Which team has had the most raucous home-field environment this postseason?

As we enter the final stages of the 2024 postseason with only four teams remaining, the importance of home field advantage continues to grow. With stakes rising every game as we inch closer to the World Series, every ounce of momentum can make the difference between wearing a ring and watching the games from home.

How much does the home crowd play into that momentum to benefit a team? Let's take a look at which raucous home crowds can leverage that momentum and turn the tides in their favor.

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The power of the home crowd

Home-field advantage has been discussed in sports in general forever. Many factors play into it, especially in baseball. Familiarity with the field plays a huge role, but more importantly, the energy of the fans watching you play can have a profound impact. The roaring of tens of thousands of fans after a double play is turned or a ball is hammered into left helps the momentum grow that much more.

In terms of NFL betting, the adage goes that a team having home-field advantage is worth an extra 3 points on the spread, i.e. if Team A is favored by minus-3 at home over Team B, then the teams would be even on a neutral playing field.

While it's not so much of an exact science with baseball, it helps demonstrate the importance of home-field advantage. Let’s examine how home-field advantage might influence the NLCS New York Mets–Los Angeles Dodgers and ALCS New York Yankees–Cleveland Guardians matchups, and which team overall has the most raucous fans.

Mets vs. Dodgers: NLCS Showdown

While it depends on what side of town you are on, it's safe to say that the Yankees are generally the more popular team in the Big Apple. With that, the fanbase of the Mets seems to lag slightly behind that of their cross-town rivals. However, this doesn't mean that Mets fans are considered a calm fan base, but how do they compare to that of the Dodgers?

The Dodgers seem to have an unprecedented amount of momentum going their way, being the "big brother" team in Los Angeles over the Los Angeles Angels gives them a step up already, not to mention the notoriety of their roster. With massive names like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, just to name a few, listed on the Dodgers lineup card make it hard not to have a massive fan base. When you have such electric players you are bound to draw big crowds and tons of support everywhere you turn, which will most likely be very beneficial to Dodgers at home games.

The upside for the Mets is it is much easier to win over the hearts of America as the underdog, the Mets seem to have that fairytale momentum going right now and with that, the crowds at Citi Field games will continue to grow alongside the support that comes with the die-hard loyalty Mets fans are known for.

Yankees vs. Guardians: ALCS Showdown

The Yankees Guardians matchup definitely seems to be a little more polarizing. The Guardians have great fans, but it seems to be no match for the impressive size of the Yankees fanbase. The Yankees are hands down one of the most popular teams in all of baseball. Their support is plastered everywhere, all over the country, and it seems more stories of loud and passionate fans come from the Yankees than from any other team.

While the Guardians may garner a little bit of that underdog momentum like the Mets have, the verbosity of the Yankees seems to outweigh any of the teams on this list. Constant boos from the crowd rattling opposing pitchers, non-stop noise no matter the score and the vocalization of everything that comes to mind from Yankees fans while watching stars like Aaron Judge and Juan Soto play, make it tough to stay composed when visiting Yankee Stadium. In light of that, we have to tip our caps to the Yankees as the most raucous fanbase still standing in the postseason.

The Guardians will have to capitalize as much as they can during their home games because their away games are going to be a challenge, to say the least.

Only time will tell how much these fanbases impact their beloved teams in the coming weeks. In the end, it might just be the roar of the home crowd that tips the scales in the final march toward the World Series.