Show Me The Glove: Harris Poll Names Yankees Favorite MLB Team
Monday, July 13, 2009 at 12:39PM 
July 13, 2009: Although you won't be hard-pressed to find people who dislike the New York Yankees, especially in Boston and even Queens, NY (home of the Mets), it seems that many more people are Yankees followers. The Yankees have been named as the favorite baseball team among those who follow Major League Baseball for the seventh year in a row, according to a new Harris Poll. from Harris Interactive. The Boston Red Sox are second, moving up a spot from the 2009 survey, having swapped places with the Atlanta Braves. Rounding out the top five are the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers, which both tied fourth on the list after finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in 2008.
Teams that showed the biggest increase in popularity from 2008 were the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays (up from No. 28 to a tie at No. 17), Seattle Mariners (up from No. 17 to No. 10) and the San Diego Padres (from No. 27 to a tie at No. 20). Conversely, the teams that had the greatest drop in popularity were the Cleveland Indians (down from a tie at No. 7 to a tie at No. 25), Colorado Rockies (down from a tie at No. 13 to a tie at No. 23) and Kansas City Royals (down from a tie at No. 20 to No. 29). Also, no one who participated in the survey thinks the Royals will win the World Series this fall.
Although the Red Sox placed second among fan favorites, the team was given the best chance to win the World Series (21%), followed by the Yankees (19%), the Dodgers (18%), the Philadelphia Phillies (7%), the Cubs (5%), Detroit Tigers (4%) and St. Louis Cardinals (3%), according to Harris.
Among other findings:
• Four in ten Americans (41%) say they follow Major League Baseball.
• Men far outnumber women in the MLB fan base (53% vs. 29%)
• Matures (those 64 and older) and baby boomers (45-63) are more likely to be baseball fans (45% and 44%, respectively) .
• People with a household income of $75,000 or more are more likely to be fans (50%) as are college graduates and post graduates (47% each).
The Harris Poll was conducted online within the U.S. June 8-15, 2009 among 2,177 adults, of whom 891 said they follow baseball. Full details at www.harrisinteractive.com.
Harris Poll: What Is Your Favorite Major League Baseball Team?
Source: Harris Interactive