The 2008 defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies take the field tonight against the Atlanta Braves to open the 2009 season. Though completely irrelevant to predicting how a season will play out, what have other defending champs done to open the next season? Do they come out exhibiting the same play and cohesiveness as the team that raised the Commissioner's Trophy in the fall? Or do they came out lethargic and with no desire? Good luck? Bad luck? Anything?Again, this proves nothing but with the Phillies embarking on a title defense let's take a look anyway.
| Year | World Series Winner | Next Season Opening Game Result |
| 1903 | | L |
| 1904 | Boycotted by the | N/A |
| 1905 | | W |
| 1906 | | L |
| 1907 | | W |
| 1908 | | W |
| 1909 | | W |
| 1910 | | L |
| 1911 | | W |
| 1912 | | L |
| 1913 | | L |
| 1914 | | L |
| 1915 | | W |
| 1916 | | W |
| 1917 | | L |
| 1918 | | W |
| 1919 | | W |
| 1920 | | L |
| 1921 | | L |
| 1922 | | W |
| 1923 | | W |
| 1924 | | L |
| 1925 | | L |
| 1926 | | L |
| 1927 | | W |
| 1928 | | W |
| 1929 | | W |
| 1930 | | W |
| 1931 | | W |
| 1932 | | W |
| 1933 | | W |
| 1934 | | L |
| 1935 | | W |
| 1936 | | L |
| 1937 | | L |
| 1938 | | W |
| 1939 | | L |
| 1940 | | L |
| 1941 | | W |
| 1942 | | L |
| 1943 | | W |
| 1944 | | L |
| 1945 | | W |
| 1946 | | L |
| 1947 | | W |
| 1948 | | L |
| 1949 | | W |
| 1950 | | W |
| 1951 | | W |
| 1952 | | L |
| 1953 | | L |
| 1954 | | L |
| 1955 | | L |
| 1956 | | W |
| 1957 | | L |
| 1958 | | W |
| 1959 | | W |
| 1960 | | W |
| 1961 | | W |
| 1962 | | W |
| 1963 | | W |
| 1964 | | T |
| 1965 | | W |
| 1966 | | W |
| 1967 | | W |
| 1968 | | W |
| 1969 | | W |
| 1970 | | W |
| 1971 | | L |
| 1972 | | L |
| 1973 | | W |
| 1974 | | W |
| 1975 | | W |
| 1976 | | W |
| 1977 | | L |
| 1978 | | L |
| 1979 | | L |
| 1980 | | L |
| 1981 | | W |
| 1982 | | L |
| 1983 | | L |
| 1984 | | W |
| 1985 | | L |
| 1986 | | W |
| 1987 | | L |
| 1988 | | L |
| 1989 | | W |
| 1990 | | W |
| 1991 | | W |
| 1992 | | L |
| 1993 | | W |
| 1994 | Cancelled due to player strike | N/A |
| 1995 | | W |
| 1996 | | L |
| 1997 | | W |
| 1998 | | L |
| 1999 | | W |
| 2000 | | W |
| 2001 | | W |
| 2002 | | L |
| 2003 | | W |
| 2004 | | L |
| 2005 | | W |
| 2006 | | L |
| 2007 | | W |
| 2008 | | TBD |
There have been 106 modern World Series. We do not have data for three of them. There was no Series after the 1904 and 1994 seasons and the 2008 defending champs don't play until tonight. What happened the other 103 times?
Defending World Series Champions boast a record of 43-59-1. OK, maybe boast isn't the best word. And yes, there was a tie (1965 St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs, 10-10 in 11 innings). The longest winning streak by defending champs in the following seasons opening game is seven (128 through 1934). The longest losing streak is four games (1953 through 1956 and 1978 through 1981). The Phillies were the final team in that last losing streak. They lost their season opener in 1981 after winning their first World Series in 1980, falling to the Reds 3-2. The Red Sox won their opening game last year in Japan versus the A's in extra innings.
Let's hope the Phillies extend the defending champions streak to two tonight.
And that they get another opportunity to add to this list in 2010.
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