On Saturday, the Blue Jays clinched their first postseason berth since 1993, the last time they won the World Series. They technically clinched Friday night thanks to some fancy math, though Saturday's win over the Rays made it officially official (TOR 10, TB 8).
The Blue Jays' postseason drought wasn't just the longest in baseball, it was the longest in the four major North American sports. That drought is over though. There will be October baseball in Toronto this year, and it has been a long time coming.
With Blue Jays clinching, the longest postseason drought in baseball now belongs to the Mariners. They haven't qualified for the postseason since 2001, when they went 116-46 but lost to the Yankees in the ALCS. That was Ichiro Suzuki's rookie season and the first year after Alex Rodriguez left as a free agent.
The Mariners came into the 2015 season as a trendy World Series pick. They missed the postseason by one game last year, then added Nelson Cruz in the offseason, so it seemed like they'd get over the hump. Instead, they're 74-80 and will soon be officially eliminated from postseason contention. Their tragic number is a mere two.
A lot went wrong for Seattle this year. Robinson Cano didn't hit in the first half, Hisashi Iwakuma and James Paxton battled injuries, the bullpen blew lots of leads early on -- falling this far short of expectations took a total team effort. Cruz was excellent, however. He is tied for the MLB lead with 43 homers. Money well spent.
Here is the year of each club's last trip to the postseason:
2015 - Blue Jays, Cardinals, Cubs, Mets, Pirates, Royals
2014 - Angels, Athletics, Dodgers, Giants, Orioles, Nationals, Tigers
2013 - Braves, Indians, Rays, Reds, Red Sox
2012 - Rangers, Yankees
2011 - Brewers, Diamondbacks, Phillies
2010 - Twins
2009 - Rockies
2008 - White Sox
2006 - Padres
2005 - Astros
2003 - Marlins
2001 - Mariners
The Dodgers can clinch a postseason berth as soon as Sunday. The Yankees and Rangers figure to do the same in the coming days.
