Tigers part of baseball's drought-stricken dozen

• The Detroit Tigers have not won the World Series since 1984
• They're one of a dozen teams who have not won a World Series since 1985
• The Chicago Cubs still are the standard-bearers for futility

DETROIT - It was a time of unparalleled parity in baseball.

Nearly 30 years ago, the American League began a streak that hasn't been duplicated since – three different teams from the same league won consecutive World Series.

And that came on the heels of the only streak that's ever bettered or even matched it, a four-year run by four National League teams that ended 30 years ago last week.

Most significant now is that the NL franchise that started the run – the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates – and all three of those AL teams – the 1983 Baltimore Orioles, '84 Detroit Tigers and '85 Kansas City Royals – haven't won a World Series since.

The Tigers are in the midst of their second opportunity to end their drought.

But none of the others have even been back to World Series.

They're not the record-holders of course – not in either league. The Chicago Cubs' celebrated streak is at 104 years and counting; AL leader Cleveland last won the Series in 1948. And six other franchises without a World Series victory came into existence between Cleveland's victory and the '79 Pirates.

That makes 12 of the 30 major league teams without the ultimate championship since those '85 Royals (a 13th, Tampa Bay, began playing in 1998).

Here's a list of those teams, ranked in order of their chances of finally winning one sometime soon:

1. Tigers: They're here, aren't they? That has to count for something, no matter how poorly things went in the first two games in San Francisco. Even playoff teams have deficiencies – in fact, everyone in this year's field seems to fit that description. But Detroit has the game's best pitcher in Justin Verlander, a Triple Crown winner in Miguel Cabrera, a solid supporting cast and ownership willing to spend on payroll. They'll be in the mix for several seasons.
2. Rangers: The look will change on a team that lost consecutive World Series and was talented enough to get to a third one this year but disappeared the final week of its season, including the wild-card loss to Baltimore. Whether or not Josh Hamilton leaves via free agency, Texas still has plenty of talent, including pitching depth, and a solid farm system. Plus, this is becoming one of the game's most well-heeled franchises. They'll spend to stay on top.
3. Nationals: Mike Rizzo is counting on this – hence a lot of the flak he took for the decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg. But the Washington general manager has good reason to see his team as a perennial contender with a generational young pitcher and a position player to match in Bryce Harper. It's a mostly young team with a deep farm system backing it up. But we might not know until next October if the Nationals' stunning Division Series loss to St. Louis is just part of the learning experience or will leave demons lurking for the next postseason.
4. Royals: The race is on among a bunch of up-and-coming teams to see who can fill in the gaps the soonest. Kansas City seems behind schedule, partly because starting pitching hasn't developed nearly as well as the offensive talent coming out of the farm system. And those young hitters haven't exactly exploded on the major league level. They need to do work, but there's potential for a breakout season soon.
5. Orioles: This year's biggest shock as a contender, Baltimore could send the same group out next year and lose 88 games. That might be a little drastic, but the Orioles aren't quite as real as their play insisted they were this year. They have the core of exceptional talent – mostly young – in Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman. But GM Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter will have to repeat their masterful job of finding and using the supporting cast.
6. Padres: It's tough to climb in a division with the NL champs and the free-spending Dodgers, but San Diego's young talent rivals any organization in the game. If the Padres get close to respectability, this is a place free agents would love to have an excuse to go to. A new TV deal increases the chances they can keep the players they develop and not fall into the small-market roster churn.
7. Pirates: This year's Cinderella story lasted longer than the 2011 version but the result was the same – another sub-.500 year. There's more talent here than in a long time – built around center fielder Andrew McCutchen – and the system has some top pitching prospects. But as good as 2012 seemed for most of the season, the end result becomes a setback in the long battle to erase the culture of losing. Eventually, they just seem to expect it.
8. Mariners: They bring young talent to the majors. They have an elite-level No. 1 starter in Felix Hernandez. But they never seem to make any headway. When your biggest dilemma is whether to keep Hernandez or trade him to expedite the building process, that's a sign you're not as close as you'd like to think.
9. Cubs: The Theo Epstein regime will need some time to establish the base of the team it hopes to build. If and when that happens, though, the team's financial situation will allow it to strike quickly and fill in the final roster gaps between building and contending. While Cubs fans remain impatient, the rest of us sit back watching the process that could determine how good Epstein really is.
10. Brewers: There's nothing wrong with a team with an MVP-caliber player in Ryan Braun and a solid roster. But the Brewers are just there – certainly not fading from the role as a legitimate threat every year, but not displaying the building blocks that breed confidence a breakout year is lurking.
11. Indians: It's getting dreary in a hurry in Cleveland. The farm system is thin. Recent trades at the major league level haven't enhanced performance. Fans aren't showing up. It's the vicious cycle that haunts low-revenue teams. And it's a long, long process to reverse what seems to be happening in earnest here.
12. Astros: They're historically bad – the most losses over a two-year period by any team in 47 years. And they're moving to the loaded AL West in 2013. First-year GM Jeff Luhnow has a plan. Even assuming it will work, will new owner Jim Crane have the patience to see it through while staring at empty seats? No situation in the game is more daunting.