The MLB has a vested interest in two of the most hated franchises in sports advancing to their league’s championship series.
As the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees prepare for their respective divisional series close-out games, each franchise will be pleased to learn about a powerful new fan: the MLB. Although it may seem odd for the league to cheer on teams, the MLB has pretty good reasons to root for the Cubs and Yankees.
Most fans in America loathe the Yankees and the Cubs. Every baseball fan— young or old — knows that. According to a survey by FiveThirtyEight, the Yankees (No. 1) and Cubs (No. 3) are two of the top three most hated MLB franchises in America. That raises the question: Why is the MLB cheering on two of the most hated franchises in baseball? The answers are quite bread-and-butter: revenue and exposure.
Above all, money is the driving factor behind each and every professional sports league. Plain and simple. Be that as it may, there’s a fun reason too. If the Yankees and Cubs manage to snag a spot in their league’s championship series, a potential once-in-a-lifetime event will take place. Since the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers have already secured their places, two of the country’s four biggest cities are represented in the (A/N)LCS. However, the other two — Chicago and New York — are not. But, if the Cubs and Yankees manage to advance, each of the United States’ four biggest cities will be represented in the championship series.
In any case, why does this matter? According to Bleacher Report, each of the four teams has a top-half market amongst MLB teams. As a matter of fact, only the Astros (No. 15) rank outside the top 10. Even then, those rankings are from 2012 — when the Astros constantly lost 100+ games per season.
Mike Lewis, a professor of marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, conducted a more recent poll ranking the best MLB fan base and brand. He found that three of the potential championship series teams (NYY, LAD, CHC) were amongst the top five. And again, the Astros were the lone wolf outsider. There’s no need to worry about them though, for multiple reasons. First and foremost, they already advanced. Second, Houston is becoming America’s sweetheart in the 2017 postseason. The Astros are the lovable losers from years ago who have now come back to contend. They have yet to run into issues with sales and exposure. Everybody around Houston is currently wearing orange and navy. In addition, we as baseball fans would love to see Sports Illustrated’s 2017 prediction come true. Houston isn’t the problem here, despite being the smallest of the four markets. The problem lies with Cleveland and Washington D.C. possibly getting in over New York or Chicago.
New York and Chicago are simply better baseball markets for the MLB. With two teams in each city, it’d be a crime to say that any city cares about baseball more than those two. Even if you believe so in your mind, don’t tell anybody living in either city that. The New York and Chicago markets are amongst the oldest and most loyal in baseball. Of course, the Yankees and Cubs bring in a lot of hate around the country, so freakin’ what? If you’ve ever watched a playoff game in the Bronx or Wrigleyville, you’ll understand what I mean. The energy is through the roof, seats are full, merchandise is worn. It’s October baseball with the most passionate fans in the country.
And with the most passionate fans in the country comes the most money. The best chance at making more money and gaining better exposure both domestically and internationally happens with the Cubs and the Yankees advancing. Unlike with the US Men’s National Soccer Team, size in these cities translates to revenue and consistent results. Very seldom does Wrigley not sell out or the Bronx doesn’t overflow with Yankees jerseys. It just doesn’t happen in those markets.
The MLB doesn’t care about whether or not each club draws hate. Quite frankly, the MLB thrives on the passion of the fans, regardless if it’s positive or negative. All things considered, these teams play in the four most populated cities in the entire country. The markets in Cleveland and Washington D.C. are massive, no question. But New York and Chicago are the real deal. For this reason, the MLB is rooting for the Cubs and the Yankees tonight.