasons (1967-85)

Teams: Minnesota Twins (1967-78), California Angels (1979-85)

Regular season statistics: 2,469 games played/.328 batting average/353 stolen bases/1,424 runs scored

Bottom line: Final game of the 1982 ALCS, ninth inning, a runner at second base, two outs. When Carew stepped up to the plate against Milwaukee Brewers fill-in closer Pete Ladd, I would have bet the house on him. Sure enough, he hit the ball hard … but right at shortstop Robin Yount for the final out. “As soon as I hit it, I said to myself, ‘It’s over,'” Carew would say later.

And so ended his best chance to play on the World Series stage.

14. Adrian Beltre

Mark J. Terrill / AP Photo

Career: 21 seasons (1998-2018)

Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2004), Seattle Mariners (2005-09), Boston Red Sox (2010), Texas Rangers (2011-18)

Regular season statistics: 2,933 games played/.286 batting average/477 home runs/1,707 RBI

Bottom line: If Nelson Cruz hadn’t lollygagged for the long fly ball that fell for a two-run triple and kept the 2011 Fall Classic alive, the Rangers quite possibly would have an MLB championship banner. And Beltre might have filled the one major void in his certain Hall of Fame career.

13. Luis Tiant

AP Photo

Career: 19 seasons (1964-1982)

Teams: Cleveland Indians (1964-69), Minnesota Twins (1970), Boston Red Sox (1971-78), New York Yankees (1979-80), Pittsburgh Pirates (1981), California Angels (1982)

Regular season statistics: 573 games pitched/229-172 record/3.30 earned run average

Bottom line: El Tiante was en fuego in the 1975 postseason. Too bad it took him 11 years to reach that point. The Cuban and Bob Gibson weren’t that much different in their primes, save for the support around them.

12. Rick Reuschel

Ray Stubblebine / AP Photo

Career: 19 seasons (1972-1981, 1983-91)

Teams: Chicago Cubs (1972-81, 1983-84), New York Yankees (1981), Pittsburgh Pirates (1985-87), San Francisco Giants (1987-91)

Regular season statistics: 557 games pitched/214-191 record/3.37 earned run average

Bottom line: Big Daddy resembled a portly drivers ed teacher, and that was part of his success. The mix master lulled batters to sleep for the better part of two decades. Yet it wasn’t until his age 38 and 39 seasons (36-19 record) that the Giant showed what he could do with a contender.

11. Edgar Martinez

Elaine Thompson / AP Photo

Career: 18 seasons (1987-2004)

Teams: Seattle Mariners (1987-2004)

Regular season statistics: 2,055 games played/.301 batting average/309 home runs/1,261 RBI

Bottom line: The three-time batting king, two-time on-base percentage leader and one-time on-base-plus-slugging percentages (OPS) leader was among the most efficient hitters of his time. His postseason debut came at 32 years of age, sad to say.

10. Harry Heilmann

Bain News Service / Wikimedia Commons

Career: 18 seasons (1914, 1916-29), Cincinnati Reds (1930, 1932)

Teams: Detroit Tigers (1914, 1916-29), Cincinnati Reds (1930, 1932)

Regular season statistics: 2,147 games played/.342 batting average/183 home runs/1,543 RBI

Bottom line: Four-time batting champion, no-time World Series participant. Alas, the most dominant stretch in franchise history (1907-09) had already left the station by the time Slug arrived in Tiger Town.

9. Jeff Bagwell

David J. Phillip / AP Photo

Career: 15 seasons (1991-2005)

Teams: Houston Astros (1991-2005)

Regular season statistics: 2,150 games played/.297 batting average/449 home runs/1,529 RBI

Bottom line: The baseball gods threw this RBI machine a bone in what would be his last stand. The 37-year-old hit .125 with a bum right shoulder in the 2005 World Series sweep. Other than that, Baggy, how did you like the show?

8. Bobby Grich

AP Photo

Career: 17 seasons (1970-86)

Teams: Baltimore Orioles (1970-76), California Angels (1977-86)

Regular season statistics: 2,008 games played/.266 batting average/224 home runs/864 RBI

Bottom line: In the 1986 ALCS, Grich and the Angels were within one out of their first World Series appearance. Somehow, they lost Game 5 and the next two as well. At that point, the 37-year-old called it quits on an otherwise successful career.

7. Larry Walker

David Zalubowski / AP Photo

Career: 17 seasons (1989-2005)

Teams: Montreal Expos (1989-94), Colorado Rockies (1995-2004), St. Louis Cardinals (2004-05)

Regular season statistics: 1,988 games played/.313 batting average/383 home runs/1,311 RBI

Bottom line: Would the 1994 Expos have hosted their first Fall Classic if not for the players’ strike? If they had won it all, would Montreal still have a major league franchise? And would Walker and others own the World Series rings that eluded them? Thanks to a bunch of rich players and dirty rich ownership wonks, we will never know the answers.

6. Mike Mussina

Chad Rachman / AP Photo

Career: 18 seasons (1991-2008)

Teams: Baltimore Orioles (1991-2000), New York Yankees (2001-08)

Regular season statistics: 537 games played/270-153 record/3.68 earned run average

Bottom line: After 10 seasons with the team that drafted him, this ring chaser moved on to bigger and better things. Kind of. Moose got to a pair of World Series in Yankees pinstripes, only to be disappointed both times.

5. Roy Halladay

Tony Dejak / AP Photo

Career: 16 seasons (1998-2013)

Teams: Toronto Blue Jays (1998-2009), Philadelphia Phillies (2010-13)

Regular season statistics: 416 games played/203-105 record/3.38 earned run average

Bottom line: The Phillies had the right guy on the mound in the 2011 NLCS finale. Doc allowed a run on the first two batters of the game, and it would be the only one scored in what would be his final attempt at a World Series appearance. I believe “luckless” would apply here.

4. Arky Vaughan

AP Photo

Career: 14 seasons (1932-43, 1947-48)

Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates (1932-43), Brooklyn Dodgers (1947-48)

Regular season statistics: 1,817 games played/.318 batting average/96 home runs/1,173 runs scored

Bottom line: Even as a 35-year-old utilityman, this unheralded Hall of Famer had a pronounced effect with the ’47 Dodgers pennant-winners. He had a team-high .325 batting average on the field and was an ardent supporter of teammate Jackie Robinson off of it. That season also marked his only World Series appearance. In his final postseason at-bat, the one-time batting king delivered a pinch-hit double late in a 2-1 loss in the crucial fifth game, a near miss that helped define his career.

3. Nap Lajoie

AP Photo

Career: 21 seasons (1989-2016)

Teams: Philadelphia Athletics (1898-1900, 1915-16), Philadelphia Phillies (1901-02), Cleveland Bronchos-Naps (1902-14)

Regular season statistics: 2,480 games played/.338 batting average/82 home runs/1,599 RBI

Bottom line: It would take a GPS to navigate the career of the first superstar in American League history. The short version? He finished as high as second place only in the crazy ’08 season when his Naps finished .004 percentage points out of first place, and I’ll stop right there…

2. Ty Cobb

AP Photo

Career: 24 seasons (1905-28)

Teams: Detroit Tigers (1905-26), Philadelphia Athletics (1927-28)

Regular season statistics: 3,034 games played/.366 batting average/897 stolen bases/2,245 runs scored

Bottom line: The all-time hitting leader had his best shot in the 1909 World Series, but Pittsburgh Pirates ace Babe Adams held him without a hit in Game 7 and only one in 11 at-bats in the series. What a shame.

1. Ted Williams

AP Photo

Career: 19 seasons (1939-42, 1946-60)

Teams: Boston Red Sox (1939-42, 1946-60)

Regular season statistics: 2,292 games played/.344 batting average/521 home runs/1,839 RBI

Bottom line: In the biggest game of his iconic career, Teddy Ballgame was 0-for-4 in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series. Many don’t know or remember that a bum elbow he hurt in an exhibition game hampered his swing, which is why he tops this list.