2024 MLB playoff rooting interests

[Ale Xander]

Myself:

AL:
1. Tigers
2. Royals
3. Orioles


4. Astros
5. Guardians

Meteor

6. MFY
(Actually don;t really mind any of the non-MFY teams, even the Astros because of JA and Bregs)


NL:

1. Brewers


2. Dodgers (Mookie)
3. Padres (dislike MM more than I like Xander)
4. Mets (time heals wounds)
5. Braves (chop and injuries)




meteor

6. Phillies

AKA, please no MFY Phillies WS


Overall:

1. Brewers
2. Tigers
(I-94 series would be awesome)
3. Royals
4. Orioles


5. Dodgers
6. Padres
7. Astros
8. Guardians


9. Mets
10. Braves


small meteor

11. Phillies






large meteor




12. MFY

 

[S. H. Frog]

Fun thread.

This is my AL rooting interest (inverse log scale, any of the top four are fine with me):

6. NY
5. Houston
4. Cleveland
3. Baltimore
2. Kansas City
1. Detroit

NL (LA is complicated. I'd like them winning; I'd love them losing):

6. Atlanta
5. Phillies
4. NYM
3. San Diego
2(/6). LA
1. Milwaukie

Overall: Detroit, KC, Milwaukie, Baltimore, LA, Cleveland, San Diego, Philadelphia, Mets, Houston, Atlanta, Yankees

 

[LogansDad]

AL
1. Detroit
2. Baltimore
3. Cleveland
4. KC



5. Houston


NL
1. Milwaukee
2. San Diego
3. LA (Mookie and Shohei)
4. Mets
5. Philly
6. LAD (everyone else)



7. Atlanta

 

[simplicio]

Guardians
Tigers
Brewers
Royals
Orioles

Mets
Padres
Phillies

Braves
Dodgers
Astros

Yankees

 

[moretsyndrome]

I'm all in on the Brew Crew. This is the year, dammit.

 

[Joe Shlabotnick]

Any team but the Orioles or the MFYs.

 

[riboflav]

AL

1. CLE
2. KC



3. BALT
4. DET

5. HOU

end of the world




6. NYY

NL

1. SD
2. MIL


3. ATL

I can't keep going.

 

[nolasoxfan]

I’m rooting for competitive and compelling baseball games and any team that plays against the Yankees.

 

[patinorange]

Any team but the Yankees or Astros in the A.L. Detroit would be a great story.
Padres in the NL I can live with the Dodgers just to see more Ohtani.

 

[ThePrideofShiner]

The Dodgers losing in the first round would be the funniest thing in the history of things.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

AL:
1. Tigers
2. Royals
3. Orioles
4. Guardians
5. Astros



6. Yankees



NL:

1. Mets (wife from Flushing, Mets fans hate the Yankees as much as we do)
2. Padres (local team, Xander)
3. Milwaukee (dislike MM more than I like Xander)
4. Dodgers
5. Phillies
6. Braves (still love them making the playoffs but almost never winning it all)

 

[54thMA]

AL
Guardians (Their fans have suffered enough, Cleveland is the king of nutpunch losses between the original Browns and the old Indians)
Detroit (would be a great story)
Royals
Astors
Orioles (I'd rank them lower were it not for the Yankees)
Yankees

NL
Braves (Boston connection)
Padres (they've never won it all)
Brewers (see Padres)
Dodgers (Ohtani is a joy to watch)
Phillies
Mets (some sports wounds never heal)

Overall

Guardians
Braves
Detroit
Padres
Brewers
Royals
Dodgers
Astors
Phillies
Orioles
Mets (I'd rank them lower were it not for the Yankees)
Yankees

 

[Jim Ed Rice in HOF]

AL
1. Cle
2. Det
3. KC
4-6 Fuck ‘em

NL
1. Padres
2. Mets
3. Brewers
4-6 Fuck ‘em

I have a lot of hate in me.

 

[pedro1918]

Give me Tigers, Royals or Guardians in the AL
Brewers or Padres in the NL.


What I want most is for the Yankees and Dodgers to get swept in their first series. The Astros can win one game.

 

[simplicio]

Guardians
Tigers
Brewers
Royals
Orioles

Mets
Padres
Phillies

Braves
Dodgers
Astros

Yankees

It took me about 5 minutes of game time to realize this wasn't actually true. Mets are my number 2. They're local for me, Lindor is amazing, Iggy is just one of those guys that makes me love baseball.

 

[streeter88]

Exciting that there are a couple of teams that have never won it all as well as a couple which have not won in 40+ years. Accordingly:

AL: Guardians or Tigers. KC won it recently, but I have nothing against them, so they're 3rd choice. Don't like the Orioles, but can recognise that Baltimore as a city has had a rough trot this past year with the Key Bridge accident.
NL: Padres or Brewers. Dodgers would be 3rd choice. The rest I don't care for, especially the Mets because 1986 was personally very bad.

No prediction for the WS champs. Would be great for a swing state team (Brewers or Tigers) to win it all, but not sure the Phillies winning helps, especially if it sets off riots in Philly.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

Guards vs Brewers

 

[Tokyo Sox]

AL: As long as the Yankees lose in the divisional round, I don't care who eventually comes out of the AL. I just really want them out ASAP, hopefully in humiliating fashion -- maybe something like Soto and Judge walk a combined 19 times in 3 games, and the rest of the team gets no-hit for the series. I'm finding it hard to get onboard this runaway Tigers train even though it's a great story on paper. I also think they'll lose the next two games to the Astros by a combined 12+ runs. It's a fun story that I think is about to come to a screeching halt.

In order, rooting for:
Royals
Orioles
Tigers
Astros
Guardians
Meteors

NL: Dave Roberts. Mookie Betts. Kiké Hernandez. Yoshinobu Yamamoto. SHOHEI OHTANI. These are guys I want to see succeed in the playoffs, not to mention journeymen like Miguel Rojas and Teoscar Hernandez who seem like great teammates. There are no teams I hate here, but a few that I'm totally ambivalent about like the Brewers and Braves. Padres would be higher for the Xander and Orsillo factor, but Machado cancels them out a bit. The rest of the team is pretty likable though.

In order, rooting for:
Dodgers
Mets
Phillies
Padres
Brewers
Braves

 

[Hank Scorpio]

AL:
1: Tigers
1: Guardians (essentially a tie here)
(moderate gap)
3: Royals
(HUGE GAP)
4: Astros LOL BYE!
(HUGE GAP)
5: Orioles Boo hoo... lol, Boo hoo...
(HUGE GAP)
6: Yankees

NL:
1: Brewers
(Moderate Gap)
2: Phillies
2: Mets
(Moderate Gap)
4: Braves
(Big Gap)
5: Padres - Fuck Manny Machado... Padres would be #1 on this list if they did not have this dipshit on their roster.
6: Dodgers - But I hope Mookie Betts cleats Machado in the knee in the process.

I like the Braves more than the Phillies and Mets, but I also want teams who haven’t won since 2008 and before to win over teams that have won since 2010. Why?

To push the Yankees further down the list.

Rangers
Astros
Braves
Dodgers
Nationals
Red Sox
Cubs
Royals
Giants
Cardinals

These are the teams that have won the World Series more recently than the Yankees.

On years the Red Sox aren’t going to win, I want this list to get bigger, until it includes everyone who isn’t the Orioles and Devil Rays. Preferably no Padres either, until Manny Machado is gone. Fuck Manny Machado.

Overall: (there are some ties here)
1a: Tigers
1b: Guadians
3: Brewers - It would feel good to see any of these three teams win.
4a: Phillies
4b: Mets - It feels kinda gross to have any of these two teams win, but they do achieve my goal of pushing the Yankees down the list.
6: Royals - Would rate them with the Brewers, but they've already won one since the Yankees won in 2009.
7: Braves - See Royals.
8: Astros - No thanks.
9: Padres - I'd rate them with the Tigers and Guardians, but I really hate Manny Machado.
10: Dodgers - Pass. I hate their spending, even if I love Mookie and Ohtani.
11: Orioles - Fuck the Orioles.
12: Yankees - I'd rather see the World Series canceled than the Yankees or Orioles win.

 

[Bozo Texino]

Shocking, I know, but I want the Astros to win another legitimate championship. They're my #1.

I'll go Tigers for #2 because of the Hinch connection.

Don't care after that.

 

[ilol@u]

Anyone besides the New York teams.

Preferably not LA, but if they're playing any New York team, I'll be cheering for them.

If I had to choose a preferred winner, the Detroit Tigers would be a fun team.

 

[chrisfont9]

The Dodgers losing in the first round would be the funniest thing in the history of things.

I am all in on this. All the Japanese guys just automatically flocking to LA, maybe think twice? At a minimum it shows how tenuous the connection is between spending and championships (although there is definitely a connection between spending and playoffs).

AL, give me the Tigers. I could live with Baltimore. KC annoys me after this season. With a little luck and 12 games against the White Sox, that could have been us.

NL, I love the Padres, MM notwithstanding. Also I have Mets people in my extended family I could be happy for.

 

[Sandy Leon Trotsky]

AL- Cleveland, Detroit, KC, Baltimore.......................... I loathe Houston almost as much as the MFY's now.
NL- Milwaukee, Sandy Eggo, Phillies, Braves, Mets............................... fuck the Dodgers

 

[Archer1979]

Let's go with the process of illumination...

Rooting for an early YED.
Astros have had their time on the stage long enough, so let's throw them out as well.
Guardians would be in my interest but Tito is gone and I wouldn' t mind seeing their streak continue, so ba-bye.
Orioles have to go simply because.

So that leaves the Royals and the Tigers... which I can live with.

For the NL...
Padres out. Any happiness for Machado is a non-starter.
Mets out. But that obviously changes in the face of a Subway Series.
Phillies out. I've learned to loathe Philly fans since the last Pats/Eagles Super Bowl. Let 'em suffer.
Brewers out. I'm sadistic.

So that leaves the Dodgers and the Braves. Probably lean more toward the Braves, but watching Mookie have success is a nice consolation prize.

 

[Max Power]

Can I root for this this terrible new playoff system to go away and be reverted to the last one? Think about how awesome the final weekend would have been with three teams in each league separated by one game, all going for one playoff spot when ties were still decided by game 163s. You would have had the Royals and Tigers playing a one game playoff for the right to play the Orioles in a one game playoff. And on the other side you'd have a coin flip deciding who of the Mets, Braves, and Dbacks play the first one game playoff, the winner playing a second one, and then the winner of that having to play a third against the Padres. I would have watched every one of those.

Instead we get a nearly meaningless final weekend, some math, and these boring three game series that usually end in sweeps.

 

[simplicio]

How are these wild card series boring? Yesterday was awesome.

 

[Bergs]

AL:
1a: Guardians
1b: Tigers
3: Royals
--- nuclear holocaust ---
4: Orioles
5: Astros
6: Yankees

NL:
1a: Brewers
1b: Dodgers
3: Phillies
4: Padres
5: Braves
--- food poisoning ---
6: Mets

 

[Remagellan]

AL:

1. Guardians (They're us before 2004).
2. Tigers (only second because of Cleveland's drought. This is a really fun team to root for.)
3. Royals (nice to see a small market team try in this day and age).
4. Orioles (still a great park, and their fans were never rude to me whenever I've gone there).
5. Astros (only because Job 1 in any playoffs without the Sox is the elimination of the other team in this field).
6. I just can't...

NL:

1. Mets (Most of my family are fans, including young nephews and nieces who've never seen them win, and Lindor deserves it)
2. Phillies (I live here, this is a really fun team to root for, and my younger brother and his son have tickets for Game 7 of the WS if there is one, and Harper deserves it).
3. Dodgers (A NL team I rooted for in my youth because of their history and they were in position, like the Royals, of taking care of Job 1 in my youth, and we all share those scars, and Ohtani deserves it).
4. Brewers (Nice team, great fans, great park).
5. Padres (Cool team, great PBP man, but it would be hard to root for Machado to get a ring).
6. Braves (I rooted for the Maddux/Smoltz/Glavine teams (see Job 1) but they won recently and not a fan of their tomahawk-chopping fanbase).

 

[Tokyo Sox]

I'm finding it hard to get onboard this runaway Tigers train even though it's a great story on paper. I also think they'll lose the next two games to the Astros by a combined 12+ runs. It's a fun story that I think is about to come to a screeching halt.

Nailed it, as always.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

I am rooting for the field and avian Marburg virus over the Yankees.

Of the field, anyone not named the Phillies or Mets is preferable but the important point is that being flayed alive is still ahead of a Yankee WS championship for me.

 

[ElcaballitoMVP]

I know a lot of you will not like this, but it's Padres or bust for me.

I live in San Diego, my 2 year old loves em and (don't kill me) I don't hate Manny Machado. Dustin Pedroia is maybe my favorite player of all time and I'll never fully forgive Manny for what he did to him, but having watched him for years here in SD, I think he's matured and I'm willing to let it go.

If you can look past what Manny did to Pedroia, you'll see a team full of guys that are just fun to watch play baseball. They like one another, they fight like hell every night and Jackson Merrill is one of the most exciting young players in all of baseball. Their owner, Peter Seidler, passed away last November and he was a fan before he was an owner. The guy loved San Diego and the Padres. Every team deserves an owner like him and it would be pretty cool to bring the home title for his family.

From the AL, I'll be rooting for Detroit. I don't think they'll get past the next round, but there's no good reason that team is in the playoffs, but they just keep winning. It's weird, it doesn't make sense but damn it's fun to watch.

Edit: I also have to add the Mets. I have a friend who's a huge Mets fan and he recently got diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. If the Padres don't get it done, I hope it's them.

 

[staz]

1. Dodgers
2. Brewers
3. Tigers
4. Padres
5. Royals
6. Tourist Submarine Implosion (quick, painless)
7. Indians
8. Phillies
9. Meteor (less quick, still relatively painless)
10. Mets
11. Brazen Bull

 

[streeter88]

I know a lot of you will not like this, but it's Padres or bust for me.

I live in San Diego, my 2 year old loves em and (don't kill me) I don't hate Manny Machado. Dustin Pedroia is maybe my favorite player of all time and I'll never fully forgive Manny for what he did to him, but having watched him for years here in SD, I think he's matured and I'm willing to let it go.

If you can look past what Manny did to Pedroia, you'll see a team full of guys that are just fun to watch play baseball. They like one another, they fight like hell every night and Jackson Merrill is one of the most exciting young players in all of baseball. Their owner, Peter Seidler, passed away last November and he was a fan before he was an owner. The guy loved San Diego and the Padres. Every team deserves an owner like him and it would be pretty cool to bring the home title for his family.

From the AL, I'll be rooting for Detroit. I don't think they'll get past the next round, but there's no good reason that team is in the playoffs, but they just keep winning. It's weird, it doesn't make sense but damn it's fun to watch.

I’m sure you’ve seen the Higashioka blink-182 guitar souvenir news. Some positive karma to maybe counteract Machado-Pedroia.

Hope the Padres can ride that wave. Would be cool to cross another team off the never won list.

 

[sox75]

Teams without a win:

1. Milwaukee (also - lived in Madison, WI for seven years and got to some Milwaukee games - great fans and park).
2. San Diego (though it's really, really hard to root for Machado).

Then small/medium market teams, it's good for the game:

3. Cleveland (it's been 76 years. OK, not our 86, but enough is enough).
4. Detroit (it's been 40 years and they're a great story. I wish I could make them higher for sweeping Houston).
5. Kansas City (HOW did they sweep the O's???)

The spenders:

6. Philly (I lived there for a while way back. Great fans. Harper is one of those players who should retire with a ring.)
7. NYM (I live here. Love their fans for not rooting for the other guys.)
8. LAD (They remind me of the Yankees of the 70s - buying their trophy. May they loose in 3 in their first round.)
9. !@$#! (NO NO NO)


I was reminded that this year will be the first since 2016 that Houston will not be in the ALCS (Yes!!!). Looked back at seven years of the ALCS, 2017-2023, with a theoretical max of fourteen teams, only five appeared (with WS wins):

Houston - 7 (2)
!@$#! - 3 (0 !!!!)
Sox - 2 (1)
Tampa Bay - 1 (0)
Texas - 1 (1)

Whereas the NL had eight teams represented in the NLCS over the same years, with LAD making the most appearances at four.

 

[Sad Sam Jones]

I'll just say it's complicated. I'm rooting for the Brewers or Padres in the NL... but I also don't like seeing teams that have never won a World Series making their way off that list before Cleveland has finally snapped their schneid.

 

[CoolPapaBellhorn]

A little late, but the Braves and Astros wouldn’t have been very high on my list anyway. O’s probably middle of the pack.

My interest in these cases is mostly influenced by the relative suffering of the fanbases, so here goes:

1. Guardians
2. Padres
3. Brewers
4. Tigers

From here on it’s mostly personal preference:

5. Phillies
6. Dodgers
7. Royals
8. Mets
9. MFY (with a bullet)

I have nothing against the Royals, but they did just win 9 years ago. And the Phillies and Dodgers, while unsympathetic, have fun players and are big market teams that act like it, which I unfortunately miss.

The Mets might actually be higher if not for the fact that any and all “Subway Series” talk needs to end as soon as humanly possible.

 

[ElcaballitoMVP]

I’m sure you’ve seen the Higashioka blink-182 guitar souvenir news. Some positive karma to maybe counteract Machado-Pedroia.

Hope the Padres can ride that wave. Would be cool to cross another team off the never won list.

I did, that was pretty cool. Higgy and Michael King have been pretty important pieces for the Padres and it makes me even happier to root for them now that they're no longer in pinstripes! They're both very easy to root for.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

I assure you, I’ve never had all four teams I was rooting for win the first round of anything,

Destroy the Yankees

 

[ThePrideofShiner]

The thing that really inspires me about this thread is how all the Sox fans are rooting for teams who haven't won a title in a long time.

I look forward to you all pulling for the Bombers over the Royals!

 

[ColdSoxPack]

My number 1 is Padres. Number 2 is Iggy's team.

 

[Sandwich Pick]

NL - Phillies

If they can't win, Shohei on the big stage isn't the worst thing in the world.

AL - Anyone but the Yankees. Any of the AL Central Teams are palatable. Mahomes doesn't need another ring, though.

 

[Max Power]

How are these wild card series boring? Yesterday was awesome.

I think you lose the drama of the one game playoff with these three game series, and you don't gain any ability for a team that starts off slowly to come back. There have been twelve of these series since they switched the format. The team that has won the first game has won all 12 of them. Why set the division series back 4 days and lose most of your win or go home games if the end result is just going to be the same? If they're all going to play out as coinflips, make it the most exciting and quickest coinflip possible.

 

[InsideTheParker]

I am rooting for the field and avian Marburg virus over the Yankees.

Of the field, anyone not named the Phillies or Mets is preferable but the important point is that being flayed alive is still ahead of a Yankee WS championship for me.

I'd rather the NYY win it all than be flayed alive. Flaying is really, really painful.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

I'd rather the NYY win it all than be flayed alive. Flaying is really, really painful.

For me a NYY win is the most painful because I grew up amongst the inbreds who root for that franchise. I would prefer to be flayed alive and seasoned with salt and hot sauce than deal with their gloating.
This is a trauma response.