MLB 2015 Postseason Preview or I Was Cheering for the Twins, Now What?

Another baseball season has passed and despite the late season surge, the Minnesota Twins were eliminated from postseason contention, just days before the end of the season. They were in contention for the second Wild Card spot in the American League, a spot won by the Houston Astros. This kind of travesty brings up a question many sports fans face at one time or another: My team is not in the postseason, so who do I cheer for?

Perhaps the easiest answer is you root against the team(s) that edged your team out. I know the co-captain of our _____ On Sports team is an Astros fan, so I’ll keep it civil, but I will not cheer on the Astros. It’d be blasphemy to cheer on the New York Yankees. The Kansas City Royals, who made a run all the way to the World Series last year, ran away with the American League Central division this year (the Twins division), so I can’t really cheer for them either. If I had to cheer for / predict which American League team will make it to the World Series, I’m taking the Toronto Blue Jays, with their explosive offense and excellent pitching.

The National League side of the bracket has the most intriguing storyline this postseason though. The three best teams in baseball (by record) are in the National League, with one of those teams being eliminated in the one-game Wild Card. Leading up to the end of the season, there’s been a lot of talk about the “fairness” of a system that eliminates one of the best teams in a one-game playoff. Some even suggest the playoff system should be structured more like the NBA, thus eliminating a Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates playoff series, at least in the “first round.” Personally, I’d be fine with a best-of-three series for these Wild Card teams. Statistically speaking, it is rare to have the number two and three teams in the league playing each other in this situation, but having three games does seem more fair and I think eliminates more problems than it causes.

With all of that said, call me a sap, but I have the winner of the National League Wild Card going to the World Series. Pittsburgh has been in this position before and I feel like they could be ready to break through. On the other hand, the Cubs, under new manager Joe Maddon, have been electric. Also, call me a sap, but a team that hasn’t been to the series since 1945 that looks this good tugs at my heart strings.

So this year, I’m cheering on the Pirates or the Cubs because 1.) Neither of these teams kept the Twins out of it 2.) I don’t feel like cheering for National League team in this situation is “cheating” on my team and 3.) Both of these teams are exciting and fun to watch.

Good luck and godspeed to all you baseball fans out there, especially if your team is in the postseason. May your heartbreaks be few.