Posted by Jeff Lubbers on Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 3:33 am

Congratulations are in order for the Philadelphia Phillies, becoming the first team to repeat as league champion since the 2001 New York Yankees and first from the National League since the 1996 Atlanta Braves.  Given the modern day playoff format that dynasties from past generations never had to experience it is an especially tall order to repeat as pennant winners.  However, if past history is any guide the Phillies will have a tough time winning the World Series as repeat National League champions. 

Going all the way back to 1905 there have been 23 repeat champions in the National League (including only the 3rd in the past 31 years and the first in that time span other than the Atlanta Braves).  Of those 23 teams only 6 have gone on to win the World Series: 

1907 Chicago Cubs
1908 Chicago Cubs
1922 New York Giants
1931 St. Louis Cardinals
1944 St. Louis Cardinals
1976 Cincinnati Reds 

Alternatively there have been a whopping 41 repeat champions in the American League.  However, over half of them have been New York Yankees teams that have gone an amazing 16-5 in the World Series while appearing as repeat champions.  Thanks primarily to the Yankees’ success in that department the American League is 28-13 in the Fall Classic when their represented team is a repeat champion. 

The National League experience shows that success late in the postseason can not be attributed solely to playoff experience, as many National League teams that theoretically “knew how to win” (I still haven’t figured out what that means) have not been able to close the deal.  The American League experience more than anything else shows that the Yankees have been a very good franchise for a very long time.