Throughout the history of Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers have resided as one of the premiere franchises. Yet, during a recent survey of 989 baseball fans conducted by FiveThirtyEight, they drew mixed results.
Results for the ‘most-hated’ team had the New York Yankees coming in comfortably in first place, with 27 percent of the vote. The Boston Red Sox received 10 percent, while the Arizona Diamondbacks and Dodgers tied for third with five percent.
Breaking down the results by region revealed the Dodgers face some disdain from those on the West Coast. With 12 percent of the vote among those in the West, they checked in behind only the Yankees (26 percent) for most hated.
Los Angeles didn’t place in the top five in such category in the South, Midwest or Northeast regions.
Although they were among the leaders in a negative aspect, the Dodgers and Yankees both ranked within the top five of the most-liked teams. New York led with 10 percent, while the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox each for received eight percent of the vote.
They were followed by Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, with the rivals both garnering five percent from participants for favorite team.
When breaking down the results of that poll, the West region shows a concise split between the two franchises. The Giants accumulated 15 percent, and the top spot, in the West region, while the Dodgers came in second place with 13 percent.
The Dodgers received two percent from voters in the Northeast, presumably in some part due to their franchise history in Brooklyn.
Whether a favorite or hated, the Dodgers continue to be a draw. They became the first team to three million in home attendance this season, and have now reached the benchmark in six consecutive seasons.
During the stretch they’ve led the Majors in home attendance in all but one year (2012).