Last year, we undertook an initiative to determine the Ultimate Bandwagon Team for 2025. This team serves as a unifying choice for fans without a specific allegiance this season. The ideal bandwagon team, as I described, is akin to a “growth stock where you can invest early.”
Step 1: Exclude 2025 Playoff Teams
Unfortunately, any team that made it to the postseason last year cannot emerge as the surprise bandwagon team of 2026. While you can still support any team you like, genuine Ultimate Bandwagon status requires a team that can rise to prominence, making its debut in the party. Thus, we’re left with 18 teams. Let’s move to the next elimination phase!
Step 2: Evaluate Potential for 2026 Contention
It’s one thing to root for a team with clear potential; it’s another to pick a squad that suffered over 100 losses last season and shows minimal improvement prospects. Some of these teams could become bandwagon favorites next year, but for now, we focus only on those with a realistic path to contention, narrowing it down to 13 teams.
Step 3: Recent Championship Success
Your chosen bandwagon team must not have a recent history of success. It’s hard to think of a team as an underdog if they frequently make the playoffs or have won a World Series recently. To find a cutoff, let’s eliminate teams that clinched a title this century. If this frustrates any fans, they can always take solace in their championship rings. This step eliminated more teams than expected, leaving us with six contenders.
These teams vary significantly! Last year, we dismissed a few in this phase for being too familiar in the postseason. However, I believe none of these six are overly seasoned. We should consider removing a couple for being less aggressive this offseason, as we want a team truly invested in winning this year. This leads us to eliminate two teams.
In the end, I’ll drop the Mets, primarily due to their high payroll, making bandwagoning difficult. Following that, I’ll say goodbye to the A’s for their ongoing uncertainties. This brings us to the final two: the Pirates or the Orioles?
Ultimately, to win the Ultimate Bandwagon contest, similar to last year’s Mariners, we need a strong contender. The Orioles appear to have a much better roster than the Pirates. Hence, congrats to the Orioles: you are our Second Annual Ultimate Bandwagon selection for 2026! Here’s hoping your season is as successful as the Mariners’ was in ’25, if not better.
