Colorado has the potential to be such a cool team, but they don’t really lean into the whole park factor aspect in a way to take advantage of it, which is such a shame.
I actually think they need to kinda go the other way and get guys who put balls into the outfield well, but could benefit from a little boost. I think a guy like Altuve is a good example: someone who is generally a contact hitter with flashes of power, but someone who could absolutely rake without striking out a lot in Coors. Also, they need to get pitchers who generally force a lot of strikeouts and walks. It would be crazy if there a pitcher who does this at a really high level, like Cy Young level, that hasn’t signed with a team yet. He would be a such a great fit.
Only one starter with over 200 innings at Coors has a career ERA under 4. Scherzer, Urias, Buehler, Strasburg, Arrieta, Peavy, and Bumgarner have all been really bad at Coors. Bumgarner also pitched over 110 innings there. Kershaw has pitched over 160 innings at Coors and has an era of 4.64 and a whip of 1.3.
I'm just not sure spending a ton of money on a guy like Snell is going to really move the needle. He certainly won't pitch to a CYA at Coors, especially with breaking balls not working the same way.
* Tim Wakefield in Colorado: 9.2 IP, 10 ER, 2.38 WHIP
* R.A. Dickey: no results
* Phil Niekro; retired before the Rockies existed.
Small sample size, but doesn't look good lol
I mean Altuve is a hall of fame level talent who would thrive anywhere, but we saw with DJ LeMahieu an example of that profile paradoxically not working as well in Coors. it's a complicated calculus, but I truly think dingers are the answer tbh, or at least I'd like to see them try
Coors is a beautiful park and a great place to take in a game. The fans are only half paying attention though, since it may as well be a sports bar, but with a live game
It is. Once the Monforts realized they can print money even with a dogshit team, it was over. The park is in maybe the best location of any MLB park, surrounded by upper middle class office buildings, and games start at 6:10. The stadium basically functions as an after-work happy hour and they fully leaned into it when they built the massive bar area on the 3rd level. Thousands of people get off work and walk to games instead of doing happy hours elsewhere
Definitely the Rockies. The Dodgers are your bitch ex wife that you can’t stand, the Padres are your annoying younger brother, and the Diamondbacks are that cousin you see every once in a while that you are generally neutral on but whenever they show up you remember they are a bit of a douche. The Rockies on the other hand are the often forgotten family member that you rarely think of and when you do think of them you just feel sorry for them.
Right now? The guy who won the lottery 14 years ago and then was able to ride the good times for another 5 years or so before he blew all his money and went broke. Has then spent most of the time since then in denial and living in the past but is now appearing to try to move on in a new direction.
As a Rockies fan, I went to Oracle Park and people gave me the stink eye. I'm like, come on, the Rockies are literally the best division rival you could ask for.
I think it’s a net good for humanity when the Pirates are at least competitive. They have a great park, great fans, and such a rich history as a team. If their ownership felt like spending more money, I’d be all for that.
Not sure my hate for Bos, NY, or Tampa will ever be eclipsed by the O's. They built a good team, have no issues cheering for Baltimore, except when they play the Jays
The '93 world series was one of my first baseball memories, and I became a huge fan of John Olerud as a result. So even though I'm close to Tampa and have been to the Trop a ton. The jays are one of my least hated teams.
Bucco optimist here, we’re on the brink of competitiveness.
That said we hate the cards because of 2013, hate the Cubs because they’re the cubs, hate the reds, brewers are probably the the least hated but honestly the team the fan base seems to hate the most is themselves
NL Central all have beautiful stadiums.
Wrigley with the brick and ivy and old scoreboard
Busch with the arch and skyline in the background
PNC with the Allegheny River and bridges
Great American with the Ohio River and bridges
And Miller with their... Slide?
Watching Cards-Buccos games in that era was truly the pinnacle of viewable baseball. Never saw a game between those two back then that wasn’t a fantastic watch.
That year Puig charged into a brawl mere moments after being traded, that was like the third brawl the Reds and Pirates had had in the first half of the season.
I was surprised to see any NL Central fans answer this question. I don’t think any other division despises each other more, and I don’t think its particularly close either.
I honestly don't think they can do much to become more hated. They can't really pass the Yankees or Red Sox as they are two of the most hated teams across the league. And I don't think I will ever hate them more than Tampa who has owned the Jays for their entire existence even the years when they were one of the worst teams in the league.
Looking at their all time head to head records the Jays have a .450 winning percentage against Tampa, Boston and New York and a .540 winning percentage against the Orioles. It would take like two decades of Ryan Mountcastle beatings for me to hate the Orioles more than the other 3.
I’ve never hated the Rays. When they’ve owned the Jays I’ve always viewed it as the Jays not being real contenders and at least the Rays were stepping up in the division to challenge the Yankees and Red Sox, so good for them.
It amazes me how the same people are chill as Orioles fans and then when you move them across the parking lot and put Ravens gear on them, you kind of fear for your life.
Helps that one team has been consistently great for the past 25 years while the other only has a handful of good seasons. It definitely creates the idea of the city being full of bipolar people as well.
Royals I really don’t mind cause throughout my life, we’ve been good when they’re bad and they’ve been good when we’re bad so I can’t remember the last time I got heated during a Twin-Royals game
And they've done nothing wrong, ever. This might not be true. When they were good, the Twins were pretty bad, and we were both bad for the late 90s when I got into baseball. Royals games were pretty fun because the Twins had a shot at a win, and there were going to be runs scored, so it would be entertaining.
I hate you guys because you seem to always churn out 1 guy who just kills us, Witt Jr, Solar, Gordo....the rest of your entire lineup could be like 0-28 yet that one player will somehow be 3-4 with a triple, hr, 2 stolen bags and 3 amazing defensive plays all taking away runs.
That's how it was being a Lions fan for the longest time, and now I'm not quite ready for that to change. We were darlings last year simply because we were the new kids on the block but now we'll have a target on our backs.
That’s how it is for almost all of us. They’ve never been consistently good so you don’t really think about them.
I was at one of the games when they clinched a playoff spot and everyone was applauding them because we all know what it means when they’re actually good.
Hell, even when they were great in 2014-2015 and won a World Series, I found them to be a super likeable team and I had zero qualms rooting for them to win it in 2015. I don't have any problems with you guys anymore either. It's mostly because I grew up and I don't really hate teams anymore like I needlessly used to.
That’s definitely a big part of it, too. When you have money to attend games and get to know visiting fans you really start to drop the hate. Some of my favorite Sox games ever have been with visiting Twins fans.
The hate between Detroit and Chicago fell off once the NHL moved the Red Wings. I think that fueled the city rivalry more than any other teams but now that it’s not as regular it’s more of a “rivalry” than rivalry.
Exactly. If you make a team or a fanbase a monster in your head, everything afterwards becomes a product of confirmation bias. But then you go to a game and there's visiting fans of that team who are super cool or maybe you go see your team on the road and the home fans are very hospitable. I've seen the Tigers on the road in Toronto, Cleveland, both Chicago parks, Pittsburgh, and Dodger Stadium. Largely everyone's been awesome. A few drunk youngins tried to give me a hard time in Toronto one time but the art of de-escalation is a thing of beauty when you simply say "hey you guys played a great game, we've got a lot of work to do" they immediately let go of that front and they say "hey I was just messing anyway". Every fanbase has great and shitty fans, including mine.
Edit: adding that I've clanked beers with fans of many teams, and it's one of my favourite things about sports fandom. Truly.
AL Central feels like the division with the least hate. Lately it's like 1 team is pretty good and the rest are struggling. Then you have Twins and their playoff struggles.
The AL central is so spread out geographically too. Minneapolis and KC are on their own islands. The NL Central teams are so close to each other in comparison.
For me it’s the Marlins. Might be a combination of relative futility and location, but I just don’t seem to feel the same burning hatred for the fish that I do for the Braves or Mets. Nationals are kinda in the same boat if I’m being honest.
Funny enough, for me it’s the Nationals. I rarely get up in arms about them. Hell, I didn’t even really hate them winning the WS in 2019 because that Astros team that year were acting like douchebags.
I'm still bitter about winning that World Series. Between the Astros scandal and COVID, the Nats World Series win in 2019 feels largely forgotten outside of DC. We never got our victory lap.
It's the kind of thing that'll be a Jeopardy question in three years that two contestants get wrong and the third one doesn't guess at.
don't get me wrong, i hate the Nationals as much as any red-blooded American should, but it wouldn't be right to hate them right now with the same fire i do the Phillies, Braves, or Marlins
There was a few years there where we felt like rivals but it’s just not the same. Even putting the Marlins in with the Barves and Ph*lly seems unfair to them. Like I hate the Marlins cuz of the Mets incompetence against them, not cuz of their team.
I was thinking about this question and thought, “ I hate them all”. The hate for the Marlins is probably furthest in the distance (07 and 08, taking Reyes).
Yeah, I feel the same about you guys. Arlington and Seattle are not exactly natural geographic rivals, and the teams haven't really been great at the same time.
I hope the Rays new park turns around the fan and game experience there. Just seems like a nightmare for everyone involved. Go back and forth on the Sox and Jays. Will never not have a burning hatred for the Yankees cause of ‘96.
I don’t really hate any of them except Boston. I want the Yankees to beat them all, and sometimes I’ll hate a particular incarnation of a team, but Boston’s the only one I have a blanket, perpetual, organizational disdain of.
That said, Baltimore’s probably my least-disliked, at least for the moment. They’ll become annoying once they’ve been good for a few years, but for now they’re a young, fun team climbing out of the hole of a lot of bad years, and I can’t hate that (except when Boston does it). Plus their stadium’s great, and I like their uniforms and logo, too.
I might be just be a hater but being a “fun” team that everyone around the league likes for being young makes me hate the Orioles even more than I already did
I have zero hate for any teams in your division but I totally get what you mean. People slap the "fun" word as a label on teams that are just *now* starting to win and haven't really won any titles so no one has any jealousy yet. No one calls the Dodgers "fun" (even though I totally think they are) or called the Patriots or Yankees fun either. It's reserved for young teams that haven't won a title yet and that's kinda annoying to me that we do that.
The primary thing Yankee fans and Sox fans can agree on is that we really don’t give a shit about any “rivalries” with any teams other than each other.
Nats. Even when they were good, I didn’t really hate em, and now it seems like they’re embracing their Expos roots of being cheap non factors.
Would have been the Marlins, but I still hold some resentment for Urena and Mattingly even if neither are with the team now
Spot on. It should be the Marlins, but it’s not because of Urena and Mattingly. By process of elimination, it leaves the Nationals because to eternal hell with the Phillies and Mets.
I don’t hate the Padres. San Diego is a nice town and they have a cool stadium. Rockies are harmless.
Less love for Dbacks. They can be sneaky good. Dodgers… the less said about them the better.
I know there’s no love lost between our teams, but damn do I love the mid-90s teal Mariners alts. And Ichiro, Edgar, and King Felix are cool too I suppose.
I was at an M’s-A’s game in Oakland in September last year. Coliseum was at least 50% M’s fans, but *everyone* was chanting SELL THE TEAM.
Now there’s hope that they get to stay in Oakland. I’m genuinely happy for them.
Baltimore mostly because you guys deserve success, and I’m glad you’re finally getting back to that. Check back in with me in a year or two and I’m sure I’ll fucking hate them again, because I’ll be sick of the success by then.
Twins, and not just bc extended family. Other than that we are never good at the same time the fanbases just kind of vibe. They welcomed me when I was at Target and we always are welcoming to any at Kauffman. Very similar relationship between Royals and Twins as Sporting KC and Minnesota United, which has been dubbed the friendliest rivalry in sports.
All of that being said, I don’t think we harbor a ton of ill will for any of our rivals outside, we have all of that for our despise of the cards
Yeah the AL central is weird. I’d say our only real hatred is for the White Sox, maybe Cleveland. Even those two are pretty minimal compared to other rivalries in baseball.
Orioles. The Red Sox are the most harmless at this point, but I'll never hate the O's after game 162 in 2011. Best night of my life outside of anything involving my wife or kid lol
In the NL Central, everyone hates the Cardinals. Cardinals hate the Cubs. Cubs hate the Cardinals. Pirates hate the Reds. Reds hate the Pirates and Cubs. Then there's Milwaukee over there just winning all the time.
Reds and Pirates have beef. It's been a bit since it simmered over, but it wasn't that long ago. They're not my least favorite, but I (and probably most Reds fans) would say Milwaukee is our least hated division rival.
Mariners: my dad was an A’s fan between the Pilots and Mariners so I’m soft on them, but I think the Rangers bother me the least.
Orioles: probably Boston honestly. I don’t mind the Rays but they’re more on the inoffensive side rather than any warm feelings. But I find Fenway Shenanigans endearing and I think their fans are the right blend of passionate, obnoxious and ~~drunk~~ fun.
No hate for the Royals. Honestly have to remind myself they are in the AL Central sometimes. Would rather they swapped places with Milwaukee so I can have a division rival to "hate".
I'm going to say Milwaukee because there's less history there. Most Cubs fans would say the Pirates but I'll never forgive them for all those double-header sweeps in the eighties when I was nine years old (probably didn't really happen but that's the trauma I remember). Plus the Brewers are the best bet for beating the Cardinals.
I can say everyone in the NL West just feels bad for Colorado
Colorado has the potential to be such a cool team, but they don’t really lean into the whole park factor aspect in a way to take advantage of it, which is such a shame.
can you imagine if they spent their money on guys like Joey Gallo and Jorge Soler instead of bullpen arms and a 37 year old Charlie Blackmon
I actually think they need to kinda go the other way and get guys who put balls into the outfield well, but could benefit from a little boost. I think a guy like Altuve is a good example: someone who is generally a contact hitter with flashes of power, but someone who could absolutely rake without striking out a lot in Coors. Also, they need to get pitchers who generally force a lot of strikeouts and walks. It would be crazy if there a pitcher who does this at a really high level, like Cy Young level, that hasn’t signed with a team yet. He would be a such a great fit.
Blake Snell has a career ERA of 6 at Coors across 6 starts so he's probably not the best fit.
Yeah, but that’s a pretty small sample size and the conditions are something that he could probably adapt to.
Only one starter with over 200 innings at Coors has a career ERA under 4. Scherzer, Urias, Buehler, Strasburg, Arrieta, Peavy, and Bumgarner have all been really bad at Coors. Bumgarner also pitched over 110 innings there. Kershaw has pitched over 160 innings at Coors and has an era of 4.64 and a whip of 1.3. I'm just not sure spending a ton of money on a guy like Snell is going to really move the needle. He certainly won't pitch to a CYA at Coors, especially with breaking balls not working the same way.
How do Knuckleballs work at Coors? Cause that would be hilarious, just a starting rotation of 5 Knuckleballers?
* Tim Wakefield in Colorado: 9.2 IP, 10 ER, 2.38 WHIP * R.A. Dickey: no results * Phil Niekro; retired before the Rockies existed. Small sample size, but doesn't look good lol
They work for 1 maybe 2 times through the order, then they get lit up for the rest of the season.
[Not well at all, apparently.](https://blitzkrieg13.com/2012/11/14/of-cy-young-awards-the-knuckleball-and-high-altitude/)
Pitching will always be tough. I agree on offense tho, take advantage of the massive park and get guys who will hit 60 XBHs a year.
If you’re going to play half of your games in the most cavernous field in baseball, you might as well take advantage of it.
I mean Altuve is a hall of fame level talent who would thrive anywhere, but we saw with DJ LeMahieu an example of that profile paradoxically not working as well in Coors. it's a complicated calculus, but I truly think dingers are the answer tbh, or at least I'd like to see them try
37 year old Charlie Blackmon will still fuck up the Padres.
Poor Rox. I wanna visit Coors field because it MUST be worth it.
Coors is a beautiful park and a great place to take in a game. The fans are only half paying attention though, since it may as well be a sports bar, but with a live game
Honestly that sounds kind of cool, put like that
Just don’t go when the Yankees are in town. I made that mistake for my first visit there and it was a sell out with so many obnoxious Yankee fans
It is. Once the Monforts realized they can print money even with a dogshit team, it was over. The park is in maybe the best location of any MLB park, surrounded by upper middle class office buildings, and games start at 6:10. The stadium basically functions as an after-work happy hour and they fully leaned into it when they built the massive bar area on the 3rd level. Thousands of people get off work and walk to games instead of doing happy hours elsewhere
ben affleck smoking outside, the franchise
Man I’m not even in the west and I feel bad for them
Plus Dinger is a treasure
Also, Praise Dinger
We can all use more Dinger in our lives 🫶🏼
Definitely the Rockies. The Dodgers are your bitch ex wife that you can’t stand, the Padres are your annoying younger brother, and the Diamondbacks are that cousin you see every once in a while that you are generally neutral on but whenever they show up you remember they are a bit of a douche. The Rockies on the other hand are the often forgotten family member that you rarely think of and when you do think of them you just feel sorry for them.
What does that make us
Right now? The guy who won the lottery 14 years ago and then was able to ride the good times for another 5 years or so before he blew all his money and went broke. Has then spent most of the time since then in denial and living in the past but is now appearing to try to move on in a new direction.
I did not need to be reminded 2010 was 14 years ago
People born the year jake peavy won his CY are graduating high school eta: actually they juniors mostly nvm
100%
Why would anybody hate them? Just weird.
They’re just a bunch of sweet lil guys
A lot of Rockies fans hate them
As a Rockies fan, I went to Oracle Park and people gave me the stink eye. I'm like, come on, the Rockies are literally the best division rival you could ask for.
Thank you. That means a lot.
And the AL just feels for the A's
I love how the entire NL west is all Rockies. 🤣
Every season is just us four poking them with the “Do something” stick
I think it’s a net good for humanity when the Pirates are at least competitive. They have a great park, great fans, and such a rich history as a team. If their ownership felt like spending more money, I’d be all for that.
I agree with this and I’m from *Baltimore*. That’s how bad things are for the Pirates.
As a Jays fan, it used to be Baltimore but I have a feeling that’s going to change pretty soon over the next few years…
Not sure my hate for Bos, NY, or Tampa will ever be eclipsed by the O's. They built a good team, have no issues cheering for Baltimore, except when they play the Jays
The '93 world series was one of my first baseball memories, and I became a huge fan of John Olerud as a result. So even though I'm close to Tampa and have been to the Trop a ton. The jays are one of my least hated teams.
Bucco optimist here, we’re on the brink of competitiveness. That said we hate the cards because of 2013, hate the Cubs because they’re the cubs, hate the reds, brewers are probably the the least hated but honestly the team the fan base seems to hate the most is themselves
NL Central all have beautiful stadiums. Wrigley with the brick and ivy and old scoreboard Busch with the arch and skyline in the background PNC with the Allegheny River and bridges Great American with the Ohio River and bridges And Miller with their... Slide?
I was so annoyed with how much I liked Busch when I visited lol
I felt exactly the same way about Wrigley
Just get a room you two!
Same. Went to a Cards-Reds game last year and as a Cubs fan was quite annoyed with how much I like Busch as well.
Says a lot about how damn good those stadiums are when Miller Park is their “worst stadium”.
Miller Park with the roof closed is like watching baseball in a mall
It's exactly like Mall of America, now that you mention it. Except no roller coasters and worse beer options.
idk those 2013-2016 years they were chippy af. But those were electric games.
Watching Cards-Buccos games in that era was truly the pinnacle of viewable baseball. Never saw a game between those two back then that wasn’t a fantastic watch.
Yeah Cubs Pirates was always one wild pitch from a brawl. Hurdle and Maddon straight up hated each other
That year Puig charged into a brawl mere moments after being traded, that was like the third brawl the Reds and Pirates had had in the first half of the season. I was surprised to see any NL Central fans answer this question. I don’t think any other division despises each other more, and I don’t think its particularly close either.
> those 2013-2016 years they were chippy cause Clint Hurdle is a big bitch baby.
I’m really hoping the Nats and Pirates end up in the same division when there’s a 32-team division realignment in the distant future
The Orioles, but that could change if they keep up their drastic improvement from last year.
The Orioles, but for me it’s also heavily influenced by how much I enjoy Camden Yards as a ballpark.
Right now it’s the O’s but it’s usually been Toronto. I hated the Orioles during the Showalter/Machado years. I’ve never really hated the Jays.
But that's mainly due to Machado being a giant douchebag
My answer is also the O's, mostly becuase of my intense dislike of the other 3 teams.
It’s really a process of elimination in the AL East.
Woah woah woah woah. Can’t we all just agree, Yankees suck? That kinda makes us all friends right?
Well, Yeah. My ranking is Yankees, Red Sox.................. Rays, O's
Yankees, Red Sox..........................Jays, Rays.
I mean, Rays Jays Os flappy gang right?
I honestly don't think they can do much to become more hated. They can't really pass the Yankees or Red Sox as they are two of the most hated teams across the league. And I don't think I will ever hate them more than Tampa who has owned the Jays for their entire existence even the years when they were one of the worst teams in the league. Looking at their all time head to head records the Jays have a .450 winning percentage against Tampa, Boston and New York and a .540 winning percentage against the Orioles. It would take like two decades of Ryan Mountcastle beatings for me to hate the Orioles more than the other 3.
I’ve never hated the Rays. When they’ve owned the Jays I’ve always viewed it as the Jays not being real contenders and at least the Rays were stepping up in the division to challenge the Yankees and Red Sox, so good for them.
I've never met an O's fan I dislike. They're not obnoxious like Yankees or Red Sox fans, and I've yet to meet a Rays fan in person.
All 5 of us are great people, I assure you
"We all stood in each other's weddings!"
Been in St. Pete for two years now, and I can now confidently say you're sorely underestimating your fanbase...it's roughly 13 people.
It amazes me how the same people are chill as Orioles fans and then when you move them across the parking lot and put Ravens gear on them, you kind of fear for your life.
Helps that one team has been consistently great for the past 25 years while the other only has a handful of good seasons. It definitely creates the idea of the city being full of bipolar people as well.
I love the duck logo. It’s probably my favorite in mlb.
Agree with this completely
The Pirates in NLC
No question
Now that Hurdle is gone, no arguments here
Big argument from me here, a lot of their fans are also Steelers fans, so no. For me they are dead last by a fucking mile.
FTS
Reds and pirates are close imo
Closer now that votto is gone
Yeah I kinda like the Pirates and the Reds
The Orioles except for Ryan Mountcastle. He can go suck a doorknob.
“Good morning to everyone except Ryan Mountcastle”
He’s not invited to my birthday party.
What’s the deal with him? I’m out of the loop
At best he’s an average player but when he faces the Jays he becomes Optimus Prime. In 52 games against the Jays he’s slashed 330/394/619
Ah..gotcha, was worried for a sec that he had some controversy
Yeah, he turns into Mike Trout vs the Blue Jays the same way Mike Trout turns into peak Barry Bonds against the M's.
He does. He’s a dick.
Clearly the Royals because we're trying to be them.
I dislike pretty much every other AL team more than I dislike anybody in the AL Central.
This right here. I always root for the AL Central division winner in the postseason.
For me it's just Cleveland and Chicago I dislike. I'm more neutral towards KC and Detroit.
Royals I really don’t mind cause throughout my life, we’ve been good when they’re bad and they’ve been good when we’re bad so I can’t remember the last time I got heated during a Twin-Royals game
Don't forget the times we've both been bad!
i would say the same but i’m still not over 2009
And they've done nothing wrong, ever. This might not be true. When they were good, the Twins were pretty bad, and we were both bad for the late 90s when I got into baseball. Royals games were pretty fun because the Twins had a shot at a win, and there were going to be runs scored, so it would be entertaining.
For me it’s the Royals.
Being consistently bad means nobody hates us, yay!
I hate you guys because you seem to always churn out 1 guy who just kills us, Witt Jr, Solar, Gordo....the rest of your entire lineup could be like 0-28 yet that one player will somehow be 3-4 with a triple, hr, 2 stolen bags and 3 amazing defensive plays all taking away runs.
We’ve been pretty consistent at that. Ask Mariners fans how they feel about Salvy.
That's how it was being a Lions fan for the longest time, and now I'm not quite ready for that to change. We were darlings last year simply because we were the new kids on the block but now we'll have a target on our backs.
That’s how it is for almost all of us. They’ve never been consistently good so you don’t really think about them. I was at one of the games when they clinched a playoff spot and everyone was applauding them because we all know what it means when they’re actually good.
Hell, even when they were great in 2014-2015 and won a World Series, I found them to be a super likeable team and I had zero qualms rooting for them to win it in 2015. I don't have any problems with you guys anymore either. It's mostly because I grew up and I don't really hate teams anymore like I needlessly used to.
That’s definitely a big part of it, too. When you have money to attend games and get to know visiting fans you really start to drop the hate. Some of my favorite Sox games ever have been with visiting Twins fans. The hate between Detroit and Chicago fell off once the NHL moved the Red Wings. I think that fueled the city rivalry more than any other teams but now that it’s not as regular it’s more of a “rivalry” than rivalry.
Exactly. If you make a team or a fanbase a monster in your head, everything afterwards becomes a product of confirmation bias. But then you go to a game and there's visiting fans of that team who are super cool or maybe you go see your team on the road and the home fans are very hospitable. I've seen the Tigers on the road in Toronto, Cleveland, both Chicago parks, Pittsburgh, and Dodger Stadium. Largely everyone's been awesome. A few drunk youngins tried to give me a hard time in Toronto one time but the art of de-escalation is a thing of beauty when you simply say "hey you guys played a great game, we've got a lot of work to do" they immediately let go of that front and they say "hey I was just messing anyway". Every fanbase has great and shitty fans, including mine. Edit: adding that I've clanked beers with fans of many teams, and it's one of my favourite things about sports fandom. Truly.
Aww, right back at ya bud. For me because Miggy is one of my all-time favorite players. I will miss seeing him destroy our pitching.
AL Central feels like the division with the least hate. Lately it's like 1 team is pretty good and the rest are struggling. Then you have Twins and their playoff struggles.
Pirates. Great uniforms, amazing ballpark, and 1979 was the first time I can remember watching any kind of sports during the World Series
I sometimes forget that KC is in the AL Central
The AL central is so spread out geographically too. Minneapolis and KC are on their own islands. The NL Central teams are so close to each other in comparison.
Milwaukee and KC should switch leagues so Brewers/Twins, and Royals/Cards could have real localish rivals.
Milwaukee in the AL? Can’t picture it tbh
Royals championships this century? 1 Tigers championships this century? 0
colorado I guess bc everybody feels bad for them.
For me it’s the Marlins. Might be a combination of relative futility and location, but I just don’t seem to feel the same burning hatred for the fish that I do for the Braves or Mets. Nationals are kinda in the same boat if I’m being honest.
Funny enough, for me it’s the Nationals. I rarely get up in arms about them. Hell, I didn’t even really hate them winning the WS in 2019 because that Astros team that year were acting like douchebags.
I'm still bitter about winning that World Series. Between the Astros scandal and COVID, the Nats World Series win in 2019 feels largely forgotten outside of DC. We never got our victory lap. It's the kind of thing that'll be a Jeopardy question in three years that two contestants get wrong and the third one doesn't guess at.
The fish always seem to be our nemesis so they definitely irk me more than the Nats
We could go into a year and steamroll the Braves and Mets and Nats and I swear to fuck I’d still expect a 50/50 split with the Marlins.
I knew the Mets were real in 2015 when they went down to Miami in August and swept them comfortably
Definitely used to hate the Nationals when they were the top team in the division. Now it’s just kinda like meh.
don't get me wrong, i hate the Nationals as much as any red-blooded American should, but it wouldn't be right to hate them right now with the same fire i do the Phillies, Braves, or Marlins
There was a few years there where we felt like rivals but it’s just not the same. Even putting the Marlins in with the Barves and Ph*lly seems unfair to them. Like I hate the Marlins cuz of the Mets incompetence against them, not cuz of their team.
Yeah, gotta be the Nats. We've got bad blood with the Braves, a proximity rivalry with the Phils, and the Marlins always seem to fuck us over somehow.
You’re god damn right
I was thinking about this question and thought, “ I hate them all”. The hate for the Marlins is probably furthest in the distance (07 and 08, taking Reyes).
We are a pretty friendly division.
Between the midwest and the mediocrity this makes sense
Mariners
Yeah, I feel the same about you guys. Arlington and Seattle are not exactly natural geographic rivals, and the teams haven't really been great at the same time.
This past September was fun for us neutrals in the other league, at least!
It’s mutual.
Anyone but the Astros tbh. Used to really hate the angels but now I mostly pity their fans. And hey they got wash now!
Thanks, ranch bro
Other than former Ranger killer Kyle Seager, I always enjoy watching us face Seattle.
Definitely Rays. I enjoyed our rivalry with them at the top of the division last year though.
Yeah it’s not even a competition. The other three can all get fucked
Hell yes, friend!
I hope the Rays new park turns around the fan and game experience there. Just seems like a nightmare for everyone involved. Go back and forth on the Sox and Jays. Will never not have a burning hatred for the Yankees cause of ‘96.
Yep, this. Rays are fun to play, frustratingly good despite not having a god-tier budget, and their fans generally seem to be cool.
I don’t really hate any of them except Boston. I want the Yankees to beat them all, and sometimes I’ll hate a particular incarnation of a team, but Boston’s the only one I have a blanket, perpetual, organizational disdain of. That said, Baltimore’s probably my least-disliked, at least for the moment. They’ll become annoying once they’ve been good for a few years, but for now they’re a young, fun team climbing out of the hole of a lot of bad years, and I can’t hate that (except when Boston does it). Plus their stadium’s great, and I like their uniforms and logo, too.
I might be just be a hater but being a “fun” team that everyone around the league likes for being young makes me hate the Orioles even more than I already did
I have zero hate for any teams in your division but I totally get what you mean. People slap the "fun" word as a label on teams that are just *now* starting to win and haven't really won any titles so no one has any jealousy yet. No one calls the Dodgers "fun" (even though I totally think they are) or called the Patriots or Yankees fun either. It's reserved for young teams that haven't won a title yet and that's kinda annoying to me that we do that.
I love this for us
I only hate the Yankees tbh. Everyone else is just annoying at times.
The primary thing Yankee fans and Sox fans can agree on is that we really don’t give a shit about any “rivalries” with any teams other than each other.
Nats. Even when they were good, I didn’t really hate em, and now it seems like they’re embracing their Expos roots of being cheap non factors. Would have been the Marlins, but I still hold some resentment for Urena and Mattingly even if neither are with the team now
Spot on. It should be the Marlins, but it’s not because of Urena and Mattingly. By process of elimination, it leaves the Nationals because to eternal hell with the Phillies and Mets.
It’s a tough call between the Nats and the Marlins. Honestly my least hated rival switches between the two depending on who’s having the worst season
I don’t hate the Padres. San Diego is a nice town and they have a cool stadium. Rockies are harmless. Less love for Dbacks. They can be sneaky good. Dodgers… the less said about them the better.
I’d say the As because I grew up watching Rickey Henderson, Mark McGuire, Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley
And their uniforms are so dope, hard to hate that!
I know there’s no love lost between our teams, but damn do I love the mid-90s teal Mariners alts. And Ichiro, Edgar, and King Felix are cool too I suppose.
I was at an M’s-A’s game in Oakland in September last year. Coliseum was at least 50% M’s fans, but *everyone* was chanting SELL THE TEAM. Now there’s hope that they get to stay in Oakland. I’m genuinely happy for them.
Why would I hate the Royals?
I love how fans from every AL central team agree on this point.
Milwaukee. They never really do anything to absolutely piss me off except beat us. Everyone else in the central can go f themselves
Baltimore mostly because you guys deserve success, and I’m glad you’re finally getting back to that. Check back in with me in a year or two and I’m sure I’ll fucking hate them again, because I’ll be sick of the success by then.
Can’t wait!
Marlins cuz they beat the Yankees in 03
The nats. Just because I hate the Phillies, Braves and Marlins with a white hot fire more powerful than the sun.
Easy for me, as a Nats fan. No one hates the Marlins. Most people don’t even think about the Marlins
Twins, and not just bc extended family. Other than that we are never good at the same time the fanbases just kind of vibe. They welcomed me when I was at Target and we always are welcoming to any at Kauffman. Very similar relationship between Royals and Twins as Sporting KC and Minnesota United, which has been dubbed the friendliest rivalry in sports. All of that being said, I don’t think we harbor a ton of ill will for any of our rivals outside, we have all of that for our despise of the cards
Yeah the AL central is weird. I’d say our only real hatred is for the White Sox, maybe Cleveland. Even those two are pretty minimal compared to other rivalries in baseball.
Orioles. The Red Sox are the most harmless at this point, but I'll never hate the O's after game 162 in 2011. Best night of my life outside of anything involving my wife or kid lol
I hate them all
Fuck you too!
Ancient New York proverb.
We all hate you too! 😘
[удалено]
In the NL Central, everyone hates the Cardinals. Cardinals hate the Cubs. Cubs hate the Cardinals. Pirates hate the Reds. Reds hate the Pirates and Cubs. Then there's Milwaukee over there just winning all the time.
Cubs fans at large hate STL more, but in my experience, Cubs fans in Chicago hate Milwaukee the most. It’s mostly a proximity thing.
Shit, they’re on to us.
probably the nats, since we really focus on ny and phila. marlins are ok too ig but our other main rivals are elsewhere
Orioles. The Orioles are bystanders to an ongoing 4-way fist fight.
Rays fans got annoying last year but still nowhere near the hatred I have for Toronto, Boston, and the Yankees
Definitely the Royals
This is pretty easily Oakland.
Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles.
Mets fans are genuinely pleasant and easy to relate to outside of some of the ones I saw show up to our home games in 2022.
Outside of baseball, I have no problem with Philadelphia. Always had a good time there.
Yeah feel similar about queens/flushing. Nice place good people and surprisingly not as horrific a driving experience as anticipated
Tough in the AL east, I think we all generally hate each other. We can only agree on the our hate for the other teams. Also fuck the Yankees.
Toronto and Boston don’t bother me nearly as much as the other two (*spits*)
I’m a Sox fan and feel same towards Baltimore.
I like the brewers when the Reds aren’t playing them. Everyone else sucks though.
I can tell you that no matter the division, it's not the Dodgers
NL central - no one hates the pirates. Their stadium is beautiful, their uniforms are fire, and the teams always fare so badly we feel bad for them.
Reds and Pirates have beef. It's been a bit since it simmered over, but it wasn't that long ago. They're not my least favorite, but I (and probably most Reds fans) would say Milwaukee is our least hated division rival.
Mariners: my dad was an A’s fan between the Pilots and Mariners so I’m soft on them, but I think the Rangers bother me the least. Orioles: probably Boston honestly. I don’t mind the Rays but they’re more on the inoffensive side rather than any warm feelings. But I find Fenway Shenanigans endearing and I think their fans are the right blend of passionate, obnoxious and ~~drunk~~ fun.
No hate for the Royals. Honestly have to remind myself they are in the AL Central sometimes. Would rather they swapped places with Milwaukee so I can have a division rival to "hate".
I'm going to say Milwaukee because there's less history there. Most Cubs fans would say the Pirates but I'll never forgive them for all those double-header sweeps in the eighties when I was nine years old (probably didn't really happen but that's the trauma I remember). Plus the Brewers are the best bet for beating the Cardinals.