When you sit down at a bar or a stadium and someone asks which baseball team has the most championships, the answer usually comes fast. It’s the Yankees.
Everyone knows it. Even people who hate baseball know it. But honestly, the sheer scale of their dominance is something that even die-hard fans sometimes fail to wrap their heads around. We aren't just talking about a few extra trophies in a glass case. We’re talking about a gap so wide it feels like the New York Yankees are playing a completely different sport than the rest of the league.
The Bronx Bombers and the Number 27
So, let's get the big number out of the way. The New York Yankees have won 27 World Series titles.
That is not a typo.
To put that into perspective, the team in second place—the St. Louis Cardinals—has 11. You could double the Cardinals' success, add another trophy, and they would still be looking up at the Yankees. It's a level of winning that borders on the absurd.
But here’s what most people get wrong: they think this was just one long, continuous stream of winning. It wasn't. The Yankees’ history is more like a series of "super-dynasties" separated by periods of relative human-ness.
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You had the Murderers' Row era with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the late 1920s. Then came the Joe DiMaggio years. Then the Casey Stengel era in the 50s where they won five straight titles—a feat that will almost certainly never be repeated. Then the Reggie Jackson "Mr. October" years in the late 70s, and finally the Joe Torre/Derek Jeter era that capped off the 20th century.
It’s basically a century of the richest kid in class also being the smartest and most athletic. Kinda annoying if you’re a Red Sox fan, right?
The National League’s Pride: St. Louis Cardinals
If the Yankees are the undisputed kings of the American League, the St. Louis Cardinals are the clear masters of the National League. With 11 championships, they’ve carved out a legacy that’s deeply rooted in "The Cardinal Way."
What’s interesting about St. Louis is how they win. They aren't usually the biggest spenders. They don't always have the flashiest superstars (though Stan Musial and Albert Pujols might disagree). Instead, they’ve been the masters of consistency.
They won in the 20s. They won with the "Gashouse Gang" in the 30s. They won in the 40s, 60s, 80s, and twice in the 2000s. Their 2006 win was particularly wild because they only won 83 games in the regular season—the worst record ever for a World Series champion—but they got hot at the exact right moment. That’s baseball for you.
The Battle for Third Place
After the Yankees and Cardinals, things get crowded. For a long time, the Athletics and the Red Sox were neck-and-neck.
The A's: A Legacy of Three Cities
The Athletics (currently in a weird limbo between Oakland, Vegas, and Sacramento) actually have 9 World Series titles. Most people forget how dominant they were when they played in Philadelphia under Connie Mack. They won five titles there before moving. Then they had that incredible "mustache gang" run in Oakland in the early 70s, winning three in a row from 1927 to 1974.
The Red Sox: Breaking the Curse
The Boston Red Sox also sit at 9 championships. For 86 years, they were the poster children for heartbreak. But since they broke the "Curse of the Bambino" in 2004, they’ve been the most successful team of the 21st century. They’ve added four trophies since the turn of the millennium, proving that once the dam breaks, it really pours.
The New Kings of the West: Los Angeles Dodgers
As of 2026, the Los Angeles Dodgers have officially surged into the top tier. After winning back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025, they have climbed to 9 championships, tying them with the Red Sox and Athletics.
The Dodgers are the modern-day Yankees. They have the money, the scouting, and a roster that looks like an All-Star team every single year. Their recent run—including the 2020 "bubble" title and the Shohei Ohtani-led dominance of the mid-2020s—has cemented them as the current gold standard of the sport.
The Full Leaderboard (World Series Titles)
If you're looking for the quick breakdown of who has the most hardware, here is how the top of the mountain looks right now:
- New York Yankees: 27
- St. Louis Cardinals: 11
- Oakland Athletics: 9
- Boston Red Sox: 9
- Los Angeles Dodgers: 9
- San Francisco Giants: 8
- Cincinnati Reds: 5
- Pittsburgh Pirates: 5
- Detroit Tigers: 4
Why the Giants Deserve More Credit
The San Francisco Giants have 8 titles, but they often get overshadowed by the Dodgers. However, if you look at their history, they actually have more "pennants" (league championships) than almost anyone. They were a powerhouse in New York under John McGraw, and their "Even Year Magic" in the early 2010s (winning in 2010, 2012, and 2014) was one of the most improbable runs in sports history.
They don't have the sheer volume of the Yankees, but they have a knack for being relevant in every single decade of baseball's existence.
The Teams With Empty Trophy Cases
It’s kinda sad, but we have to mention the teams that haven't invited a trophy home yet. As we head into the 2026 season, there are still several franchises waiting for their first parade.
The Seattle Mariners are the most famous example—they’ve never even reached a World Series. The Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, and Colorado Rockies have all made it to the big dance, but they’ve all walked away empty-handed.
Actionable Insights for Baseball Fans
Knowing which baseball team has the most championships is more than just trivia; it’s about understanding the "gravity" of the league. When the Yankees or Dodgers show up in your city, you aren't just watching a game; you’re watching a century of momentum.
If you're looking to dive deeper into baseball history or improve your knowledge of the game, here are a few things you can do:
- Visit the Hall of Fame: If you're ever in Cooperstown, New York, go. It's the only place where the scale of these championships actually feels real because you can see the artifacts from the 1920s sitting right next to stuff from last year.
- Track the "Pennant" Counts: While World Series titles are the ultimate goal, looking at who won the most League Pennants gives you a better idea of who was "almost" great. The Dodgers, for example, have lost far more World Series than they’ve won, which is a different kind of impressive.
- Watch the 2024-2025 Replays: If you want to see how the Dodgers caught up to the Red Sox and A's, watch the highlights of their recent back-to-back wins. It was a masterclass in modern roster building.
Baseball is a game of numbers, but the most important number is always the one that ends in a ring. Whether you love the Yankees or find their 27 titles exhausting, you have to respect the history.
Stay tuned to the 2026 season—the Dodgers are currently chasing double digits, and the Cardinals are desperate to keep their lead for second place. The leaderboard is always moving.