<P> Futhermore, unlike what was the case in 1899, MLB clubs today employ vast minor league farm systems, and the sport has expanded in popularity far beyond the borders of the United States . Additionally, the major leagues of 1899 held to a rigid color line, a policy that was abandoned in 1947 . The talent pool for the sport as a whole and for each Major League club is therefore far richer and better developed than what was the case a century ago . Also, the introduction of interleague play means that all teams now play the majority of MLB clubs over the course of a season . Even if a team playing in the toughest division traded away its entire major league roster and / or allowed the players to leave through free agency, it would most likely still be able to call up players of sufficient talent as to be able to win the minimum 29 games necessary to avoid tying or breaking any of the Spiders' 1899 records . </P> <P> World Series records constitute a separate category from regular season records, but here too, structural changes in Major League Baseball over the years have rendered some of these records as most likely unbeatable . Expansion of the major leagues over the years, from the original 16 teams prevalent from 1901 through 1960 to the current 30 teams, and the subsequent division of both the American and National Leagues into two geographic divisions each in 1969 created a multi-tier postseason playoff schedule requiring a team to first win a league championship series in order to advance to the World Series . The subsequent re-division of each league into three geographic divisions in 1994 added a second initial playoff layer, the divisional series, to the mix; a team now had to first win the best - of - five divisional series in order to advance to the best - of - seven league championship series and then win that series to advance to the World Series, creating potential hurdles for any pennant - winning or World Championship team looking to go back to the Fall Classic the next season . An extra hurdle for some teams was added in the 2012 season with the advent of the wild - card playoff, in which the top two teams from each league that fail to win their divisions must play a single game for the right to advance to the divisional round . Additionally, the legally mandated demise in the 1970s of the reserve clause binding players to their original teams until traded, released or retirement and its replacement with free agency that allowed star players to sell their services to the highest bidder served to break up winning teams, with the loss of star players reducing those teams' chances for multiple World Series appearances . </P> <P> Under the previous pre-divisional postseason, pre-free agency system, the New York Yankees were able to appear in 15 World Series in the 18 years between 1947 and 1964, winning 10 of them, including five straight World Championships from 1949--1953, and five consecutive World Series appearances between 1960 and 1964 (though only two World Series championships in that time), a record of success which has not been equaled since, either by the Yankees or anybody else . Since the introduction of free agency, only the 1998--2001 Yankees have managed to reach the World Series over four consecutive years, and only the 1972--1974 Oakland Athletics 1976 - 77 Cincinnati Reds and the 1998--2000 Yankees have been able to string together three consecutive World Championship years . The changes brought on by free agency are further illustrated by the 10 seasons between 1978 and 1987 which saw 10 different franchises win the World Series--a streak unprecedented in the sport's history . </P> <P> The changes have also meant that individual players--while having greater freedom to go to teams that they perceive as possible winners and to be paid more money for doing so--are less likely to be able to play in enough World Series to be able to match or beat long - standing cumulative records, such as Whitey Ford's streak of ​ 33 ⁄ consecutive innings without allowing a run that the Yankee pitcher set between 1960 and 1962 (later retroactively reduced to 33 innings), or Mickey Mantle's 18 World Series home runs that he hit between 1952 and 1964, with both men breaking long - time records previously held by Babe Ruth . </P>

Who holds the major league baseball record for most games played without a playoff appearance