World Series appeared in 9 and won 5. As of 2018, no team has won consecutive World Series championships since the New York Yankees in , , and —the longest such drought in Major League Baseball history. Until the formation of the American Association in 1882 as a second major league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1871–1875) and then the National League (founded 1876) represented the top level of organized baseball in the United States. All championships were awarded to the team with the best record at the end of the season, without a postseason series being played. From
History of baseball outside the United States was revived in 1970, with teams from the Dominican Winter League, Mexican Pacific League, Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League and Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. The most successful franchise is Santo Domingo's Tigres del Licey, which has won ten Caribbean Series titles. Puerto Rico's Cangrejeros de Santurce (Santucre Crabbers) and the Dominican Republic's Águilas Cibaeñas have both won the title five times. In 2006, the first World Baseball Classic took place from March 3–20. The tournament, sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), was organized by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association in cooperation with other professional