Boston was a dominant team in the new league, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series in 1903 and winning four more championships by 1918. However, they then went into one of the longest championship droughts in baseball history, called by some the "Curse of the Bambino" after its alleged beginning with the Red Sox's sale of Babe Ruth to the rival Yankees in 1918, an 86-year wait before the team's sixth World Championship in 2004. However, the team's history during that period was hardly one of futility, but was rather punctuated with some of the most memorable moments in World Series history, including Enos Slaughter's "mad dash" in 1946, the "Impossible Dream" of 1967, Carlton Fisk's home run in 1975, and Bill Buckner's error in 1986. Red Sox history has also been marked by the team's intense rivalry with the New York Yankees, arguably the fiercest and most historic in North American professional sports. Since 2003, the Red Sox have been perennial playoff contenders and have won two World Series, emerging as one of the most successful MLB teams of the last decade.

The Red Sox are consistently one of the top MLB teams in average road attendance, while the small capacity of Fenway Park prevents them from leading in overall attendance.[2][3] Every home game since May 15, 2003 has been sold out—a span of over seven years and an MLB record.[4]

The Cubs have not won the World Series in 102 years; a longer championship drought than that of any other major North American professional sports team.[1][2] The Cubs are often referred to as "The Lovable Losers" because of this distinction. They are also known as "The North Siders" because Wrigley Field, their home park since 1916, is located in Chicago's north side Lakeview community. They are also often called "The Boys in Blue" noting the team's primary uniform color, (which itself is often referred to as "Cubbie Blue") or simply as "The Cubbies."[3]

Chicago's manager is Mike Quade, who took over for Lou Piniella, who originally announced his retirement after the 2010 season, but instead left on August 22 due to in-family health issues while their general manager is Jim Hendry. The Cubs have rivalries with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the cross-town Chicago White Sox.

The club, which is the oldest active team in major North American sports still currently in its original city (only the Braves, who were also professionally founded in 1871 and did not lose two years due to the Great Chicago Fire, have played longer), is currently owned by a family trust of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, with his son Tom Ricketts operating the team on a daily basis. The Cubs used to be owned by the Wrigley Company and the Chicago Tribune

One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Chicago team was established as a major league baseball club in 1900. The club was originally called the Chicago White Stockings, after the nickname abandoned by the Cubs, and the name was soon shortened to Chicago White Sox, believed to have been because the paper would shorten it to Sox in the headlines. At this time, the team played their home games at South Side Park. In 1910, the team moved into historic Comiskey Park, which they would inhabit for more than eight decades.

The White Sox were a strong team during their first two decades, winning the 1906 World Series with a defense-oriented team dubbed "the Hitless Wonders", and the 1917 World Series led by Eddie Cicotte, Eddie Collins, and Shoeless Joe Jackson. The 1919 World Series, however, was marred by the Black Sox Scandal, in which several prominent members of the White Sox (including Cicotte and Jackson) were accused of conspiring with gamblers to purposefully lose games. Baseball's new commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis took decisive action, banning the tainted players from Major League Baseball for life. Decades of mediocrity followed for the White Sox until the 1950s, when perennially competitive teams were blocked from the playoffs by the dynastic New York Yankees, with the exception of the 1959 pennant winners led by Early Wynn, Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, and manager Al Lopez. Another pennant winner did not come until their championship season of 2005, when the White Sox won their first World Series championship in 88 years, breaking their epochal drought only a year after the Boston Red Sox had broken their slightly shorter but more celebrated "curse."

The Chicago White Sox are most prominently nicknamed "the South Siders", based on their particular district within Chicago. Other nicknames include "the Pale Hose", "the ChiSox", a combination of "Chicago" and "Sox" (as opposed to the BoSox), mostly just used by the national media, "the Go-Go Sox", a reference to 1959 AL champions, who got that nickname; "the Good Guys", a reference to the team's one-time motto "Good guys wear black", coined by Ken "Hawk" Harrelson; and "the Black Sox," referring specifically to the scandal-tainted 1919 team. Most fans and Chicago media refer to the team as simply "the Sox". The Spanish language media sometimes refer to the team as Medias Blancas for "White Socks."

Relative to other teams in the National League, the Reds have enjoyed success over their 140-plus years. They are tied with the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates for sixth-most World Series victories, with 5. They are trailing the New York Yankees, who have 27 World Series titles, St. Louis Cardinals, who have 10, Oakland Athletics with 9, Boston Red Sox with 7, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have 6. The Reds won the AA's inaugural season in 1882, and did not win another championship until the Black Sox scandal-ridden 1919 World Series.

After struggling in the 1920s (starting in 1927) and 1930s, the Reds made it back to the World Series in 1939, and won it in 1940. They returned to the bottom half of the standings from 1941–1960, except for a third-place finish in 1956, until winning the National League pennant in 1961. After losing to the Yankees in the 1961 World Series, the Reds were unable to piece together any consistent pennant-contending teams until the "Big Red Machine" teams of the 1970s. They won 6 National League West Division titles and four National League pennants from 1970 to 1979, including consecutive World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. Their most recent World Series championship was in 1990, and most recent playoff appearance was in 1995.

Since 2003, the Reds have played their home games in Great American Ball Park, a baseball-only facility built next door to their previous home, Riverfront Stadium, which has since been demolished. The Reds field manager is Dusty Baker, their general manager is Walt Jocketty, and their majority owner is Bob Castellini.

Originating in Seattle, Washington, as the Seattle Pilots, the club played for one season in 1969 before being acquired in bankruptcy court by current MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and then moved to Milwaukee. The Brewers were part of the American League from their creation as an expansion club in 1969 through the 1997 season, after which they moved to the National League Central Division. Milwaukee had previously been a National League city when its team was the Milwaukee Braves (1953–1965).

In 1982, Milwaukee won the American League East Division and the American League Pennant, earning their only World Series appearance to date. In the Series, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, four games to three.

In 2008, the Brewers achieved their first postseason berth in the 26 years since their World Series appearance as the wildcard team in the National League. They were eliminated in the NLDS by the eventual World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. They have had only 3 playoff berths in their 40 year history.

One of baseball's first expansion teams in 1962, the Mets were a byword for ineptitude until they surprisingly won the 1969 World Series. They have played in a total of four World Series, the most of any MLB expansion team, including a second dramatic win in 1986.

The franchise is the defending World Champion of Major League Baseball and lead the League in both revenue and titles, with 27 World Series championships and 40 American League Pennants. They have more championships than any other franchise in North American professional sports history, passing the 24 Stanley Cup championships by the Montreal Canadiens in 1999.[5][6][7] Throughout the team's history, the franchise has produced some of the most celebrated players in Major League history, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra. The franchise has seen 44 of its players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Yankees have retired the numbers of 16 of its players.

The Yankees have achieved widespread popularity and a dedicated fanbase, although they have acquired a polarizing reputation for their heavy spending in pursuit of winning. Their rivalry with the Boston Red Sox is arguably the fiercest and most historic in North American professional sports. To support the Yankees and expand their media coverage, the dedicated television channel YES Network was launched in 2002, and it has become a large source of revenue for the franchise.

The Phillies have won two World Series championships (against Kansas City in 1980 and Tampa Bay in 2008) and seven National League pennants, the first of which came in 1915. The franchise has also experienced long periods of struggle. The age of the team and its history of adversity has earned it the distinction of having lost the most games of any team in the history of American professional sports.[2]

The franchise was founded in Philadelphia in 1883, replacing the team from Worcester, Massachusetts. The team has played at several stadiums in the city, beginning with Recreation Park and continuing at Baker Bowl; Shibe Park, which was later renamed Connie Mack Stadium in honor of the longtime Philadelphia Athletics manager; Veterans Stadium; and now Citizens Bank Park. The team's heated rivalry with the New York Mets has been an issue of contention within the division in recent seasons. The team's spring training facilities are located in Clearwater, Florida, where its Class-A minor league affiliate Clearwater Threshers play at Bright House Field.

The franchise joined the National League in its sixth season in 1887 and was competitive from its early years, winning three National League titles from 1901 to 1903, playing in the very first World Series and winning a World Series in 1909 behind Honus Wagner. The Pirates have had many ups and downs during their long history, most famously winning the 1960 World Series on a walk-off home run by Bill Mazeroski, the only time that Game 7 of the World Series has ever ended with a home run. They also won the 1971 World Series behind Roberto Clemente and the 1979 World Series under the slogan "We Are Family", led by "Pops" Willie Stargell. The Pirates have won all of their World Series in seven games (losing the series 3-5 to Boston in 1903 and 0-4 in 1927 to the Yankees). After a run of success in the early 1990s, the Pirates have struggled more recently, with 18 consecutive losing seasons to date, the longest in North American professional sports [1].