<P> Prior to 1969, the team with the best regular season win - loss record in each league automatically advanced to the World Series; since then each league has conducted a championship series (ALCS and NLCS) preceding the World Series to determine which teams will advance . As of 2016, the World Series has been contested 112 times, with the AL winning 64 and the NL winning 48 . </P> <P> The 2016 World Series took place between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs . Seven games were played, with the Cubs victorious after game seven, played in Cleveland . The final score was 8--7; the game went into extra innings after a tied score of 6--6 . This was the third World Series won by the Cubs but only their first since 1908, a period of 108 years . With the Cubs' record - length title drought finally ended, the Indians' championship dry spell of 68 years and counting--the Indians last won the Series in 1948--is currently the longest - running Series title absence . </P> <P> In the American League, the New York Yankees have played in 40 World Series and won 27, the Philadelphia / Kansas City / Oakland Athletics have played in 14 and won 9, and the Boston Red Sox have played in 12 and won 8, including the first World Series . In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals have appeared in 19 and won 11, the New York / San Francisco Giants have played in 20 and won 8, the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers have appeared in 19 and won 6, and the Cincinnati Reds have appeared in 9 and won 5 . </P> <P> As of 2017, no team has won consecutive World Series championships since the New York Yankees in 1998, 1999, and 2000--the longest such drought in Major League Baseball history . </P>

Who has played in the most world series