A 2024 MLB playoff rooting guide for Los Angeles Angels fans

Rooting for: Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers

While the Angels surely are sad to see themselves now stand alone in infamy, they will be rooting for the franchises that almost stunk as badly as them over the past 10 years. The Tigers and Royals embody everything the Angels covet moving forward: improbable runs to the postseason, in spite of their market and recent history, with a little front office spending peppered in.

Kansas City broke their eight year streak of missing the postseason, and did so by spending more in free agency than anybody expected them to. They signed impact pitchers like Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, and veteran position players like (old friend!) Hunter Renfroe. It just goes to show: owners who trust their front office members to evaluate talent correctly and make savvy financial commitments can reap the rewards sooner rather than later.

Detroit and Los Angeles both had gone nine straight years of missing the playoffs. The Angels are up to 10, and the Tigers are down to 0. The Tigers do not possess any big-name players, other than a presumptive AL Cy Young winner, but they proved that organizational depth can get teams out of the doldrums of mediocrity. Detroit fashioned their bullpen seemingly out of nothing, and they highly utilize relievers as openers. Their rotation should have taken a step back after trading Jack Flaherty away, but it did the exact opposite. Every team around the league, despite the great story, should be looking at the Tigers and be thinking "if they can do it, why can't we?" The Angels would love to have a beacon of hope, and the Tigers' success down the stretch of the 2024 season could do just that.

Also, they play Houston.