The next-longest playoff droughts in baseball

The Toronto Blue Jays snapped the longest playoff drought in professional sports after an anticlimactic technicality was revealed Saturday morning.

Toronto's 21-year absence from the postseason was the longest run in any of the four major sports in North America. That distinction now belongs to the Buffalo Bills, who have been locked out of the playoffs since 1999.

Here are the four teams that now own MLB's longest playoff droughts:

Seattle Mariners - 13 seasons

Last postseason appearance: 2001 - Lost ALCS (4-1)
Record since: 1,065-1,194 (.471)
Best finish since: 93-69 (2003 - 2nd AL West)

It's been all downhill since the Seattle Mariners won a franchise-best 116 games in 2001 and were ousted in the ALCS by the New York Yankees in five games. Since then, the Mariners have collected 10 losing seasons, eight last-place finishes, and burned through nine managers. With the exception of the Houston Astros, who joined the AL West in 2013, the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels, and Oakland Athletics have all won the division at least twice since Seattle last did. The Mariners are days away from extending their league-worst drought to 14 seasons.

Miami Marlins - 11 seasons

Last postseason appearance: 2003 - Won WS (4-2)
Record since: 882-1,022 (.463)
Best finish since: 87-75 (2009 - 2nd NL East)

Changing the name and stadium has done little to improve the fortunes of one of the majors' most unpredictable franchises, as the Miami Marlins are poised to miss the postseason for a 12th straight year and the 21st time in their 23-year existence. Since a shocking World Series win in 2003 over the high-powered Yankees, the Marlins have floundered. They're in the midst of posting a sixth straight losing season in which they've finished an average of 25 games back in the division.

Houston Astros - 9 seasons

Last postseason appearance: 2005 - Lost WS (4-0)
Record since: 703-907 (.436)
Best finish since: 86-75 (2008 - 3rd NL Central)

The Houston Astros postseason drought has been, in part, self-inflicted. An organization suspected of tanking in order to stockpile young talent, the Astros haven't played playoff ball since being swept by the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series. Perennial division winners in the late '90s, the Astros' ambition to lose peaked from 2011-13, as they dropped a combined 324 games across the three seasons. There does appear to be a vision in place, however, as the young crop of Astros all that losing produced currently occupies a wild-card spot, with a shot at snapping the drought.

San Diego Padres - 8 seasons

Last postseason appearance: 2006 - Lost NLDS (3-1)
Record since: 689-761 (.475)
Best finish since: 90-72 (2010 - 2nd NL West)

The San Diego Padres have watched their in-state rival Giants collect five division titles and three World Series championships since their last postseason appearance in 2006. Outside of a 90-win campaign that saw them miss the playoffs by two games in 2010, the Padres have been mired in mediocrity. While San Diego has avoided the division's basement in all but two of the last nine seasons, the Padres have finished third or worse eight times. With a new and ambitious regime in place under rookie general manager A.J. Preller, the Padres swung and missed this season, but the aggressive approach could bring playoff baseball back to America's Finest City soon.