You Are Only As Popular As Your Payroll (Uh, Performance)

So I’m back from my vacation (many, many thanks to Whitney and Kathy for keeping the blog going while I was out)…. I’m relaxed, tan (against my dermatologist’s urging), and geared up to write about summer.

I loved Whitney’s blog on favorite destinations outside of U.S., mostly because none of mine appear in the top 5 (c’mon all you closet Belize fans).  So my time off only reinforced that I still step out-of-sync with America.

But today, let’s talk about America’s national pastime – baseball.  Over my vacay, I took my kids to their first professional baseball game – Orioles vs. Red Sox - and they loved it.  Cotton candy, huge finger puppets, singing/belting out the national anthem, and extra innings… what’s not to love.    Except the cost – which was utterly painful (if you haven’t been, they get a nice price for a beverage at the ballpark). 

I wish our first game was local – sorry New York.  But the good news is that it turns out FINALLY, after all this time, my favorite is your favorite.  According to the latest Harris Poll, according to baseball followers, the Yankees are #1 in America’s heart for the seventh year in a row.

And…

• as we have learned in years past, baseball fans don’t entirely live by the adage “what have you done for me lately?” but they certainly don’t shun it either.  Of the teams that made the play-offs last year, almost all (except the Phillies, the Angels and the Brewers) moved up at least a spot or two from last year’s ranking.  The Tampa Bay Rays got the biggest bump for making it to the World Series, moving up 11 places.

And…

• of the six teams leading their divisions right now, all are in the top 8 in our rankings except one – the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  What do the Angels have to do to get some love? They made the play-offs last year and sit at the top of their division right now, yet still remain 27th out of the 30 most popular teams in the MLB (though better than last year at 29th).

And…

• the Yankees story is one of the most interesting – still #1 after 7 years – even though they missed the play-offs last year and haven’t been to the World Series since 2003.  But they do have the biggest payroll and some of the biggest stars. 

And…

• payroll should not be excluded from any conversation involving success or fanship surrounding baseball.  Of the nine teams whose payrolls exceeded $100M on opening day 2009, six are in the top 9 in our rankings.

So, this begs many chicken/egg questions…. i.e., does payroll = success = fanship with size of market as some kind of multiplier?  Or should fans get altogether much more credit for loyalty?  Do you have a favorite team? And, if so, why are they your favorite?

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