Let’s get it out of the way: the fanbase of every MLB team or any of the four major American sports is annoying. The only people who don’t find Dallas Cowboys fans annoying are other Cowboys fans. I know this is an article on baseball, and I used a football team as a reference; I didn’t want to provide any spoilers. Regardless, the point is valid. Some teams generate more heat than others, especially the more successful ones, as such, their fans absorb that vitriol. Other fanbases cause issues based on their behavior.
Whether it’s due to their own antics, success, a combination of both, or some other reason, let’s take a look at MLB’s most annoying fans from the most annoying to the least.
Which MLB fanbase has a bad rep for being the most annoying one in the league right now?
30. Oakland Athletics
Oakland fans are simply the worst in baseball and quite possibly the worst in the four major professional sports (MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA). At this point, Oakland doesn’t deserve a team. They drove the Raiders away twice and now have done the same with the Athletics. Yes, there has been mismanagement on and off the field and the stadium is a mess, but the fans abandoned the team long before it reached this point. When baseball expands, keep Oakland off the list. Their fans don’t deserve it.
29. Boston Red Sox
From 1918 until 2004 Red Sox fans were seen by many other MLB fanbase as lovable losers. One almost felt sorry for them. They are a team with a deep, rich history, as deep as any other franchise. For over 85 years the only thing missing was a World Series. Despite this title drought, Sawx fans have always been some of the most arrogant, unwelcoming, and at times, verbally abusive. Their four titles since ‘04 have only added to the fans’ behavior. As a visiting fan at Fenway, it was not a pleasant experience. Red Sox fans are a bit like New York fans but without the cooler accent.
28. New York Yankees
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If winning breeds contempt, look no further than the fans of the New York Yankees. Since winning their first World Series title in 1923, the Yanks have gone on to win 26 more (27 total, for all you poor math people). After their recent run in the late ’90s, Yankees fans became even more annoying, expecting to win a championship every year as if it was their birthright. Even as the team has struggled in recent years, the NY fans continue to act as if it’s “World Series or Bust” every season. That level of arrogance is annoying to many, including some Yankees fans.
27. Houston Astros
The Houston Astros fan base was never this annoying. True they had never won a World Series before 2017, more on that later, but unless they were a rival, it was hard to root against them. They had Nolan Ryan and let the Bad News Bears play on their field (Yes! A 1977 Bad News Bears in Breaking Training reference). After the Astros cheating scandal in 2017 resulted in a World Series title, their fans became incessantly annoying. Houston did win a 2nd title in 2022, so the fans do have something recent to celebrate. But with one real title and one tarnished one, Astros fans should settle down a bit.
26. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers have a long history, yet their run of modest success has started to make the fans unbearable. Even though the 1988 World Series (the Kirk Gibson moment), the fans were fine, but something recently changed. The Dodgers started throwing money around, and in large amounts, to several players. Their 10-year spending spree purchasing the best free agents results in bandwagon fans, of which the Dodgers have plenty. Despite their growing MLB fanbase and increasing payroll, the Dodgers only have one World Series to show for their troubles. Having regular season success but postseason failure doesn’t amount to much. Dodgers fans should learn a little humility.
25. Philadelphia Phillies
A list of the most annoying sports fans (in any sport) without Philadelphia in the top 10 just wouldn’t be complete. Philly fans probably resemble the city they live in more than any other base. They are both hardened and gritty, and while the fans’ passion is admirable, that grittiness can rub the wrong way. Phillies fans, at times, are right on the bandwagon. Attendance is up when the team is competitive but down during the leaner years. That wavering support song with the obnoxious, unruly, and unfriendly behavior at Citizens Bank Park places the Phillies fan base right in the middle of the top 10 most annoying.
Also read: 10 Cities That Definitely Deserve An MLB Franchise
24. San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants have an eclectic group of MLB fanbase. Scanning the seats at Oracle Park, one can see people from the tech industry milling about with old hippies. But there are two factors that keep them among the game’s worst. First, attendance. Before being built a new stadium, the Giant’s last home, Candlestick Park, was never in the top 5 attendance-wise in its last ten seasons, but the fans have flocked to Oracle Park. That has a bit of a frontrunner vibe to it. The second reason is their unwavering support of a known cheat. It’s understandable to support your team’s best player but to do so while ignoring years of transgressions, in my opinion, makes you an annoying bunch.
23. Tampa Bay Rays
It was very tempting to rank Tampa Bay lower than #23 for one simple reason: they traditionally have one of the lowest attendances in Major League Baseball. Generally speaking, small market teams are often forced to keep their payrolls low and rebuild their team every few years when their young talent gets too expensive to retain. It’s understandable that fans would stay away under those circumstances, but Tampa’s a bit different. Despite having one of the lowest payrolls in the game, the Rays have remained remarkably consistent over the past several years, yet it seems that the only fans that show up are for the visiting team. For the extreme lack of support, Rays fans have to be one of the worst.
22. Miami Marlins
Maybe baseball in Florida is just a really bad idea. As the previous slide pointed out the lack of fan support on the West Coast of Florida, the fan support in South Florida isn’t much better. The Marlins have consistently been among the least attended teams in baseball. Last year, I attended a Marlins home game, and I’m convinced that there were more people in both dugouts than there were in the stands. The blame can’t be placed on the fans alone. This is an organization that has won 2 World Series titles and then dismantled the team. Bottom line: the Marlins are a disorganized franchise with a lackadaisical fanbase, and that equals annoying.
21. New York Mets
The New York Mets have always been the secondary team in New York City. That “little brother” syndrome has impacted the entire Mets organization from the front office all the way down to their MLB fanbase. For many years Mets fans were more preoccupied with what the crosstown Yankees were doing rather than their own team. It’s probably one of the reasons the Mets have been so mismanaged recently. After years of complaining about the Yankees’ spending, the Mets now have one of the largest payrolls in the game. The fans’ hypocrisy and “woe is me” attitude make Mets fans one of the league’s most annoying.
20. Chicago White Sox
I know that the White Sox have fans. I have seen their stadium filled to capacity, they are well represented during Hall of Fame induction weekend when a Sox player is enshrined, and I have a couple of friends who are diehard White Sox fans. So tell me why, during my two visits to Chicago, I didn’t meet one Sox fan. But let’s focus on the fans that fill Guaranteed Rate Field. According to several 2023 surveys, fans on the South Side are ranked among the worst in terms of behavior, arrogance, and complaining. It should also be noted that Sox fans are passionate and knowledgeable. Those two factors keep Sox fans from a lower ranking, but the survey results will still keep them in the top 10.
19. Atlanta Braves
I root for an American League team, so I have nothing for or against the Braves and their fans, the way a Mets or Phillies fan would. However, for some reason, Braves fans seem to be one of the more annoying fanbases. The Braves were a force to be reckoned with in the 1990s, appearing in 5 World Series but only taking home one title. Despite only having a 20% success rate in the ’90s and not making another appearance in the Series until 2021, an appearance that resulted in victory, Braves fans are kinda arrogant. They’re not bad people who will threaten physical harm to opposing fans; quite the opposite. Braves fans are very polite, but their arrogance prevents a higher ranking.
18. Los Angeles Angels
Southern California is known for its laid-back and relaxed atmosphere, and for the most part, it’s true. They might need a new stadium, but that SoCal vibe is evident when attending a game at Angel Stadium. In fact, a study was conducted in 2023 that ranked the Angels’ MLB fanbase as the 10th friendliest in baseball. The downside is that they were also voted one of the most annoying. The biggest gripe against them is complaining about umpires. The study found that Angels fans complain about the umpiring more than every other team except two, the Cards and Nats were 1 and 2. C’mon Angels fans, scapegoating the umpire for your team’s struggles makes you annoying. Blame your team like almost every other fan base.
17. Arizona Diamondbacks
Diamondback fans belong in the middle of the pack when it comes to being rated as being annoying. It seems like they are a “Tale of Two Fanbases.” They’re not the best, but they’re not the worst. Most are very nice, chill people, but there are the ones in attendance who will yell racist things. They have a team that goes to the World Series in 2023, they can’t even draw 2.0 million fans. Oddly enough, the D-backs drew over 2.0 million fans every year from their creation in 1998 through 2019. They have not topped 2 million since so the fans are staying away for some reason. That lack of support earns them this spot on our list.
16. Washington Nationals
One of the things working in favor of Nationals and keeping them lower on our list is that their home base is a fairly transient city. One would think that having a transient population would hurt a team’s home support. The Nationals would seem to be an anomaly when it comes to that theory, as they typically draw an average of 2 million fans per season. While those aren’t the largest attendance figures, it helps to remember that the Washington metro area has an approximate population of 5.5 million people, and they have to compete with the more established Baltimore Orioles for part of the same market. It’s a tough position to be in, but Nats fans seem to be up to the task.
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15. Texas Rangers
The Texas Rangers won the World Series in 2023, and over 2.5 million fans came out to Globe Life Field, which proves that the team has a solid MLB fanbase. While 2.5 million seems like a nice attendance number, the Rangers did win the World Series last year, and from 2011-2014, they averaged just over 3.0 million fans per season. This proves that there are more fans out there in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metro area that, for some reason, are not going to games, even during a championship season. It also shows that they can’t even benefit from the bandwagon jumpers that typically latch onto a team during a winning season. That puts Rangers fans right in the middle of the pack on the annoying scale.
14. Pittsburgh Pirates
There seems to be a common theme on our list, a team that has a long tradition falls on excessive hard times that last for far longer than they should. The only thing that separates those teams is how their MLB fanbase responds. They can become bitter or roll with the punches. It seems that fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates have learned to roll with the punches. The team has been rather pitiful over the last several decades, having only seven seasons with a record above .500 since 1990. While a dip in attendance would be expected due to fans’ longtime frustration, during the lean times, the fans continued to show up. There should be some reward for that level of support.
13. Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland baseball franchise hasn’t won a World Series since 1948. The team has had their moments though, earning World Series appearances in 1995, 1997, and 2016. For a variety of reasons, most notably the city and club’s past history and their depiction in 1989’s Major League, the team and their fans have been seen as the “lovable losers”. That is a misnomer, as Guardians fans are among the best in the game. I have been to games in Cleveland and have never been mistreated or harassed. In fact, the experience was quite enjoyable. The reason their fans don’t rank higher on our list is their wavering support. While they do love their team, the fans tend to stay away during the lean years.
12. Detroit Tigers
The city of Detroit has a horrible reputation: dirty, crime-ridden, and dangerous. But what about those who take up temporary residence inside Comerica Park 81 nights a year? It helps that Comerica Park is considered to be one of the more family-friendly parks in the big leagues. It helps that the kids have something to do since the product on the field hasn’t been good in recent years. Like many MLB fanbase on our list, Detroit fans have a deep knowledge of their team’s rich history, but they can get a bit unruly at times. Perhaps the rare winning results in the fans becoming over-exuberant, but that trait keeps Tigers fans from making it the ten least annoying.
11. San Diego Padres
It’s hard to find almost anything to dislike about the fanbase of the San Diego Padres. Due to having almost nothing to root for except Tony Gwynn, they lack the arrogance that many other fans have. A lack of winning can be humbling. Recently the Padres have built a more competitive roster, and despite doing mostly with money, the fan base still doesn’t register on the annoying scale. The issue that hurts San Diego fans the most is that, like many others, they tend to stay away when the team struggles. It’s not as pronounced as some other franchises, but there is a noticeable dip in the overall numbers. Just a little more support and the Padres will have a top 10 MLB fanbase.
10. St. Louis Cardinals
There are a handful of teams that are considered baseball royalty. The St. Louis Cardinals are one of those teams. The St. Louis baseball team officially became the Cardinals in 1900 and has built a long, storied history. They have won the World Series 11 times, second most in the history of the game, and have had some of the best players in the game wear their uniform, such as Stan Musial and Bob Gibson. The Cards also have one of the best fan bases in the game. The people who regularly fill the stands at Busch Stadium are passionate, knowledgeable, and have a deep respect for the history of the game. Oh, and they are friendly. Cardinals fans have a lot going for them.
9. Chicago Cubs
The Cubs are the National League version of the Red Sox. They have a historic ballpark, a proud history, several legendary players, and a virtually empty trophy case. Like Sawx fans, those who root for the Cubs were typically seen as lovable losers. One World Series championship in 108 years will really help play up that angle. Yet despite the heartache and heartbreak, despite the yearly disappointment, despite the constant letdowns, Cubbies fans always showed up. Wrigley Field was always packed, and the fans were some of the most passionate in the league. While they are not the perfect MLB fanbase, they are one of the best.
8. Toronto Blue Jays
I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever come across a Canadian that I found to be annoying. They are some of the nicest, most polite people, so it makes sense that the fans of Canada’s only professional baseball team would be one of the least annoying groups. Toronto fans are a passionate, knowledgeable group that doesn’t need to resort to physically and verbally abusing the fans of opposing teams. Visiting fans needn’t worry about bringing their kids to Rogers Centre, it is a safe, fan-friendly environment. Honestly, that’s all it really comes down to when it comes to Blue Jays fans. They’re just nice, polite people hanging out watching a ballgame.
7. Minnesota Twins
Like several other teams on our list the Minnesota Twins have struggled with attendance issues. Between 2001-10, the Twins had nine winning seasons and made the playoffs six times. Despite that run of success, they only finished in the top 5 attendance once. That was when the Twins played at the Metronome, but in 2010 they moved to their new stadium, Target Field. In the first few seasons that Target Field was opened, the Twins continued to struggle to draw fans. But Target Field is an open-air stadium. Who in their right mind wants to sit in the frigid temperatures in Minnesota during April and September? I can’t blame them for staying home. When the Twins were in the playoffs, their stadium was packed and loud. Their fans are a good, knowledgeable bunch.
6. Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati fans are in a tough position. They are a proud, loyal group that hasn’t had a lot to cheer for lately. The Reds have a great tradition, from the days of the Big Red Machine to Pete Rose’s record-setting hit, but recently, the only thing they had to cheer for was watching Joey Votto. Due to the recent years of futility, fans have stayed away from Great American Ball Park. Unlike the fans’ disappearance in Florida or the lack of support in Oakland, Reds fans stayed away as a matter of protesting poor decisions by the front office. Today the Reds are once again showing promise, so it looks like the boycott may have been successful. Good job Reds fans!
5. Milwaukee Brewers
If there is one fan base that I’ve never really heard a bad thing about, it is the fans of the Milwaukee Brewers. Honestly, has anyone ever had an issue with the Brewers’ MLB fanbase? I once had a friend tell me that it’s because Brewer fans are too drunk to be annoying. However, large amounts of alcohol consumption usually equate to poor behavior. That is not the case in Milwaukee. Perhaps fans of the Brew Crew are just better able to handle their booze, but I think it’s that Mid-Western vibe that keeps the fans at American Family Field so friendly. As the Brewers begin to emerge from their rebuild, their fans might soon have more reason to celebrate.
4. Colorado Rockies
Denver is primarily a Broncos town, but the Rockies have one of the nicest fan bases in town. Being a hard-hitting game, football fans tend to be rowdy, but baseball is a more laid-back, relaxed game, and Denver is one of the most laid-back cities in the country. Despite being a Major League stadium, Coors Field has a very minor league park vibe to it. That is not meant to be an insult, rather it’s a compliment. Minor league games are typically a more fan-friendly and relaxed environment, and that’s what sitting in the stands at Coors feels like. Perhaps it’s the lack of oxygen from the altitude or the legal pot that keeps Rockies fans so mellow, but whatever the cause, Rockies fans are some of the best.
3. Kansas City Royals
Kansas City has a great stadium, a terrific barbeque, and a great fan base. Although, to be honest, Royals games haven’t always been the biggest draws, and there have been many years that attendance has been among the lower third of the league. So what separates KC from other small market cities? Loyalty. Royals fans are some of the most loyal in the game. When going to a game at Kauffman Stadium, one would be hard pressed to know where in the standings the home team resides. That is due to the atmosphere and die-hard support provided by the home fans. That type of loyalty earns them a top 5 ranking.
2. Seattle Mariners
Seattle is a vastly underrated sports city. The Seahawks are a weekly draw, the growing population has given birth to a new NHL team, and the Mariners are generally one of the better teams as far as attendance goes. Not only do they flock to the stadium, but their MLB fanbase is some of the most knowledgeable and friendly in the country. The recent resurgence of the on-field product has renewed interest in the team and created an energy in the ballpark and city that hasn’t been felt since the 1995 season. The return of the Mariners to prominence in the past couple of years has made T-Mobile Park the place to be, and if you go, you’ll be surrounded by some of the best fans.
1. Baltimore Orioles
Not only is Camden Yards one of the nicest stadiums in MLB, it is also filled with some of the nicest fans in sports. Granted, Orioles fans have been beaten down with decades of futility after their run of success in the late 1990’s. Now, the years of poor on-field play have now been replaced with the hope and promise of a young, talented team, and the long-suffering O’s fans can rejoice. As Birds fans flock to the stadium, visiting fans can feel comfortable rooting for their team within the friendly confines of Camden Yards. I have been to Camden Yards and rooted for the visiting team, a division rival, and at no time did I feel as if my life was in danger. Great job O’s fans!
