I’m always interested to hear these facts; from Joe Posnanski:
– Over the last 10 years, eight different teams have won the World Series. In all 15 teams made the World Series  that’s half the teams in baseball.
– Over the last 20 years, fourteen different teams have won the World Series. In all 22 teams made the World Series. Now, we’re at more than two-thirds who have reached the Series.
– Over the last 30 years, 20 different teams have won the World Series, and only three four  the Chicago Cubs, the Seattle Mariners. the Texas Rangers and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals  have failed to reached the Series. That’s extraordinary, if you think about it  almost 90 percent of all teams have reached the World Series the last 30 years. And the four teams that didn’t reach had their good moments too. The Cubs have made the playoffs six times and, well, only their Cubbiness has kept them from reaching the Series. The Mariners won 116 games in 2001, the most for any team ever. The Montreal Expos had some excellent teams and might have won it all in ‘94, year of the strike, when they had the young Pedro, and a lineup that had an in-their-prime Moises Alou, Larry Walker and young Wil Cordero and Cliff Floyd. The Texas Rangers have made the playoffs three times and while there’s some dark cloud simply hovering over that franchise, you never get the feeling that the Rangers are hopeless.
By comparison, pro football teams that have not made the Super Bowl the last 30 years include: The New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings, That’s 10  almost one-third of all the teams in Pro Football….
But it is also amazing how baseball, the game itself, defies the takeover efforts of corporate raiders. The Yankees won their World Series when the team was, to a large degree, homegrown. They famously have not won a World Series since paying big bucks to sign Mike Mussina and then Jason Giambi and then taking on the A-Rod contract. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay last year reached the World Series with the second smallest payroll in baseball  no Rays player made more than $6 million last year. And here’s a beautiful bit of trivia for you, one you can definitely use at parties: According to the indespensible USA Today Salary Database, only one team in baseball history has won a World Series with a $100 million payroll. That team? Yep, the Boston Red Sox (twice  2004 and 2007).
I’m not saying that the Yankees will not win in 2009  that’s an awfully good team now, absolutely the best that money can buy. But just remember that key fact  20 teams have won World Series the last 30 years. And by comparison:
Only 14 teams have won the Super Bowl over the last 30 years.
Only 14 different men have won Wimbledon over the least 30 years.
Only 13 teams have won the Stanley Cup over the last 30 years.
Only NINE teams have won an NBA title over the last 30 years.