MLB Players Sound Off on Teams With Best, Worst Reputations in Poll, Full Results Revealed

Winning three World Series titles in six seasons and spending big money to keep adding talent to the roster is a good way to ensure MLB players think highly of your organization.

In a survey of MLB players about the best and worst organizations in the sport conducted by The Athletic's Dennis Lin, two NL West teams finished on opposite ends of the spectrum.

The Los Angeles Dodgers topped the favorable list, with 59 of the 93 participants in the survey ranking them as having a good reputation among players. The Colorado Rockies were voted the team with the worst reputation among players, receiving 28 votes from 74 respondents.

MLB Teams with Favorable Reputations Among Players (93 respondents, multiple answers allowed)

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (59 votes)
2. New York Yankees (38)
3. Chicago Cubs (28)
4. Toronto Blue Jays (16)
5. Atlanta Braves (15)

MLB Teams with Bad Reputations Among Players (73 respondents, multiple answers allowed)

1. Colorado Rockies (28)
2. Pittsburgh Pirates (23)
3. Athletics (21)
4. Chicago White Sox (21)
5. Los Angeles Angels (14)

A total of 18 teams received at least two votes in the favorable category, compared to 13 in the unfavorable category.

One American League pitcher had a very simple explanation for voting the way he did.

"Which are the ones that are cheap as f--k?" the pitcher said to Lin about the organizations he has an unfavorable opinion of.

Then, when he got to the favorable organizations, the pitcher's response was: "The ones that are not cheap as f--k."

In voting for the Dodgers, one player cited their use of two separate flights with one just for players when they travel as a positive.

"The Dodgers now have two flights that go everywhere. … Having a flight that's just players is kind of fun," the player said.

One common refrain Lin pointed out among teams that received positive marks was their treatment of players' families.

"They tend to be the big-market teams that have a bunch of money to throw at family stuff," an AL player said. "That's what matters to a lot of us with kiddos and families, for sure."

On the negative side, the Rockies were heavily criticized for being "behind on everything" from an analytical perspective and having a poor player development system once a guy reached the big leagues:

"For a while — I would say for a good 10 years — they didn't have the resources in place to help players stay in the big leagues. It was kind of, 'OK, you're here. If you produce, you can stay. If not, next guy up.' You have to have some type of resource for the players to help them get through their struggles, because you end up weeding out good players."

Lin posted four comments from players about the Pirates, with three of them directly mentioning that ownership doesn't want to spend money on things that go beyond just signing players.

"They just don't want to spend money on anything," one player said of Pittsburgh. "It's like fighting tooth and nail to get equipment, get treatment stuff."

It's perhaps not a coincidence that the two teams atop the list are also the clubs that have the most sustained success. The Dodgers can tie the Atlanta Braves (1991 to 2005) for the longest streak of consecutive playoff appearances at 14 if they make it this season.

The Yankees missed the playoffs in 2023, but they are riding a streak of 33 consecutive seasons without a losing record that dates back to 1993.

Colorado is on track to miss the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, but its .388 winning percentage entering play on Wednesday is the franchise's best since 2022 when it finished 68-94 (.420).

The bad news is that still means the Rockies are on pace to lose 99 games, so they have some work to do to become relevant once again.