Football what? NFL who? That doesn’t matter, it’s time to get primed for the MLB playoffs and the race to the World Series. For those among the less initiated, below is a list of all the teams that are potentially postseason-bound and what they’re all about as they race through these last few days until the playoffs start.

National League

Los Angeles Dodgers

Frankly, I’m a little tired of hearing about this team as I have been all season, but it’s been for a good reason. For a few months, the Dodgers went on a phenomenal run, winning 43 games in a 50-game stretch. They were completely dominant, scoring runs upon runs against their opponents and shutting hitters down with their lights-out pitching. After losing a series against the Nationals on June 5-7, they did not lose another series until August 25-27 against the Brewers; some wondered if they would ever lose again. But then they went on a phenomenal collapse. After that series loss to the Brewers, the Dodgers went 1-16. Everything that made them great seemed to vanish. They couldn’t hit a ball to save their lives, and their pitchers were giving up runs and consistently not going deep into games. They lost close games, and they lost blowouts. During their losing stretch, their gaudy division lead against the Diamondbacks was cut in half, and the rest of the league caught up to them in the fight for best record. Most importantly, the league smelled blood and knew they could be beaten. The Dodgers no longer had their invincibility. Now, they’ve recovered since then. They still have the best record in baseball, and they’ve won the NL West. They’re not as terrible as they looked, but they’re also not as amazing as they looked. Their road through the postseason isn’t going to be easy; they will likely face the wild card winner, which has a 50% chance of being the Diamondbacks, who have had their way with the Dodgers this season. If they want to go deep into the postseason, they’re going to have to lean on all of their pitchers: not only Kershaw, but Darvish, Hill and the rest of the crew. They need to be able to go deeper. Kershaw can carry a team, but with the payroll and players the Dodgers can afford, he shouldn’t have to.

Washington Nationals

This team is stacked to go deep into the postseason. They have an offense that has pulverized opposing pitchers for the entire season, featuring a handful of MVP candidates. They have a three-headed monster of Cy Young-caliber pitchers, all three of whom have been eating opposing hitters for breakfast and are all three topping most of the pitching stats. Their biggest problem of the first half, their shaky and incredibly unreliable bullpen, was fixed at the trade deadline with three new dominant additions that have completed this team and made it a force to contend with. Despite the injuries that plagued the Nationals throughout the season, the gang is back together, and they’re still one of the forces of the National League. All signs are looking good. But there are a few not insignificant roadblocks. Bryce Harper is still recovering, and even though he looks ready to come back, he still has to get his timing down. The former MVP will be critical in providing a huge boost throughout the playoffs. Additionally, the Nationals have never won a postseason series in their history; they have lost all three previous trips to the NLDS. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on them to advance. But this team is better than any team of Nationals past. They have lethal offense, lights-out starting pitching, and a bullpen that can eradicate the hauntings of the ghost of bullpen’s past.

Chicago Cubs

The first half of the season had the baseball world wondering what happened to the reigning World Series champs. They didn’t look like themselves. The pitching wasn’t sharp, the offense wasn’t clicking, and they weren’t even leading the division for the majority of the first half. But that all changed in the second half of the year. The Cubbies look like they have life again; they have one of baseball’s best records since the All-Star break, the bats have come alive, the pitching has improved, and they’ve retaken the division lead for now. But it’s nothing near the dominance of last season. Last year, the Cubs won the NL Central by 17.5 games and plowed their way to the World Series. Their lead this year is only a few games. The NL Central has been fairly well-matched with each other all season long, and the title could go to any one of the three remaining teams depending on who goes streaking. At the moment, the Cubs still look like the best bet to win it; their offense is lethal and has the ability to make comebacks, they have a couple of defensive stalwarts in the field, and they have a lights-out closer. Their starting pitching isn’t anywhere near the 2016 caliber (they had two out of the three Cy Young finalists), but they look to be coming together in the second half. This division won’t be won until very late, but the Cubs are looking to be the one to take it.

Arizona Diamondbacks

If at the beginning of the season you had the Diamondbacks having the third-best record in the National League, please help me out with lottery numbers. The team that last year lost almost 100 games and had the fourth-worst record in the National League has made a complete turnaround in just a year’s time, thanks to new management and coaching staff. They have a good hitting core led by MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt, and a pitching staff that has become one of the best in baseball, greatly improved from last year with the resurgence of Zack Greinke, and the rest of the rotation and bullpen has followed in suit. But the big move was the trade for J.D. Martinez, who ascended into a godlike plane once coming to the desert. Martinez’s presence has catapulted the Diamondbacks from good to great. They have been duking it out in the wild card with the Rockies all season, and since the second half started they’ve grown a lead over the Rockies for the first wild card, and they’re even beginning to creep up on the Dodgers and scare them with their hot play of late. Unfortunately, despite their great record, the Diamondbacks are in the same division as the team with baseball’s best record, and there’s no way they could've realistically caught them with the time they had left, so the Diamondbacks will be relegated to a one-game wild card. However, if they win, and it’s looking like they have a good chance of doing so, as they will be the hosts, they will most likely play the Dodgers in the NLDS, and they have had the Dodgers’ number this season. For everyone expecting LA to breeze through the playoffs; Arizona doesn’t intend on letting that happen easily.

Colorado Rockies

Last season, the Rockies looked like they could be on the verge of breaking out. And they did just that this season. The main thing with this team is, of course, hitting, as they reside at the launching pad that is Coors Field in the high altitude, but unlike previous seasons, they have a well-rounded team to back it up. They can play some great defense, and they’ve got some fairly solid pitching, which is difficult to come by in that altitude. They also have claim to a couple of MVP-caliber players, who are having seasons for the ages. All year, they’ve been duking it out in the wild card with the Diamondbacks, neither of whom could take the division title because of the Dodgers. They’ve both had the better wild card position at some points this season, but as time has gone on, the Diamondbacks have taken the wild card lead and distanced themselves, while the Rockies have begun to struggle. A lot of their rookie players are beginning to feel fatigue from the long season, and their bats have gone a bit quiet. And while they’ve been in a postseason position since day one, that spot is now in jeopardy as a few teams are knocking on the door and threatening to take that wild card spot. They have the talent. If they want to make it to the postseason, they need to regroup and get back to form.

Milwaukee Brewers

None of the baseball higher-ups believed in this team, but they just never went away. And now they’re not only in position to leapfrog the Rockies for the second wild-card spot, but they could challenge the Cubs for the NL Central division title. They’re only a few games back, and the race is far from over. The Brewers have a surprising offense that is more than capable of mashing some homers, and their pitching staff is capable of stifling the best offenses. Whilst they didn’t make the big trade deadline deal that many believed they would need to contend for the postseason, they are still keeping pace with the other teams bound for the postseason. But it’s going to take everything they have, and possibly a little bit of luck, to squeeze into the postseason and leapfrog either the Rockies or Cubs.

St. Louis Cardinals

Somehow, this team is still hanging on by the skin of their teeth, in position to swoop in for both the second wild-card spot and the NL Central division title. This is not your St. Louis Cardinals of ten years ago; Yadier Molina may still be here, but Albert Pujols has long since moved on, along with many other Cardinal greats, loving a lot of young players in their places; they’re no longer the dominant team in the National League, but they’re still dangerous and know how to play in the playoffs. They’d have to leapfrog a number of teams to be able to get into the postseason, but if somebody stumbles and the Cardinals get hot at the right time, don’t count them out just yet.

American League

Cleveland Indians

Though their season didn’t start with a bang, Cleveland is looking to end with one. The reigning American League champions recently rattled off a 22-game winning streak, which is an American League record. They didn’t even lead the division for a good chunk of the season, but now there’s a good chance they end with the best record in the American League, and home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs. Cleveland has one of the most dominant starting rotations in baseball, a bullpen that can shut you down, and an offense that can mash. Not only that, but after the Cubs’ win last season, Cleveland now holds the longest active World Series drought (68 seasons), and you know Cleveland is ready to quench it. Everything seems primed for a return to the World Series, but, as we know, the playoffs are a different beast altogether.

Houston Astros

The Astros were the best team in baseball for the first few months of the season, though they have cooled off since then. They’re still playing great ball, and they have the likely MVP of the American League, but they’ve hit a few roadblocks. They’ve dealt with a number of injuries, especially to some of their starts and the front end of their rotation, which set them back a step. But everyone’s looking to be healthy again, and the acquisition of Justin Verlander just put the icing on the cake and got everyone excited again. Houston has a lot going for them emotionally right now. The Houston area was decimated by Hurricane Harvey, and the Astros would love to win for the people of Houston. And this year, the Astros won a division title for the first time since 2001, after enduring years and years of subpar baseball. They’ve been playing great ball consistently all season, they look primed to make a deep run, and they would love to do it for Houston.

Boston Red Sox

Compared to other divisions, the AL East has been fairly mediocre, which means it has been one of the most contested ones throughout the year. Almost every team has led at some point, and the Red Sox have taken the opportunity to pull ahead. The Sox have been a little bit streaky at times, but towards the end of the season they’ve settled down into a comfortable position atop the AL East. They have one of the best pitchers and one of the best outfields in the game, and they have a nagging tendency to make comebacks. But nothing’s decided yet. They still have to fend off the Yankees in the division before seriously thinking about the postseason.

New York Yankees

All rise, here comes the judge. Rookie sensation Aaron Judge carried the Yankees through the first half and made them serious division contenders again. The Yankees have boasted some prolific offense all season, and once the trade deadline came around, made numerous acquisitions to boost the offense, starting rotation, and bullpen. They’re a well-rounded team, but they just can’t seem to catch the Red Sox in the division. Unfortunately, they don’t play the Red Sox again this year, so they have no opportunity to play them head-on. They seem destined to hold the first wild card and host the wild card game unless they can go on a big run down the stretch and the Red Sox lose their hold. Regardless, if they win the division or win the wild-card game, they will be serious contenders to whomever they would end up facing in the ALDS.

Minnesota Twins

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the season is that the Minnesota Twins are contending for the postseason spot at all. They even led the division for a portion of time this season. Manager Paul Molitor has done wonders to a team that lost over 100 games last season. Their bats have some pop, they have a few good pitchers, and they boast some defensive stalwarts. Primarily, they have a couple of bright young stars that will be racking up the numbers for years to come. The Twins may not be the team you think of when you think “postseason bound,” but they haven’t gone away all year. With a lot of teams playing mediocre baseball, the Twins have been above average, and they’ve been just good enough to be one of the teams fighting it out for the second wild-card spot. They’ll have to really ramp it up down the stretch to get into the postseason, and they will have to play out of their minds if they want to actually win that wild-card game.

Los Angeles Angels

The American League wild-card race has thinned out, and there are two teams vying for the last wild-card spot. The race is incredibly tight, and it feels like whoever gets hottest towards the final few days of the season will be the one punching their ticket to the wild card game. The Angels find themselves as one of those teams, and they’ve got a long road ahead of them. They might not have prolific pitching or a stout offense, but they have one pretty big thing going for them: they currently have one of the best players in the game, and perhaps the best player of our generation. In Mike Trout’s five full seasons in the big leagues up until this point, he has finished second or first in the MVP race in every single year. Yet he has only been to the postseason once, and his team did not get out of the first round. The Angels aren’t a team with huge studs and high talents, but they have Mike Trout, who, with a little bit of help, could potentially carry a team into a postseason. If the Angels can manage to battle and scrape into a postseason spot, all eyes will be on Trout as he enters the postseason for just the second time ever.

So if you’re a casual fan or your team has been eliminated, pick a team and throw your support behind them for October. The postseason is full of excitement, and I can smell playoff ball already. So grab your rally towels, snap on a ballcap, and push football aside until November. The march to the World Series starts on October 3.