Dodgers fan base labeled ‘unfriendly', but Angels fans complain more

Would you rather be labeled as unfriendly or annoying?

As you ponder the lesser of these two evils, allow me to provide some context:

A study was released on Thursday by BetOnline analyzing the most "friendly," "positive," "welcoming," and "kind" fans in Major League Baseball.

BetOnline tracked twitter data over the last 60 days scouring positive sentiment from each fan base. In total over 60,000 tweets were compiled and a ranking of all 30 MLB teams from first (most friendly) to worst (least friendly) was created.

Fans of the Cincinnati Reds were selected as the friendliest fan base in all of baseball, whereas fans of the Boston Red Sox were the most unfriendly, finishing in dead last. If you've been to Fenway Park during the postseason, that should not come as a surprise.

Here in Southern California, the Los Angeles Angels were ranked as the tenth friendliest fans in MLB, followed by the San Diego Padres in 17^th, and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 24^th. The New York Yankees were right behind the Dodgers in 25^th. The full results are below.

As someone who has covered the Dodgers for the last ten years, and been at Dodger Stadium for nearly every home game over that span, I can definitively say that diehard Dodger fans are friendly and welcoming, but also extremely passionate and competitive. They bleed blue, and are among the most vocal and well-traveled fans in the world. If you're a fan of the opposing team, prepare to be welcomed with boos and taunts, especially if you're a fan of the Giants, Padres, or Yankees.

Now, even though Angels fans were ranked as more friendly than Dodgers fans, another recent study from BetOnline suggests they are among the more annoying fan bases in baseball in the sense that they complain about the umpires more than most.

According to a data sweep conducted by BetOnline, the St. Louis Cardinals fans tweet more complaints about the umpires than any other fan base, with the Angels ranking third.

The study comes at an interesting time in baseball. Recent rule changes have divided fans down the middle between purists, and those who want to see a faster and more exciting game. The introduction of the pitch clock, bigger bases, shift ban, universal DH, minimum batters for relief pitchers, and many other new rules have made the game quicker, but more different than it's been in decades.

All of these new rules have put more responsibility and onus on the umpires, something that also places a target on their backs when it comes to the anger and frustration of fans.

Believe it or not, since 2015, umpires success rate on calls has actually increased. The success rate this season is among the highest it's ever been, even though fan complaints have reached an all-time high.

According to UmpScorecards, in 2015, MLB umpires were a little over 90 percent accurate in all calls, including balls and strikes. This season, that number is up to 93.5 percent, and in 2022, the number was 93.6 percent.

More calls are being made correctly in baseball than ever before. Thanks to the advent of replay review and the increase in umpires success rate, the probability that a call is correct has never been higher. However, that hasn't stopped fans from continuing to whine and complain about calls. Whether you like it or not, the human element of the game of baseball is slowly being eradicated. Recently, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has hinted that the league could go to "Robo-Umps," by as soon as next season.

While most people would think that Yankees, Red Sox, or Dodgers fans complain the most about the umpires, the data suggests that fans of teams that are struggling, especially when they are not meeting preseason expectations, are actually the ones more likely to complain.

The top five fan bases that have complained the most this season are the Cardinals, Nationals, Angels, White Sox, and Mariners. Four of those five teams were expected to be playoff teams this season, but halfway through the season none of them are currently in the playoff picture and the Nationals have one of the worst records in all of baseball.

This suggests that fans are more likely to complain about the umpires when they're looking for a scapegoat for their team's lackluster performance. When they're feeling frustrated, they turn to the one's making the calls on the field, rather than the players or coaches involved directly in the game itself.

Ironically, the reason why you don't see Yankees (12th), Red Sox (24th), or Dodgers (28th) fans at the top of this list, is because they have no problem pointing the blame at their own team when they are frustrated with their level of play. That is evident on Dodgers twitter where fans like to blame President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman, manager, Dave Roberts, the bullpen, and the players in the midst of a slump during Dodgers losses.

When it comes to Southern California fan bases that complain the most about the umpires, the Angels fan base ranked third, the Padres 27^th and the Dodgers 28^th. Only the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Guardians complained less about the umpires than Dodgers fans.

So that brings us back to our original question: would you rather be labeled as unfriendly or annoying?

According to these two recent studies, Dodgers fans are unfriendly, while Angels fans are annoying and complain about the umpires a lot. But one thing is for certain, both fan bases are extremely passionate about their team and at the end of the day, all they want is to see their team win the World Series.

For more information about both studies, head over to BetOnline.ag.