Philadelphia Phillies: With your Team out of the Playoffs, Who to Root for?

Oct 2, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Fans wave Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (6) heads on a stick during the second inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Fans wave Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (6) heads on a stick during the second inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Philadelphia Phillies
Sep 30, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Mets fans celebrate a victory against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The New York Mets won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

For fans of the Philadelphia Phillies as well as fans of teams that missed the playoffs this is a trying time of the season.

You have a baseball sized hole in you soul that can only be filled by irrationally rooting for  a team in the playoffs. But with the Philadelphia Phillies (or whatever baseball team that you may be attached to) not in the postseason, what do you do?

As a fan. it’s a tough question to answer. Do you root for a team in your division to increase the division’s prestige? What about the team that hasn’t won a championship in your lifetime or longer? The perineal champion? The quirky team that’s just happy to be there? There’s a multitude of reasons that fans choose to root for a team.

With the wild card games finished, I’ll be laying out the postseason participants with a rundown of what things about them may make them interesting to root for. Things like hot streaks, team chemistry, and history will be included.

The teams will be ordered by seed in ascending order so we’ll begin with the Wild Card survivors and end with the top seed in each of the leagues. So without further ado, let’s get cracking.