What is the World Series?
The World Series is the championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB), played each October between the champions of the American League and the National League.
The first modern World Series was played in 1903, when the Boston Americans beat the Pittsburgh Pirates. Today it is a best-of-seven series, so the first team to win four games becomes champion. The winner receives the Commissioner's Trophy, which features flags representing each MLB team.
Teams reach the World Series through the playoffs, which begin after a 162-game regular season. The series has been played every year since 1905, except in 1994, when a players' strike cancelled the end of the season. Although it is called the World Series, it includes only MLB teams from the United States and Canada.
Most titles
The New York Yankees have won the most World Series titles, with 27 championships. The St. Louis Cardinals are second. The Toronto Blue Jays, who won in 1992 and 1993, are the only team based outside the United States to have won the title. In 2026, the Milwaukee Brewers won their first World Series, beating the Tampa Bay Rays.
Did You Know?
Games in the World Series are often called the Fall Classic, because the series is played in October and sometimes stretches into early November.