It's All New York: Yankees and Mets - First and Second Favorite Baseball Teams
The Braves move down one spot to No. 3
At the midway point of the regular season, the New York Yankees find themselves again on top as the favorite baseball team among those who follow Major League Baseball. However, the New York Mets aren't far behind. They have jumped up three spots and are now at No. 2, while the Atlanta Braves move down one spot to No. 3 on the list. Rounding out the top five on the list are the Chicago Cubs at No. 4 and the Boston Red Sox at No. 5.
These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,351 U.S. adults, 884 of whom follow Major League Baseball. The poll was conducted online by Harris Interactive(R) between July 12 and 18, 2005.
Most improved Three teams have moved up eight or more places since 2005: -- The Detroit Tigers move up 12 places from a tie at No. 19, to No. 7 -- The Oakland Athletics move up eight places from No. 27, to No. 19 -- The Cleveland Indians move up eight places from a tie at No. 19, to a tie at No. 11 -- The Houston Astros move up eight places from a tie at No. 17, to No. 9 Room for improvement Three teams have dropped seven or more places since last year: -- The Pittsburgh Pirates have fallen 13 places from a tie at No. 8, to a tie at No. 21 -- The Minnesota Twins have fallen eight places from a tie at No. 13, to a tie at No. 21 -- The Los Angeles Dodgers have fallen seven places from No. 7, to a tie at No. 14
The survey also looked at the issues surrounding Barry Bonds. About two- thirds of all adults (65%) believe that the allegations surrounding Barry Bonds' steroid use are true, and only six percent of adults believe they are false, while three in 10 (29%) say they are unsure. Among those who follow baseball, over three-quarters (81%) say the allegations are true, seven percent say they are false, and 12 percent say they are not sure.
Though Bonds slammed his way into second place on the all time Home Run leader list behind Hank Aaron, only one-quarter (23%) of adults and 27 percent of those who follow baseball believes he deserves this recognition. Half of adults (52%) and two-thirds (66%) of those who follow baseball say that his success is tainted by the allegations of steroid use.
TABLE 1 FAVORITE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM: 1999 - 2006 "What is your favorite Major League Baseball team?" Base: Follow Major League Baseball Rank Rank Rank Rank Rank 1999 2003 2004 2005 2006 New York Yankees 2 1 1 1 1 New York Mets 12 3 14 5 2 Atlanta Braves 1 2 3 2 3 Chicago Cubs 3 7 2 3 4 Boston Red Sox 8 6 4 4 5 St. Louis Cardinals 4 14 13 6 6 Detroit Tigers 10 15 5 =19 7 Baltimore Orioles 9 =18 8 12 8 Houston Astros 22 =20 =9 =17 9 Seattle Mariners 6 11 =15 =13 10 Chicago White Sox 20 27 27 =10 =11 Cleveland Indians 5 4 =9 =19 =11 Philadelphia Phillies 16 12 6 =13 13 Arizona Diamondbacks NA =16 =17 16 =14 Cincinnati Reds 13 10 =19 =8 =14 Los Angeles Dodgers 7 8 =9 7 =14 San Francisco Giants 26 9 7 =10 =14 Milwaukee Brewers 21 23 23 24 18 Oakland Athletics 19 =20 22 27 19 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim* 23 =16 =25 =17 20 Kansas City Royals 24 =25 =19 =22 =21 Minnesota Twins 11 5 =17 =13 =21 Pittsburgh Pirates 18 =18 =9 =8 =21 Washington Nationals NA NA NA =22 24 Colorado Rockies 14 24 24 26 =25 San Diego Padres 17 22 =25 25 =25 Florida Marlins 25 =25 21 28 =27 Texas Rangers 15 13 =15 21 =27 Tampa Bay Devil Rays NA 28 28 =29 28 Toronto Blue Jays** 28 29 29 =29 29 Montreal Expos 27 30 30 NA NA *While the name may have changed, we have kept the trend from previous years since it is the same team. **It should be noted that the sample was limited to the United States. It is therefore no surprise that the Canadian team placed last on this list in a survey where no Canadian residents are surveyed. TABLE 2 BARRY BONDS AND STEROIDS "It has been reported that Barry Bonds has allegedly used steroids. Do you believe these allegations to be true?" Base: All adults Follow Adults Baseball % % Allegations are true (NET) 65 81 Allegations are definitely true 20 32 Allegations are probably true 45 48 Allegations are false (NET) 6 7 Allegations are probably false 4 5 Allegations are definitely false 1 2 Not at all sure 29 12 TABLE 3 BARRY BONDS AND RECOGNITION
"Recently, Barry Bonds has moved into second place on the all-time home run
leaders behind Hank Aaron. Do you believe he deserves this recognition or do
you believe his success is tainted by the allegations of steroid use?" Base: All Adults Follow Adults Baseball % % Bonds deserves this recognition 23 27 His success is tainted 52 66 Not at all sure 25 8 Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding. Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between July 12 and 18, 2006 among 2,351 adults (aged 18 and over), of whom 884 follow Major League Baseball. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
All surveys are subject to several sources of error. These include: sampling error (because only a sample of a population is interviewed); measurement error due to question wording and/or question order, deliberately or unintentionally inaccurate responses, nonresponse (including refusals), interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used) and weighting.
With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of the errors that result cannot be estimated. There is, therefore, no way to calculate a finite "margin of error" for any survey and the use of these words should be avoided.
With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability sample of 2,351 adults one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2 percentage points. Sampling error for the sub-sample results of those who follow Major League Baseball is plus or minus 3 percentage points. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
J24783 Q1155, Q1160, Q1165, Q1170 About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides research-driven insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what could conceivably be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau, HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking research consultation. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.
