Rangers Fans' Rooting Guide for Wild Card Round

The 2026 MLB Playoffs are officially here, and unfortunately for Texas Rangers fans, their team will not be in the race for the third consecutive season.

Rangers President of Baseball Operations Chris Young acknowledged his disappointment to the fans on Monday.

“I can’t say enough how disappointed I am that you all are not watching playoff baseball this week with your Texas Rangers in it,” Young said.

Despite Texas not being in the race, there is still plenty to watch for this postseason, and it all kicks off with the Wild Card round.

Let’s break down where every team stands on a 1-5 scale of how much Rangers fans should be rooting for them.

Philadelphia Phillies 3/5 - Philadelphia and Texas have really nothing against each other, and this Phillies team can be fun at times. We’ll give them a 3/5.

Atlanta Braves - 3/5 - Much that was said about the Phillies can also be said about the Braves. For Rangers fans in this series, it’s really a coin toss of who you want to root for.  3/5 - 

Chicago White Sox 5/5 - It feels like a lot of Major League Baseball fans will be rooting for the White Sox this October, but the Rangers have a couple of extra reasons.

Perhaps the main one is solely based on their Wild Card series opponent, who we will get to in a second. Former Texas associate manager Will Venable, who has done an outstanding job as White Sox manager, will also give Rangers fans something to cheer for.

Houston Astros 0/5 - Do I really need to explain this one?

Boston Red Sox 2/5 - The Red Sox have had a lot of postseason success in the last little while, but out of every American League team not named the White Sox, Boston is probably the one that Rangers fans would be okay with winning the most.

New York Yankees 1/5 - It’s the Yankees.

Chicago Cubs 3.5/4 - Pete Crow-Armstrong is one of the most fun players to watch in all of baseball, and we all want to see him continue his MVP season deep into October. Much like the Braves and Phillies, this series is probably also a coin toss for Texas fans.

San Diego Padres 3/5 - It’ll be interesting to see if this is the year that San Diego finally makes a solid run. Rangers fans don’t really have much against the Padres. We’ll give them a 3/5.