An anonymous poll of over 100 Major League Baseball players has revealed which organizations have the best and worst reputations. Before you continue reading, see if you can guess the five worst and five best. Go ahead, we’ll give you a minute to think about it. That’s about as long as it should take anyway. At least for picking the five worst.
Notably, as The Athletic pointed out in its report, a lot has changed in Major League Baseball since last year. Perennial doormats like the Chicago White Sox, the Miami Marlins, and the Oakland, ermm, Sacramento slash Las Vegas Athletics are actually good this year. Even the Pittsburgh Pirates are hovering around .500.
However, franchises like the Los Angeles Angels and the Colorado Rockies still appear hopeless.
This is why the Rockies and Angels rank first and fifth, respectively, among players polled on which organizations have the worst reputations.
Also, a few months of positivity in Chi-town, Miami, Pittsburgh, and wherever the A’s play haven’t been enough to remove the stench of decades of failure. Because the Pirates still ranked second-worst, the Athletics third-worst, the White Sox fourth-worst, and the Marlins sixth-worst. All of them received at least 11 votes. The Rays, Reds, Royals, and Brewers round out the worst 10.
“Behind on everything analytically,” one player said about the Rockies.
“They just don’t want to spend money on anything,” another said about the Pirates.
The best organizations in Major League Baseball
On the flip side, it is good to be a Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, or Atlanta Braves fan these days. All five of those organizations received at least 15 votes for being the best organization in Major League Baseball. The Phillies, Mets, Red Sox, Padres, and Brewers round out the best 10. (Yes, the Brewers somehow made both lists.)
“Everybody’s been talking about how they really create good relationships with players on and off the field,” a player said about the Dodgers.
“I think it comes down to the players feeling like the owner and the front office have their backs,” another player said about the Yankees.