By USDR.
So baseball has hit that time again – mid-season, which means the All Star Game is upon us. As Major League Baseball pauses to celebrate their all stars, and as the teams get a few days off to rest before the race to the end of the summer and post-season play begins in earnest, it is also time to see who America’s Favorite Baseball Team is.
Among those who follow the sport, the New York Yankees again win the honor of being “America’s Favorite,” as they have each year since 2003. In the second spot on the list are their long time arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, followed by the Atlanta Braves at number three; both of these teams’ positions are unchanged from the last three times The Harris Poll asked this question.
Rounding out the top five are the Los Angeles Dodgers at number four (rising one spot from last time) and, in a tie for the number five spot, the Texas Rangers (up from number eight) and the Detroit Tigers (who came in at number ten the last time this question was asked).
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,210 adults surveyed online between June 12 and 17, 2013 by Harris Interactive. (Full findings, including data tables and rankings of all teams, available here)
Looking at the bottom half of the top ten favorite teams, at number seven are the Chicago Cubs (down from number four last year), followed by the New York Mets (#8, down from a 5th place tie), the Philadelphia Phillies (#9, down from #7) and the San Francisco Giants (#10, up from #14).
Winning it all in October or not being there at all
Looking ahead to the end of the season, the highest percentages of baseball followers say the St. Louis Cardinals (14%), the New York Yankees (13%) and the Boston Red Sox (12%) will win the World Series, followed by the Detroit Tigers (10%) and the Atlanta Braves (8%). And, at the bottom of the list, less than one percent of baseball followers said the Miami Marlins, the Seattle Mariners or the San Diego Padres will win the World Series.
On the flip side, there is always that one baseball team people love to hate. And, this year over two in five baseball followers (42%) say the New York Yankees are the one team they least want to see make it to the World Series. At a distant second, 12% say this about the Boston Red Sox, while 4% each say this about the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Miami Marlins.
The All Star Game deciding home field
It’s been a few years now, and 70% of baseball followers are aware that the league winning the All Star Game also wins home field advantage for the World Series in October. And, while there may be a few grumblings, almost two-thirds of baseball followers (65%) say this rule is a fair one. But three in five baseball followers (61%) also say it is likely that this rule could impact the outcome of the World Series.
Following baseball
Over one-third of Americans (34%) say they follow Major League Baseball, a number that is down from 2011, when 36% said they did. Looking at who follows baseball, men are more likely to do so than women (44% versus 26%). There is also a regional divide, as more than two in five Easterners (41%) say they follow baseball, compared to just over one-third of Midwesterners (36%) and Westerners (35%), and 29% of Southerners. This is also something political parties cannot totally agree on today – over two in five Republicans (41%) follow baseball, compared to 35% of Democrats and 34% of Independents.
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