9 Youngest MLB Teams Currently Playing

The Major League Baseball (MLB) is the oldest professional sports league in the world! It currently has a total of 30 teams divided into the National League and the American League.

The former is the oldest and was founded in 1876, while the latter is 25 years younger. The majority of the teams are Americans, with only one exception. The Toronto Blue Jays are, in fact, from Canada.

Most of the MLB teams are extremely old. For instance, the Atlanta Braves were established in 1871, while the Philadelphia Phillies were founded in 1883.

But some of them only have a few years of history. Have you ever wondered which was the last team to join the MLB? Then this is the article for you!

Here is a list of the youngest MLB teams currently playing!

9. Kansas City Royals

photo source: Wikimedia Commons

The Kansas City Royals are based in Kansas City, Missouri, and were founded in 1969 by businessman Ewing Kauffman. This team was established when Stuart Symington, an American businessman from Missouri, demanded a new franchise for the city after the Athletics moved to Oakland.

The Kansas City Royals appeared seven times in the playoffs between 1976 and 1985. They also won the World Series both in 1985 and 2015.

The name ‘Royals’ is in honor of the American Royal. This is a horse show, livestock show, rodeo, and barbeque competition that takes place every year in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area.

As of 2021, the team had an all-time win-loss record of 4,001- 4,344 and a winning percentage of 0.479.

Did You Know?

The Kansas City Royals changed their uniform seven times since the beginning of their career. The team’s colors are royal blue, gold, powder blue, and white.

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8. Milwaukee Brewers

photo source: Flickr via Ian D’Andrea

The Milwaukee Brewers are an MLB team of the central division established in 1969. This team was initially known as the Seattle Pilots and used to play its home games at Sick’s Stadium. However, after a year, they were relocated to Milwaukee and became known as Milwaukee Brewers.

Their home park is currently American Family Field. They joined the National League in 1998 and are the only franchise that played in four different divisions.

Throughout their history, the Milwaukee Brewers changed the design of their uniforms five times. The last change was made at the beginning of the 2020 season.

Unfortunately, the team never won the World Series, but they were able to participate in 1982. The Milwaukee Brewers have an overall win-loss record of 4,037-4,315 and, as of 2021, their winning percentage was 4.83%.

Did You Know?

The team’s name comes from Milwaukee’s association with the brewer industry.

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7. San Diego Padres

photo source: Flickr via Dirk BBQ

San Diego Padres were established in 1969 and are based in San Diego. Together with the Los Angeles Angels, they are the only Major League Baseball team that originated in California.

They won two NL pennants in 1984 and 1998. In both years, they were defeated in the World Series and never managed to become world champions.

Throughout their history, the San Diego Padres changed multiple logos. From 1985 to 1989, the logo consisted of a swinging friar with ‘Padres’ written in golden and brown. As the year passed by, the color switched to blue and white.

Did You Know?

In 2020, the San Diego Padres became the first MLB team to hit a grand slam in four consecutive games.

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6. Washington Nationals

photo source: Wikimedia Commons

The Washington Nationals are one of the many teams established in 1969. Throughout their career, they changed many stadiums. Even though the team currently plays its home games at National Park in South Capitol Street, between 2005 and 2007, RFK was their official home park.

The Washington Nationals won their first division title only in 2012. However, since then the team has proved to be extremely successful, winning the National League in 2014, 2016, and 2017. In 2019, they also won the World Series and one NL pennant.

As of 2021, the team win-loss record was 4,068–4,280, with a winning percentage of 48.7%

Did You Know?

The Washington Nationals are the eighth major league franchise in Washington DC!

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5. Toronto Blue Jays

photo source: Wikimedia Commons

The Toronto Blue Jays are an MLB team based in Toronto. They usually play their home games at Rogers center, but in the last few years, they had to use different stadiums due to Covid-19 restrictions.

During this period, they played in TD Ballpark in Florida and Sahlen Field in NY. They were able to return to Toronto only on July 30, 2021.

The Toronto Blue Jays won their first season in 1983 and became division champions two years later. After this period, their career improved greatly, and they won five division championships in nine seasons. The Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series twice, in 1992 and 1993.

The team has an overall record of 3,506-3,557, with a winning percentage of 4.96%. They are also the only team, together with the Atlanta Braves, under corporate ownership.

Did You Know?

The name ‘Blue Jays’ comes from the bird of the same name. This passerine is endemic to North America and is characterized by a beautiful light blue color.

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4. Seattle Mariners

photo source: Wikimedia Commons

The Seattle Mariners were established in 1977 together with the Toronto Blue Jays. Since July 1999, their home park has been at T-Mobile Park, located in the SoDo neighborhood in Seattle.

It took some time for this team to finally become division champions. This occurred only in 1995, after almost 20 years of history. Unfortunately, the Seattle Mariners never won a World Series.

Not many people know that before the current colors, the team uniform was royal blue and gold. The team adopted navy blue, northwest green, and silver in 1993. The Seattle Mariners are frequently nicknamed M’s, a symbol that appeared in their former logo between 1987 and 1992.

Did You Know?

The Mariners’ name derived from the prominence of marine culture in Seattle. Not by chance, the team’s mascot is the Mariner Moose.

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3. Miami Marlins

photo source: Flickr via Ian D’Andrea

Miami Marlins were established in 1993, the same year as the Colorado Rockies. Their home park is LoanDepot Park, about two miles west of Downtown Miami. However, they originally played in the Hard Rock Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium also used by the Miami Dolphins.

Throughout their career, the Miami Marlins have qualified for the postseason three times. They even managed to win the World Series twice, in 1997 and 2003.

This team also held a number of records for the lowest attendance out of any MLB franchise. Some say that they even play games with only one or two fans watching.

One of the Miami Marlins’ most notable players is Jose Torres, a wedge-up hitter. He managed to knock out 30 home runs in nine seasons and beat off a third of the balls. In 2012, Jose Torres also won the Triple Crown.

Did You Know?

The Miami Marlins were the first team to win the World Series as a wild card.

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2. Colorado Rockies

photo source: Wikimedia Commons

The Colorado Rockies were established in 1993 and are currently one of the youngest MLB teams. They played their first two seasons at the Mile High Stadium located in Denver. But from 1995 onwards, they moved to Coors Field, where they are currently still playing.

The team qualified for the postseason five times and won their only NL pennant in 2007. They then proceeded to enter the 2007 World Series but were defeated by the Boston Red Sox in four games.

Colorado Rockies have a current overall record of 2,133–2,401. Their winning percentage is 4.70%.

Did You Know?

In 2006, the Colorado Rockies made the news when USA Today reported that their management had promoted Christian conduct among its players, prohibiting man’s magazines such as Playboy and Maxim.

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1. Tampa Bay Rays & Arizona Diamondbacks

photo source: pixabay.com

photo source: Flickr via Al_HikesAZ

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks are the current youngest MLB teams as they were both established in 1998. While the former plays in the East Division and is based in St. Petersburg, the latter plays for the West Division and is located in Phoenix.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have been extremely successful from the very beginning of their career. They are, in fact, the fastest expansion team to win a World Series.

The Arizona Diamondbacks became world champions only three years after their debut in 2001. The team won its last game against the famous New York Yankees!

Their current overall record is 1,840–1,946, and they have a victory percentage of 48.6%.

Unlike the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Tampa Bay Rays were not as successful in the first years of their career. They won their first season only in 2008 and managed to compete in the World Series only in 2008 and 2020. Unfortunately, they never won.

Did You Know?

Both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Rays changed the design of their uniforms three times since 1998.