Astros extend impressive playoff streak

The Astros are inevitable.

Despite starting the 2024 season with a 7-19 record and trailing the first-place Mariners by 10 games in the AL West on June 18, Houston came roaring back to win the AL West again when they beat Seattle on Sept. 24. In the process, the Astros extended their playoff streak to eight straight seasons, the fourth-longest streak in MLB history.

The Astros extended their playoff streak less than a week after the Dodgers pushed their postseason streak to 12 straight years, the third-longest streak in MLB history.

Of course, until 1969, the postseason consisted only of the NL and AL regular season champions facing off in the World Series. And in the decades since then, the playoff field has continued to grow, making it easier to put together such a streak nowadays. But even with that caveat, the aforementioned teams have joined some legendary MLB dynasties with their feats of consistent regular-season dominance.

Below is the all-time leaderboard for most consecutive seasons reaching the playoffs:

1. 1991-2005 Braves (14 seasons; no playoffs in 1994)
Streak stats: 14 division titles, 1 WS title (1995)
Top player: Greg Maddux (66.2 WAR)

Not only do the Braves have the all-time record with 14 straight playoff appearances, all of which came under manager Bobby Cox, but they also won the NL East in all 14 of those seasons (though in 1994, they were trailing the Expos at the time the season was canceled). No other team in MLB history has even had a streak of 10 consecutive division titles. Atlanta did not find much postseason success over this run, though, going 1-4 in the Fall Classic over that span. The Braves did reach eight straight NLCS from 1991-99, setting the all-time AL/NL record.

2. 1995-2007 Yankees (13 seasons)
Streak stats: 10 division titles, 4 WS titles
Top player: Derek Jeter (58.0 WAR)

The heyday of this streak was certainly the five-season span from 1996-2000, when the Yankees won four World Series as their young core of Jeter, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera grew together. But the Yankees also ended up winning nine consecutive AL East titles from 1998-2006, which represents the second-longest division title streak in MLB history behind the aforementioned Braves run. Notably, the Yankees have still not had a losing season since going 76-86 in 1992.

3. 2013-2024 Dodgers (12 seasons; active streak)
Streak stats: 10 division titles, 1 WS title (2020)
Top player: Clayton Kershaw (51.6 WAR)

Even as big names like Zack Greinke, Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Kenley Jansen, Max Scherzer and Trea Turner have departed the Dodgers roster, winning has remained a constant in Los Angeles. From 2013-23, the Dodgers logged five 100-win seasons -- including a franchise-record 111 wins in '22 -- won 10 division titles and captured the '20 World Series crown. On the heels of that stretch, the team managed to reel in the biggest free agent in baseball history, signing Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal. With Ohtani now leading the way, the Dodgers seem poised to continue their incredible run of success for years to come.

4. 2017-2024 Astros (8 seasons; active streak)
Streak stats: 7 division titles (all but 2020), 2 WS titles
Top player: Alex Bregman (37.4 WAR)

Though the beginning of the streak was mired in the sign-stealing controversy, Astros have continued to be among MLB’s best teams in the years since. Houston made the ALCS in seven straight seasons from 2017-23, the second-longest streak all time behind the Braves’ run of eight straight in the 1990s. With four World Series appearances and two Fall Classic wins over that span, the Astros have established themselves as the team anyone has to get through on the way to a championship.

5. 2018-2024 Braves (7 seasons; active streak)
Streak stats: 6 consecutive division titles, one Wild Card berth, 1 WS title
Top player: Ronald Acuña Jr. (25.2 WAR)

After missing the playoffs in four straight seasons, the Braves re-emerged as a contender in 2018, coinciding with the arrival of Acuña. Supplementing a homegrown core with shrewd trades for stars such as Matt Olson, who took over as Atlanta’s starting first baseman after Freddie Freeman departed as a free agent following the club’s 2021 World Series title, the Braves have become one of MLB’s preeminent franchises. The 2023 season marked Atlanta’s sixth straight NL East crown.

6. 2017-2022 Yankees (6 seasons)
Streak stats: 2 division titles, 0 WS titles
Top player: Aaron Judge (37.3 WAR)

The Yankees predictably are the only franchise to have multiple playoff streaks of more than five seasons (and, as you’ll see below, they also have two more streaks of exactly five). But out of New York’s four individual streaks of at least five straight seasons in the playoffs, the most recent one is the only one that did not include a World Series win. The Yankees did not even reach the World Series over this span, having fallen to the Astros in the ALCS in 2017, ‘19 and ‘22.

Besides their several ALCS showdowns, an interesting link between the 2017-23 Astros and 2017-22 Yankees is Gerrit Cole, who played for the Astros from 2018-19 and has played for the Yankees since then.

7-T. 1949-1953 Yankees (5 seasons)
Won regular season AL pennant and won World Series in all 5 seasons

7-T. 1960-1964 Yankees (5 seasons)
5 consecutive regular season AL pennants, 2 World Series wins

7-T. 1971-1975 Athletics (5 seasons)
5 consecutive division titles, 3 World Series wins

7-T. 1995-1999 Cleveland (5 seasons)
5 consecutive division titles, no World Series wins

7-T. 2007-2011 Phillies (5 seasons)
5 consecutive division titles, 1 World Series win

7-T. 2011-2015 Cardinals (5 seasons)
3 division titles, 1 World Series win

7-T. 2019-2023 Rays (5 seasons)
2 division titles, no World Series wins