Momentum matters in baseball and some MLB teams manage to get hot by playing a slough of bad teams, having few injuries, or whatever reason, and some teams can win upwards of twenty games in a row. So here of the 10 Longest MLB winning streaks in MLB History:

“Indians starter Corey Kluber delivers a pitch in ALDS Game 2.” by apardavila is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

1916 New York Giants: 26-game win streak

The 1916 New York Giants experienced possibly the wildest and most improbable seasons in MLB history. After an abysmal 2-13 start, the Giants won seventeen straight games and jumped to a 21-14 record. They then slipped back into mediocrity for much of the remaining season, sitting at a 53-57 record in late August.

The Giants had a losing record to start September and ended the month twenty games above .500 thanks to a historic 26-game win streak. Nevertheless, despite winning 17 and 26 consecutive games separately during a season, the Giants only finished fourth in the National League. We will undoubtedly never see another season resembling this 1916 Giants campaign.

2017 Guardians: 22-game win streak

After the Guardians sat at a 48-45 record on July 19th, 2017, they finally lived up to their preseason expectations, by somehow ending the season with 102 wins. The Guardians won over 78% of their remaining games after their disappointing first half, partly thanks to winning 22 straight games from August 24th to September 14th. 2017 Cy Young winner Corey Kluber was a primary factor in keeping the streak alive, posting an 0.98 ERA and pitching seven innings or more in every outing during the win streak.

The playoffs, however, seemed to be a different animal for Kluber. In two postseason starts, the league’s best pitcher that season posted a 12.79 ERA and never pitched past the fourth inning. The Yankees won the ALDS in four games, ending the Guardians’ potent momentum. The 22-game win streak was aided by a very soft schedule, only facing one team above .500 during that stretch.

“Corey Kluber and Yan Gomes (41770527415)” by Erik Drost is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

1935 Cubs: 21-game win streak

You would think that an MLB team that wins 21 straight games and has a 24-3 stretch in different points during the season should break the all-time wins record, but the 1935 Cubs only won 100 games. It’s clearly exceedingly difficult to stay consistently dominant through a 162-game season.

The Cubs’ 24-3 stretch occurred midseason, while the final game of the 21-game win streak was the third-to-last game of the regular season. The penultimate game of the 1935 season ended the Cubs’ win streak in eleven innings, and the Cubs could have beaten the Guardians in consecutive wins had they scored just a few more runs in their last two games. The Cubs’ regular-season inconsistencies that season played a pivotal role in their World Series loss to an underdog Tigers team in six games.

2002 Athletics: 20-game win streak

The A’s experienced a rocky start to the 2002 season, with a 20-26 record in late May, following a 4-15 stretch. While the A’s were able to turn things around and reach a 68-51 record in mid-August, they were still a few games shy of a playoff spot thanks to a competitive American League. The A’s then proceeded to win twenty consecutive games, breaking a record the Yankees had held for 55 years.

Having the league MVP Miguel Tejada and the Cy Young Winner Barry Zito certainly helped, though the team’s closer Billy Koch deserves just as much credit for recording a 9-0 saves record to keep the streak alive through many close games. Similarly to the Guardians, the A’s were bounced in the first round of the playoffs despite their late-season momentum, with a narrow 5-4 loss to the Twins in game five of the ALDS.

1906 White Sox: 19-game win streak

There seems to be a pattern among MLB teams with absurdly high winning streaks; they usually do so late in the season. Later in the season, young and inexperienced teams stumble, the ball doesn’t travel as far, and injuries mount, and certain teams that are often experienced and well-coached can capitalize on it.

The 1906 White Sox were able to bounce back from a 32-39 record thanks to a late-season win streak that spanned 19 games and included a 0-0 tie. Ties used to occur in the MLB due to inclement weather, though the White Sox could have lost the game had it been rescheduled. Despite the win streak possibly being invalidated, the Sox still proved the doubters wrong by winning the World Series that season against the Cubs.

1947 Yankees: 19-game win streak

The Yankees’ 19-game win streak in 1947 was put on hold for a few days in the middle of the streak due to the All-Star break. It’s often difficult for teams to retain their momentum after not playing for a week, and a substantial chunk of the Yankees’ roster played in the 1947 All-Star game. The Yankees had a whopping eight all-stars that season, which significantly aided them in winning 97 games, 19 consecutive games, and a World Series win over the Dodgers.

2021 Cardinals: 17-game win streak

The Cardinals hovered around the .500 mark for almost the entire 2021 season without any reason to believe they were serious contenders. The Cardinals’ decision to buy at the trade deadline was crucial, as acquiring old lefty starters such as Jon Lester and J.A. Happ worked in the short term, with those pitchers experiencing brief career renaissances during a 17-game stretch in September.

Their 71-69 record on September 10th put them close to elimination, but an uncompetitive NL Wild Card race still gave them the slim possibility of a playoff berth. The Cardinals proceeded to win seventeen consecutive games seemingly out of nowhere, gaining the final wild card spot thanks in part to the Padres’ collapse. The Cards actually faced some stiff competition during their win streak, with their opponents averaging a winning percentage of .517, including five wins against the 95-win Brewers. Following the miraculous playoff berth, the Cardinals were tasked to face the 106-win Dodgers in the Wild Card game. The underdogs nearly came victorious, but a walk-off home run by Chris Taylor in the ninth inning broke the 1-1 tie and ended the game.

1904 New York Giants: 18-game win streak

Ridiculously long win streaks seem to be occurring much less often than they did over 100 years ago, as the MLB has gotten much more competitive than that of its first few seasons. The 1904 Giants recorded the first win streak north of eleven games in MLB history at that point; a record that stood for a brief two years until the White Sox broke it in 1906. The 04′ Giants are a rare exception of a team that has a 15+ game win streak in the first half of the season, with this streak lasting from June 16th to July 5th. If the Cy Young Award existed in 1904, Joe McGinnity would be unanimously selected, as his 1.61 ERA and 9.6 WAR with an insane 408 innings pitched, rounded out the league’s best pitching staff.

The Giants won the National League with ease that season, but owner John Bush refused to play the American League Champion Boston Americans who he thought was an inferior team. This was allowed because there was yet to be a formal agreement that the AL and NL champions would play each other. 1904 was the only season in MLB history besides the 1994 players’ strike without a World Series.

1907 Giants: 17-game win streak

The Giants managed to have two 17+ game-winning streaks in four seasons, which would be far from possible today. However, the 1907 Giants’ win streak early in the season surprisingly didn’t amount to much, as the team ended up 4th in the National League with an 82-71 record. After starting the season with a 24-3 record, the Giants’ remainder of the season was rather underwhelming, especially a 2-12 record in the final 14 games. And since the MLB did not include a postseason tournament at the time, the Giants’ season ended once they were eliminated from first-place contention.

1912 Washington Senators: 17-game win streak

After a shaky 17-21 start to the 1912 season, the Senators quickly pivoted to winning ways, with a 17-game win streak putting them on pace to gain first place in the American League. While the Senators did not result in a first-place spot in the American League, their 91-61 season was the franchise’s first winning season, consequently a step in the right direction. The Senators stayed consistent throughout the rest of the season following their improbable win streak, although their effort was futile in catching up to the 105-47 Red Sox.