The Texas Rangers have won the World Series! Do not let the start of free agency make us forget the awesome thing that just happened. That franchise had never won a title, and now it has. The title is the culmination of years of frustration, but also the culmination of a multi-year plan, over multiple general managers. The Rangers have been working toward this for a while. It was their time.

Now that the Rangers have given their fans a moment of peace, it makes us wonder: Who’s next? Which fan bases are most in need of their moment?

• These are the longest World Series droughts

To set the parameters for this exercise, we’re going to focus on teams that have gone a long time (or at least a long time as far as the fans are concerned) without winning a title and have made the postseason recently or are on the verge of doing so.

Here are my top 10 franchises that now need a title the most.

1. Dodgers
Yes, yes, they won a World Series back in 2020, which, while it might seem like a thousand years ago, was in fact only three. But every year the Dodgers don’t add another title -- one in a full season, rather than the shortened 2020 season, which shouldn’t lessen the value of that championship but, in the eyes of some, absolutely does -- makes their extended run of success feel more and more like a missed opportunity. That’s especially true after seeing them get bounced in the 2023 NLDS in a breezy, overwhelming three-game sweep at the hands of the D-backs. The Dodgers are the signature franchise in baseball right now, the model everyone else is patterning themselves after. But they still have as many titles in the last 35 years as the Royals do.

2. Phillies
This sure felt like the year for the Phillies, didn’t it? After improbably reaching the World Series last year, they were on firmer ground this year, taking out the Braves in the NLDS (for the second year in a row) and riding a cavalcade of homers and a roaring home crowd to a 3-2 lead in the NLCS over the D-backs. Then it all went sideways on them, and the second straight World Series appearance that was supposed to be theirs had slipped through their fingers. This is still a stacked team, and it still has Bryce Harper, but you can’t help but wonder if these are opportunities they won’t get back again. Harper has been such a postseason highlight machine it’s tough to remember that he does not in fact have a World Series ring yet. The Phillies are going to get him one, right?

3. Yankees
With the D-backs reaching the World Series this year for the first time since 2001, there have now been 16 teams who have made it to the Fall Classic since the Yankees last did in 2009. That is, fair to say, too long of a gap for Yankees fans. Any patience they might have had has long run out. The excitement of that young, vibrant 2017 team sure feels like a long time ago. It got as bad as it has been in more than 30 years this year, with the Yankees posting their worst winning percentage since 1992.

4. Mets
Well, this year did not go how it was supposed to. All the spending, all the big swings, it all collapsed in 2023, and did so pretty quickly. There are some who will consider the 2023 Mets one of the larger disappointments in baseball history. We wouldn’t go that far, though. Sure, Steve Cohen spent a lot of money on a not-great team, but to his credit, when it became clear this wasn’t working, he pivoted quickly and brought in considerable young talent. The Mets seem primed to spend again in the future, and they’ll do it with a firmer foundation this time.

5. Guardians
They seemed to take a step backward this year as a team that finished in second in the AL Central but never felt particularly close to reaching the playoffs. They have a new manager in Stephen Vogt, someone the entire baseball world loves, and there’s still plenty of talent here, led of course by perpetual MVP candidate José Ramírez. The heartbreak of coming so close in 2016 is still palpable but also getting further and further into the past. The Guardians have the longest World Series title drought in baseball, ranging all the way back to 1948. Some would argue they should be No. 1 on this list.

6. Rays
Back in May, it sure felt like this was the year, didn’t it? The Rays didn’t even end up winning their division, and their playoff exit was sudden. This franchise went its first 10 years without making the playoffs at all, then it made it four of the next six years, then it went five more years without reaching the postseason. Right now is the boom time: They’ve made the playoffs five straight years, reaching one World Series (2020). But they still haven’t won one.

7. Padres
Speaking of teams who have never won a World Series but had high hopes for 2023, we have the Padres, a team that, despite all the talent in the world, just never got it going this year. They are now facing some big questions, from possibly replacing their free agent Cy Young hopeful Blake Snell to whether or not they’re going to trade Juan Soto. Meanwhile, they still have some of the biggest names in the sport. This year was a disappointment, but they’re still the biggest thing going in San Diego sports, they still have a fanbase that’s desperate for a title, and they still have some hated rivals in Southern California who aren’t going anywhere. The window is still open here, right? Right?

8. Brewers
One of baseball’s great fan bases keeps falling short in the postseason every year, despite a recent run of five playoff appearances in five years that is arguably the best stretch in franchise history. The Brewers are now facing considerable uncertainty after losing their beloved manager and with Corbin Burnes, Willy Adames, and Brandon Woodruff all a year from free agency. This division will give them a chance to win every year, but they can only miss so many postseason opportunities before they’re going to stop coming. The Reds are improving, the Pirates are improving, the Cubs are leveling up and the Cardinals are eager to get back to their accustomed spot atop the division. Are circumstances starting to pass the Brewers by?

9. Mariners
The only team still yet to reach a World Series, Seattle took a step back this year after ending its postseason drought in 2022. That step backward shouldn’t be too ominous, though. The Mariners have a lot of young talent, money to spend and a franchise cornerstone in Julio Rodríguez. They need to start getting back to the postseason regularly to give themselves more shots to reach that first Fall Classic, but it sure looks like Julio is the guy who will lead them there.

10. Braves
We could have gone -- and maybe should have gone -- with the Orioles here, but for now, even though the Braves just won the Series two years ago, we’ll pick them. Why? Because their 2021 title, as great as it was, was with a team that is very different than the one they have now -- the better one they have now. The 1990s Braves had the reputation of being an incredible regular-season team that could never grasp the brass ring more than one time. This great Braves team -- and it is a great Braves team -- needs to get another World Series to avoid the same fate.