Cleveland Indians and the 9 Worst Fanbases of Major League Baseball

Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez had a bone to pick with Cleveland fans this weekend, making it quite clear that he doesn't appreciate the fact the Indians are last in Major League Baseball in attendance.

''The fans are going to come, I know that,'' Perez said, per the Associated Press. ''It's just a slap in the face when you're in first place and last in attendance. Last. Not 25th or 26th. Last.''

He didn't stop there. He also said he was annoyed with Cleveland fans for their general negative attitude, which he felt manifested in a series of boos after he had put two runners on base in a recent game. 

''I don't understand the negativity, in general,'' Perez said. ''Why? We have a first-place team. How many teams in the country would want that right now?"

He's got a point. The Indians have some great fans, but the attendance numbers and the negative attitude that fans bring to the park tell us that Indians fans deserve to rank among the worst in baseball.

The question, naturally, is what kind of company they keep. It's time to take a dig deep and come up with a list of the worst fans in Major League Baseball.

Before we begin, let's be clear on what we're dealing with here. This list is based largely on quantifiable facts, with a few opinions and anecdotes mixed in. I'm not about to tell you that Yankees fans are bad fans because they're all bandwagoners, nor am I about to tell you that Phillies fans are bad fans because they're all jerks. The fanbases on this list are on this list because the facts say they should be.

Fair warning: The truth may hurt.

10. San Diego Padres

Despite the fact that Ted Williams was born there and all-time greats like Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman have played for the Padres, I, for one, have never considered San Diego to be a baseball mecca.

The numbers suggest it's not. Per Baseball-Reference.com, the Padres rank 21st in attendance this season with an average draw of 24,351 people. That's down from 25,768 last season.

Granted, the Padres are not a good team this year, nor are they one of those bad teams that has a bunch of fun players that are worth paying to see. The 2012 Padres don't win, and they don't really entertain. They just kinda, you know, exist.

There are, however, quite a few teams in Major League Baseball that fit this exact same profile, and several of them are outdrawing the Padres. Teams like the Chicago Cubs and Minnesota Twins come to mind, for example.

The sad part is that the Padres have a beautiful home ballpark that is well worth the price of admission. And wouldn't you know it, the price of admission is pretty cheap. According to Team Marketing Report's "Fan Cost Index," the only team in Major League Baseball that can offer a cheaper day at the park is the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Padres are not asking for an arm and a leg.

Nonetheless, they're not drawing well.

Verdict: Disinterested fanbase  

9. Atlanta Braves

When I was growing up, the Atlanta Braves organization had a kind of magical feel to it. The Braves were consistently great, and they finally got the ballpark they deserved when they moved in to Turner Field in 1997.

Not surprisingly, the Braves went from being a big draw to being an even bigger draw upon moving into Turner Field. BallparksofBaseball.com has the numbers.

Times have changed. Over the past decade, the Braves have seen their attendance numbers drop from over 3 million people per year to under 2.5 million per year. Last year, they drew fewer than 2.4 million, according to ESPN.com.

This year, they're drawing roughly 26,500 per game. That's not bad, but this Braves team deserves better. Much better.

For the record, the amount the Braves charge for a day at the ballpark is well below the league average.

All signs point towards a fanbase that got spoiled and then got bored and complacent. I think Rob Parker of ESPNNewYork.com said it best when he wrote that Braves fans "got tired of the Braves winning."

Verdict: Spoiled fanbase

8. Oakland Athletics

I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about this one. I've lived in the East Bay for 15 years now, and I've been to a ton of A's games over the years. In the early part of the 2000s, the team was a lot of fun.

The organization has taken a turn for the worse, and the team's fans have largely disappeared. According to Baseball-Reference.com, the A's are second to last in attendance this year, and that's despite the fact the team is actually drawing more fans this year than it did last year.

There are good reasons for A's fans not to show up. O.Co Coliseum might be the worst baseball park in the country, the A's aren't really a fun team, and going to an A's game is not as cheap as it should be. And speaking from experience, A's fans aren't the classiest people in the world.

There is, however, one very good reason for A's fans to show up. The team is dancing around a move to San Jose. Instead of making it hard for the team to leave by showing up and supporting the team and the city of Oakland, A's fans are staying at home, thus justifying the organization's desire to leave.

There are thousands of A's fans (one Facebook page has over 2,000 likes) who want the team to stay in Oakland. These fans openly whine about the proposed move to San Jose, and they treat Lew Wolff like the devil.

If these fans really wanted a send a message, they'd show up and support the team. There's plenty of room on a nightly basis, even with the blocked-off third deck.

Verdict: Disinterested fans

7. Washington Nationals

I've got some good news and some bad news when it comes to Washington Nationals fans.

The good news is that the team is drawing considerably more fans in 2012 than it did in 2011. According to Baseball-Reference.com, the Nats are drawing an average of 27,331 fans to Nationals Park on a nightly basis. That's up over 7,000 from the average they posted last year.

The bad news is this big increase isn't entirely the achievement of Nationals fans.

Take what happened earlier this month, for example. The Nationals were hosting the Philadelphia Phillies for a key NL East showdown, and the team made a concerted effort to get fans to come out to the park to support the home team.

That effort failed. According to The New York Times, tens of thousands of Phillies fans made their way to our nation's capital to cheer on their favorite team. When the situation called for it, they had little trouble drowning out Nats fans.

This will likely be impossible to a few years down the road. The Nationals are MLB's version of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA. They're a young team that is soon going to have a ravenous fanbase. This fanbase is already starting to grow.

For the time being, it's not growing fast enough.

Verdict: Ignorant populace, small fanbase

6. Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles are the surprise team in baseball this year, and some fans have noticed. Attendance is up at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Note that I said "some" fans have noticed. Not "a lot."

The Orioles rank 25th in attendance this season with an average draw of 21,447 fans, according to Baseball-Reference.com. That's up about 2,300 from their average draw in 2011.

The 2012 Orioles deserve better than this. They're a very good team, and they're also a very exciting team. They have some great young players who are very much worth paying to watch.

The ballpark deserves better too. The Orioles have been at Camden Yards for 20 years now, but it's still an amazing ballpark that is worth the price of admission. And wouldn't you know it, it's cheaper to go to and Orioles game than it is to go to an A's game.

I don't blame Orioles fans for running away and hiding after all that has transpired over the last decade or so, but it's time for you guys to come back.

Verdict: Disinterested fanbase

5. Chicago White Sox

Take it from me that the White Sox have some pretty cool fans. The passionate ones always speak their minds in B/R's comments sections, and some of them even go so far as to defend the insufferable Hawk Harrelson.

To these fans, I have one question to ask: Where are the rest of you?

The White Sox are not having a good year in terms of attendance. Per Baseball-Reference.com, they rank 27th in baseball with an average attendance of 20,295 people, which is down nearly 2,000 people from last season.

Come on, guys. That's embarrassing.

We know this is embarrassing because the Cubs are still drawing over 37,000 people per game, and the Cubs are freakin' terrible. To boot, it costs considerably more to go to a Cubs game than it does to go to a White Sox game, according to TMR.

That's right, the Cubs charge fans more money to see a worse product, and they still draw more than the White Sox.

For shame...

Verdict: Second-rate fans

4. Cleveland Indians

Chris Perez wasn't wrong, you know. The fact that the Indians are dead-last in baseball in attendance is a slap in the face.

If you want the exact numbers, the Indians are drawing an average of 15,387 fans to Progressive Field, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

Even more concerning is that this average is down over 2,000 fans from last year's average. Only two other teams have seen a bigger attendance drop from last year to this year.

Is this the same fanbase that once helped the Indians sell out 455 consecutive games?

Evidently not. They must have all packed up and moved. Judging from the numbers, they're all Marlins fans now.

Verdict: Unfaithful fanbase

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

When it comes to Dodgers fans, numbers only tell part of the story.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, the Dodgers are drawing very well this year. They're bringing in over 39,000 fans a night, and that's up over 2,400 people from their average last season. This is happening despite the fact Dodgers games are pretty expensive.

But like I said, numbers only tell part of the story. Dodgers fans are on this list because of their culture, not their numbers.

The Bryan Stow situation that arose last year put the spotlight on the thug culture that applies to a significant portion of the team's fanbase. The Dodgers immediately went to great lengths to clean up their image and make the ballpark safer, but there was another beating at Dodger Stadium this past weekend (see the Los Angeles Times).

We're only talking about two incidents, to be sure, but I think Sandy Banks of the Los Angeles Times said it best when she wrote this last April:

"

The violence has spotlighted an open secret: a thug-like mentality and uncivil stadium culture that has been spiraling for years toward violence.

"

If you've visited Dodger Stadium as an unbiased observer, this should ring a bell. I'll speak for myself and say that I'm in no hurry to go back. When I went there a few years ago, I heard incessant and absurdly vulgar verbal abuse, witnessed at least five scuffles and saw an entire row get ejected because about a third of it was smoking pot.

Not all baseball fans are nice people, but Dodgers fans are the worst.

Verdict: Passionate, but morally corrupt fans

2. Los Angeles Angels

The Angels went for broke this offseason, dishing out huge salaries to star lefty C.J. Wilson and living baseball demigod Albert Pujols.

From a distance, it seemed to me like the franchise's fanbase was very excited about the coming season.

We're now nearly two months into the season, and the numbers say that this is not the case. The Angels are 11th in baseball in attendance with an average draw of 33,581 people, according to Baseball-Reference.com, but that number is actually down from the average the Angels posted last season.

It's down a lot. Despite the signings of Wilson and Pujols, the Angels are drawing over 5,000 fans fewer than they drew in 2011.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say that a lot of Angels fans have decided they'd rather pay to watch Matt Kemp than Pujols.

Verdict: Lame fanbase

1. Tampa Bay Rays

I feel bad for the Tampa Bay Rays. I really do. They deserve so much better.

The Rays are consistently among baseball's lowest-drawing teams. Last year, they finished 29th in attendance, according to ESPN.com. This year, Baseball-Reference.com says they're 26th in MLB in attendance.

The good people of St. Petersburg, Florida apparently haven't realized what the rest of us have known for over four years now: That the Rays are one of the most likable, most exciting teams in baseball. They deserve to play in front of a full house every night, even if their stadium is a dank, dark hellhole. 

Back in 2010, the Rays had to go to great lengths to get people to come out to the yard. As reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays gave out 20,000 free tickets in an effort to get fans to notice that the team was in the middle of a postseason push.

The ploy worked, but that doesn't prove that the Rays have great fans. It just proved that there were Americans in the area. People in America will line up to get anything that's free, even if we're talking about broken glass and thumbtack cookies.

Verdict: Nonexistent fanbase

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