As an editor in the newspaper industry, when two candidates running against each other for elected office are equally likeable or unlikable, we are still compelled to make our endorsement.

Being a lifelong Mets fan, it would be easy for me to hide and not offer an endorsement for this year’s blockbuster World Series between the Yankees and the Phillies.

For the record, backing a sports team is nowhere near as important as endorsing a candidate who would craft policy and vote on legislation. However, in the spirit of the election season, and having to stomach the worst-case scenario for a Met fan, I feel compelled to announce my World Series endorsement.

Without a doubt, I have to go with the Yankees.

Before judging and calling me a “bandwagon jumper,” which would be a really inaccurate charge, let me provide some background:

Back in 1999, archenemy Chipper Jones insulted Met fans, telling them to “go put their Yankee hats on” as his Braves finished off the Mets in the NLCS and were preparing for the powerful Yankees in the World Series.

While Jones and his teammates ate their trash-talk, and were seemingly non-existent during the Yankees four-game sweep of them in the ’99 World Series, I could have cared less at the time.

That’s because after the Braves finally corralled the Mets in memorable six-game NLCS, it was much easier to ignore the World Series, and not take any sides. It helped that it only lasted four games.

This year is different. A fourth-place finish for the Mets in 2009 seems like a blur now that we are almost a month into this painfully stretched-out postseason. For me, the Jets play once a week, the Islanders stink, and the Knicks .. well .. So understandably, as a baseball fan and also being the husband of a supportive Yankee fan, I’m going to watch this series closely.