What's the longest postseason drought in Boston Red Sox franchise history?

It may not feel like it after recent seasons, but Boston Red Sox fans have been lucky in the new millennium.

In terms of World Series, the Red Sox are the winningest team of the past 20 years, but their paths to those victories have been tumultuous. There have been some playoff losses and last-place finishes sprinkled between the championships, but the Sox haven't had a true postseason drought in years.

Boston seems destined to miss the playoffs this year and it'll be its third consecutive season without a playoff appearance. It's also the third time since 2000 that the Sox will miss the postseason for three straight years.

But three years is chump change in the grand scheme of things. The Red Sox went through an 86-year World Series drought from 1918-2004. For 51 of those years, the World Series was the only postseason game — the winningest club in the American and National Leagues faced off in one series to determine baseball's best team. The ALCS wasn't introduced until 1969 and the ALDS didn't exist until 1995.

The Red Sox missed the playoffs for 26 straight seasons from 1919-45

Boston's longest playoff drought occurred when the World Series was the only playoff in MLB. The Red Sox did not appear in the World Series for 26 seasons from 1919 to 1945. Their 1946 appearance resulted in a loss to the Cardinals and the Curse of the Bambino continued for 58 more years.

The '46 Red Sox still own the franchise's longest winning streak in history and the squad featured Ted Williams fresh off his military service in World War II. Williams batted .342/.497/.667 with a 1.164 OPS and took home his first of two MVP awards that season.

If the Red Sox's third straight playoff miss has you down, Boston's history shows it could be worse. Recent history suggests things may be looking up for the Sox — three years is their longest playoff drought since 2000. The 2003 Sox made it to the ALCS after missing the postseason since 2000 and the 2013 Red Sox won it all after three years out of the spotlight.

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