Ranking which teams could be the fans’ choices for October favorites this MLB postseason
By Bill Felber
16. Houston Astros. Nobody outside Houston wants to see the AL West leaders triumph. First, they just won last season. Second, they’ve played in six straight postseasons, reaching the World Series four times. Third, they are boringly efficient. Finally, there’s that cheating business.
15. Los Angeles Dodgers. Aside from not being cheaters, everything said about the Astros goes double for the Dodgers. This will be their 12th straight postseason, they won as recently as 2020, their approach is corporately efficient, and their fans don’t even stick around to watch them win.
14. San Francisco Giants. This is probably moot since the Giants are 1.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot, and play nine of their final 12 games against the Dodgers or Diamondbacks. Of all the teams not presently in a postseason slot, they are the least likely to earn one. They have no truly interesting players, and with three World Series titles in the past 13 seasons they hardly qualify as Cinderellas.
13. Philadelphia Phillies. They absolutely adore the Phillies in Philadelphia. That’s nice; I love my sister, too. But, outside the family, they are yesterday’s news. The Phils had their moment in 2022, climbing from third Wild Card to the World Series before losing in six to Houston. Beyond that, they whiff too much to be inspirational. The Phillies are fourth in the NL and eighth in baseball in Ks. Who gets behind that?
12. Atlanta Braves. Since the Braves won it all just two years ago and are likely to lead the majors this year in wins, rooting for them is only for the corporate-hearted. Still, you have to admire Atlanta management for assembling such a consistently dominant ballclub. And if it comes down to Braves versus Dodgers and then Astros (as the brain trust expects it to do) then, yes, Atlanta will be a solid fan favorite.
11. Toronto Blue Jays. There’s a lot to like about the Jays. This is a team with personalities like Bo Bichette, Vlad Guerrero Jr., and a resurgent Kevin Kiermaier. But heck, if the Jays are such a great story, why are they stuck in third place in their own division? Personally, I can’t work up more than neutral enthusiasm for them.
10. Minnesota Twins. Because, and let’s just be honest here, even Twins fans don’t expect the Twins to do anything in October. Since 2002, Minnesota is 6-27 in postseason play. If you’re an available fan, are you going to throw your heart and emotional well-being behind that track record?
9. Texas Rangers. The last time the Rangers won a World Series was never. They should have won in 2011 but got robbed by the Cardinals, so there is a strong emotional attachment to puling for Texas. At some point, however, reality has to set in. This Rangers team (not the 2011 version but this current one) has played .500 ball since June 1. That’s a long time to be ordinary. If you are looking for a team to gravitate to, one that’s playing .500 ball doesn’t have much gravitational force.