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Data & Research July 10, 2007
Yanks a Lot
For years, football’s Dallas Cowboys called themselves “America’s Team″, but baseball has long regarded itself as the nation’s national pastime.
Reported by Nevin E. Adams
But who is America’s Team on the baseball diamond?
Well, don’t tell Red Sox fans, but a new online Harris Interactive poll claims that the New York Yankees are the nation’s favorite, at least among those who follow Major League Baseball. Moreover, they enjoy that status for the fifth year in a row.
The Boston Red Sox rated third, behind the Atlanta Braves, who moved up to the number two slot this year. Rounding out the top five are the St Louis Cardinals at No. 4 and the Chicago Cubs at No. 5.
Not surprisingly, team favorites do shift along with geographical differences. While the East is solidly behind the NY Yankees, in the Midwest the St. Louis Cardinals are the favorite. In the South the Braves fare best, and in the West, the Seattle Mariners, who come in at No. 8 overall (and whose Ichiro Suzuki hit a two-run, inside-the-park homer in the fifth inning in this week’s All-Star game, and went on to be named the game’s MVP), are the favorite.
There’s no real difference looking at age – most say the Yankees are their favorite team. However, the youngest generation, the so-called Echo Boomers (those aged 18-30) have claimed the St. Louis Cardinals (last year’s World Series champs) as their favorite.
On the other hand, politics may be exerting some red and blue influences. Apparently Democrats favor the Yankees, while Republicans lean toward the Braves (Independents lean toward the Yankees).
These are some of the results of a Harris Poll conducted online by Harris Interactiveª among a nationwide sample of 2,372 U.S. adults between June 5 and 11, 2007.
Harris notes that two teams have moved up eight or more places since 2006: the Texas Rangers move up 11 places (from a tie at No. 27 to a tie at No. 16), while the Milwaukee Brewers have jumped eight places from No. 18 to No. 10. Teams that have suffered the biggest falls include:
- the Chicago White Sox (down 10 places from a tie at No. 11 last year to No. 21)
- the Arizona Diamondbacks (dropped eight places from a tie at No. 14 to No. 22)
- the Kansas City Royals (slipped seven places from a tie at No. 21 to No. 28)
This Harris Pollª was conducted online within the United States between June 5 and 11, 2007 among 2,372 adults, of whom 874 follow baseball.
“What is your favorite Major League Baseball team?” Base: U.S. Adults Who Follow Major League Baseball
Rank 1999 | Rank 2003 | Rank 2004 | Rank 2005 | Rank 2006 | Rank 2007 | |
New York Yankees | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Atlanta Braves | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Boston Red Sox | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | 14 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
Chicago Cubs | 3 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Detroit Tigers | 10 | 15 | 5 | =19 | 7 | 6 |
New York Mets | 12 | 3 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
Seattle Mariners | 6 | 11 | =15 | =13 | 10 | 8 |
Cincinnati Reds | 13 | 10 | =19 | =8 | =14 | 9 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 21 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 18 | 10 |
Los Angeles Dodgers | 7 | 8 | =9 | 7 | =14 | 11 |
Houston Astros | 22 | =20 | =9 | =17 | 9 | 12 |
Baltimore Orioles | 9 | =18 | 8 | 12 | 8 | =13 |
Cleveland Indians | 5 | 4 | =9 | =19 | =11 | =13 |
San Francisco Giants | 26 | 9 | 7 | =10 | =14 | =13 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 18 | =18 | =9 | =8 | =21 | =16 |
Texas Rangers | 15 | 13 | =15 | 21 | =27 | =16 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 16 | 12 | 6 | =13 | 13 | 18 |
Oakland Athletics | 19 | =20 | 22 | 27 | 19 | 19 |
Minnesota Twins | 11 | 5 | =17 | =13 | =21 | 20 |
Chicago White Sox | 20 | 27 | 27 | =10 | =11 | 21 |
Arizona Diamondbacks | NA | =16 | =17 | 16 | =14 | 22 |
Florida Marlins | 25 | =25 | 21 | 28 | =27 | =23 |
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim* | 23 | =16 | =25 | =17 | 20 | =23 |
Tampa Bay Devil Rays | NA | 28 | 28 | =29 | 28 | 25 |
San Diego Padres | 17 | 22 | =25 | 25 | =25 | 26 |
Colorado Rockies | 14 | 24 | 24 | 26 | =25 | 27 |
Kansas City Royals | 24 | =25 | =19 | =22 | =21 | 28 |
Washington Nationals | NA | NA | NA | =22 | 24 | 29 |
Toronto Blue Jays** | 28 | 29 | 29 | =29 | 29 | 30 |
Montreal Expos | 27 | 30 | 30 | NA | NA | NA |
*While the name may have changed, they kept the trend from previous years since it is the same team.
**It should be noted that the sample was limited to the United States. It is therefore no surprise that the Canadian team placed last on this list in a survey where no Canadian residents are surveyed.