The
World Series is the annual championship series of
Major League Baseball (MLB) and concludes the
MLB postseason. First played in 1903, the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and is a contest between the champions of baseball's
National League (NL) and
American League (AL). Often referred to as the "Fall Classic", the modern World Series has been played every year since 1903 with two exceptions: in
1904, when the NL champion
New York Giants declined to play the AL champion
Boston Americans; and in
1994, when the series was canceled due to the players' strike.