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In baseball, there are teams people love, and then there are teams people love to hate. Much of this is determined by the city you live in and any existing rivalries. However, some Major League Baseball teams haven’t made a connection with everyone , and this is why you know there are a handful of teams that everyone loves to hate.
For baby boomers, there are decades of built-up divisiveness against specific baseball teams. Anyone born between 1946 and 1964 largely grew up with baseball as the most dominant sport in America. While football may have overtaken it in terms of total viewers, baseball remains at the heart of America. Thanks to YouGov data, we know precisely which baseball teams baby boomers love the least.
Why Is This Important?
Baseball is the second most popular sport in America.
As baseball is played for most of the summer and into the fall, it’s responsible for billions in revenue across the United States. Between new jobs offered in baseball cities and huge sponsorships for every baseball team from companies we regularly cover 24/7 on Wall Street, baseball is both a sport and a business. In fact, it's safe to say baseball sells an experience in the same way Ford and GM sell cars.
15. Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are in the middle of the pack in terms of popularity.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 31%
While the Kansas City Chiefs might be among football’s favorites, the opposite is true for the Kansas City Royals. In this case, the Royals are firmly in the middle of the pack, coming in at number 15 as one of the baseball teams that baby boomers hate the most. The days of the Royals being underdogs are long gone, which has helped raise expectations the team has been unable to meet.
14. Detroit Tigers
It's been years since Detroit fans have had something to cheer about.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 31%
Detroit is an unusual baseball market as it is home to a small but passionate fanbase. Unfortunately, over the years, any passion for the team baby boomers once had has become a major frustration. The Tiger's ownership has yet to show they genuinely want to win a title. Currently, frustration over the team’s subpar lineup is driving the placement results of this YouGov study.
13. San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are not as popular as they have been in the past.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 31%
If you’re wondering why baby boomers might dislike one of the most storied teams in baseball, the reasons shouldn’t surprise you. On top of frustration with team ownership, the Giants are no longer a destination franchise for marquee names, and they have seen too many off-season disasters.
12. Toronto Blue Jays
The 1990s were a highlight for the Blue Jays.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 30%
There is definite frustration on the internet around the Toronto Blue Jays and why baby boomers might dislike the team. The most unsurprising reason is the same as what you’ll see with many other teams on this list. There is absolute anger toward team ownership that refuses to make the necessary moves to position the Blue Jays as a World Series contender.
11. Minnesota Twins
There hasn't been much to celebrate in Minnesota over the last two decades.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 30%
If you consider that fans of the Minnesota Twins were ranked as the 25th most annoying in baseball (out of 30), there is good reason to believe baby boomers are fed up with the team. Even a quick search on Google shows this is the number one reason people are simply over being fans of the Twins.
10. San Diego Padres
The Padres are among the most disliked teams on social media.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 30%
In the words of baby boomers on the internet, the San Diego Padres have the ninth-most negative league posts on X/Twitter. There is a major concern around ownership, as the team has lost its tradition of winning and showing off like it wants to win a World Series.
9. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates cannot fill their stadium.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 28%
Baby boomer fans are fed up with the ownership and management of the Pittsburgh Pirates, helping it capture the position as the ninth most disliked team in all of baseball. If you think about an ownership group that doesn’t show much of a commitment to winning, or at least in the way fans want, baby boomers have given up on the team.
8. Oakland Athletics
Baby boomer fans are fed up with Oakland Athletics ownership.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 28%
One of the biggest reasons baby boomers dislike the Oakland Athletics is that nobody wants to cheer for a bottom-tier team. It’s been some time since Oakland fans, including baby boomers and people of all ages, have something to cheer about with the Athletics. If the team were to put some actual money into a decent lineup with a marquee star, it would be possible for fans to return in droves.
7. Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels aren't even located in Los Angeles.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 28%
There hasn’t been a massive wave of fan support for the Los Angeles Angels in years, of which baby boomers are included in this apathy toward the team. One reason that might also be frustrating is that the team doesn’t actually play in Los Angeles, which no doubt infuriates baby-boomer Dodger fans who genuinely love that team.
6. Houston Astros
It's a shock the Houston Astros are not number one on this list.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 28%
The team that likely should be most hated in baseball somehow falls in the sixth position. Baby boomer disgust for the Astros no doubt stems from how the team’s 2017 cheating scandal was treated and that most players on the team seemed to get away without any “real” penalties.
5. Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are having a hard time finding new fans.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 27%
Baby boomers and the rest of Tampa are mostly apathetic toward the Rays. There is a better-than-good chance residents of the city would be hard-pressed to name more than one or two players on the team. The lack of a long-term star combined with a mediocre stadium experience has turned off baby boomers for years.
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
Baby boomers have fallen out of love with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 26%
Between poor performance, low expectations, and a streak of disappointing seasons, baby boomers have all but given up on the Arizona Diamondbacks. While the team succeeded in 2001, winning a World Series, it’s been downhill since, and the team has lost fans who have given their loyalty to cities that know how to win.
3. Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins can barely fill up its stadium.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 24%
If you’ve checked in on a Miami Marlins baseball game lately, the stadium is mostly empty, and there are many reasons for this. When it comes to stadium attendance, the team’s ownership prices out most people who want to enjoy a day at the ballpark. South Florida is also full of transplants from New York, Boston, and Pittsburgh, and they remain loyal to those teams.
2. Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a close second as the most hated team by baby boomers.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 24%
There is one good reason why baby boomers likely hate the Colorado Rockies, and that is mediocrity. The Rockies haven’t been a good baseball team in a while, and the fans are fed up. It might be safer to say this low percentage of fan popularity is more of an angry response to team ownership than the ballclub itself.
1. Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals is the baseball team baby boomers hate the most.
- Percentage of baby boomers with a favorable opinion: 17%
The surprising number one baseball team baby boomers hate the most is the Washington Nationals. There are a few reasons why the Nationals receive such anger. First and foremost, the team isn’t the Montreal Expos, which is a longstanding grudge, but the behavior of the team’s fans at the stadium has also been an issue for years.
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