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MLB Influence Rankings

Sometimes, a picture is worth 1,000 words. I hope the one below is as well. Click here for a full explanation of this infographic. Click "continue reading" for some things I found interesting in the picture. Click the picture to open it in a separate window:


  • It could be a long season as far as baseball coverage goes. There are several more popular teams that are off to bad starts. The biggest of them all is the Red Sox, of course. However, the Dodgers, Cubs, and Mets all look like they are down as well. Will national telecasts stick with these popular teams as the summer progresses, or give more air time to better teams?
  • When will people pay attention to the Texas Rangers? They play in a big market, just went to the World Series, and are off to a hot start this season. They aren't as good as their 8-1 start suggests, but they still might be the most underrated team in baseball.
  • Can the White Sox really take over Chicago? Joe Cawly of the Chicago Sun-Times thinks it's already theirs, but I beg to differ...for now. The White Sox are already in much better position to make the playoffs than the Cubs, and early on look like they could end up in a good pennant race.
  • It hurts to realize that I root for the most irrelevant team in baseball, the Mariners. Seriously, look at how small and low that bubble is. My goodness.
  • The Orioles have created some buzz with their hot start. In the mid-'90s, they were a team that sold out every game. They won't stay as hot as they've been, but I wonder if they are good enough to bring back some of their once loyal fanbase.

3 comments:

  1. I like it! Very creative. It is a great way to think about the two biggest aspects of a team's market, too.

    My favorite bubble are the A's. Hehehehe.

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  2. Well done Tim! Great post yet again. Depresses the hell out of me to be an M's fan, but honestly, it says something that they've been able to draw fans at all, and continue to have a payroll in the upper half of baseball. That may not continue after this year if they can't turn this team into something semi-watchable, but we'll see. And I agree with nacho, the A's are the most pitiful good team in baseball, and it's hilarious. They just need to move cities. The bay area was, is, and forever will be Giants territory. There's not much difference in talent between those two teams, but the Giants just do it more interestingly.

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  3. @nacho The A's bubble is also my favorite. @Kevin Agreed that the A's need to move, and you bring up an interesting point about ticket sales. I wonder how much of a correlation there is between internet searches and buying tickets and merchandise.

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