Longest Winning Streaks in MLB History

The longest winning streak in MLB history is the 1916 New York Giants’ 26 games, a stretch in which they never lost, though a single tie fell in the middle of the run. The longest streak with no ties at all belongs to the 2017 Cleveland Indians, who won 22 in a row to set the American League record.

Winning streaks come with a quirk of bookkeeping: what counts as “consecutive” when a tie interrupts the wins? That question is why baseball effectively keeps two answers, one for the longest run without a loss and one for the longest unbroken string of victories. Here is how the game’s great streaks rank, and what separates them. All figures are through the 2025 season.

The record holder: the 1916 Giants

The 1916 New York Giants won 26 games in a row, the longest winning streak in Major League Baseball history. Remarkably, every game of the streak was played at home, and the run was interrupted only by a tie, not a loss. That tie is the reason the streak carries an asterisk in some tellings: the Giants never lost across 26 games, but the string of wins was technically broken by a game that ended even.

Either way, no team has won more games without losing, which keeps the 1916 Giants at the top of the list more than a century later.

The full leaderboard of winning streaks

The table below ranks the longest winning streaks in MLB history, noting where a tie complicates the count.

Team	Season	Streak	Note
New York Giants	1916	26	Longest ever (included a tie)
Cleveland Indians	2017	22	Longest with no ties; AL record
Chicago Cubs	1935	21	Pennant-clinching run
Chicago White Stockings	1880	21	19th-century mark
Oakland Athletics	2002	20	”Moneyball” streak

The Giants lead overall; the 2017 Indians lead among streaks with no ties. The 1935 Cubs and 2002 A’s round out the modern greats.

The 2017 Indians: the cleanest streak

The 2017 Cleveland Indians won 22 games in a row with no ties, the longest unbroken winning streak in MLB history and the American League record. Because there was no tie to muddy the count, many consider it the truest winning-streak record, even though it falls short of the Giants’ 26. The Indians rolled through late August and early September, outscoring opponents by huge margins during the run.

Their streak is the modern reference point, the one most fans think of when a team starts stacking wins, precisely because it is uncomplicated: 22 games, 22 wins, nothing in between.

The 2002 A’s and the “Moneyball” streak

The 2002 Oakland Athletics’ 20-game winning streak is the most famous of them all, thanks to the “Moneyball” book and film that made the A’s front office a household story. Oakland set what was then the American League record, clinching the 20th win after squandering an 11-0 lead and winning on a walk-off. The drama of that final game turned a statistical streak into one of baseball’s great modern narratives.

The streak eventually fell to the 2017 Indians, but its cultural footprint remains larger than any other on the list.

Where these streaks fit

Winning streaks are the mirror image of the game’s worst runs. The same record book that tracks these great stretches also holds the longest losing streaks in MLB history, and streaks like these are the building blocks of the sport’s best regular-season record in MLB history. A long enough winning streak can define an entire season.

Why these records matter

Winning streaks endure because they demand sustained excellence with zero margin for error, one loss ends everything. To win 20 or more in a row, a team needs great pitching, timely hitting, and a run of good fortune all at once, which is why the longest streaks are separated by decades. They are among the purest measures of a team peaking.

The short version: the longest winning streak in MLB history is the 1916 Giants’ 26 games, which included a tie, while the 2017 Indians’ 22 straight is the longest with no ties. The 1935 Cubs and 2002 A’s sit just behind. Through the 2025 season, those streaks define baseball at its hottest.