I came across an article the other day from Harris Interactive. They did a poll of the favorite baseball teams in America. Not surprisingly, the Yankees and Red Sox topped that list, followed by the Braves, Cubs and Dodgers to round out the Top 5. And, in case you were wondering, the Bottom 5 are: Rays, Nationals, Marlins, Padres and Blue Jays. Now, in fairness, they note that Canadian residents were not polled, so it’s not surprising that the sole international team (Blue Jays) ended up on the bottom. I am a little shocked that the Rays are in the Bottom 5, given that they’ve had some good seasons in the last three years (making their first World Series appearance just three years ago).
What I found more interesting was the response to who was going to win the 2011 World Series. Once again, the Yankees and Red Sox lead the way with 20% each. The Phillies were the top NL team with 19%. The Cardinals and Braves were both at 5%. Other potential playoff teams were considerably less supported: Rangers, 4%; Giants (you know… the defending champions), 3%; Tigers 2%; Brewers (currently leading the NL Central), 1%. Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, was that the Chicago Cubs were at 4%. I did not stutter, friends.
The Chicago Cubs, who are currently sitting 22 games below .500 at 43-65, received as many votes to win the 2011 World Series as the Texas Rangers, who are the defending AL champions and have a record that is almost the inverse of the Cubs at 61-48. The Seattle Mariners, who went three weeks without winning a game, losing 17 in a row,still have a better record than the Cubs. Apparently, people seem to think that the Cubs are going to leapfrog the four teams that are ahead of them in the NL Central and walk away with the most improbable August/September run in the history of baseball. Either that, or 4% of the people responding are heavy drinkers.
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To me this is a sign that most of the country is the same as me. We are fans of a certain team…but we don’t follow it. We don’t watch the games. We don’t check the scores on our phones. The reality is…we just don’t care all that much. Even in the midst of the NFL lockout…baseball did not draw us in. It is what it is. Baseball is no longer the national past-time. We just assume the Yankees and Red Sox are always good…and we always hope our team will win.
The reality is…I could not tell you right now who is leading their divisions. Mostly because I don’t care all that much. So…if I were asked who was going to win it all…I would say the Cubs…but that is just out of hope…and ignorance.