Texas Rangers/Houston Astros rivalry one of ten best in MLB (and a poll)

The Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros have the fourth best rivalry in MLB right now, according to Anthony Castrovince with MLB.com, who has a rundown of the top 10 rivalries in MLB. Castrovince puts just the Cubs/Dodgers, the Cubs/Cardinals, and the Yankees/Red Sox ahead of the Silver Boot contenders.

I’ve generally been dismissive of the notion of a Rangers/Astros rivalry, but with several bench-clearing incidents in recent years, and the Rangers and Astros being involved in division races the past few years (well, 2015 and 2016, anyway -- the Astros ran away with the West in 2017), as well as the Astros winning the World Series last year, there does seem to be a greater sense of a rivalry developing between the two teams.

Personally, I’m not sure I feel more negativity about the Astros than I do the other A.L. West teams. Oakland, after all, edged out the Rangers for the A.L. West title in both 2012 and 2013, with the 2012 late-season collapse against the A’s being particularly irksome. The Seattle Mariners were the Rangers’ nemesis in the late-90s and early-00s, which I can’t forgive. And the Angels are the Angels and are generally annoying.

So hey, why not a poll...which A.L. West rival do you dislike the most? Cast your vote below...