MLB Power Rankings: The Most Arrogant Fanbases in Baseball

Baseball fans come in all kinds. Some fans are knowledgeable students of the game who enjoy the sabermetrics of it and can provide great insight.

Others just enjoy spending sunny summer days watching America's pastime.

Inevitably there are fans who take their passion to a whole new level, making their team an everyday part of their life. Their demeanor often goes in the same direction of their team, boasting happiness during the good times and bitter anger when things go awry.

This is where arrogance can come in. Whether it's a sense of entitlement based on a previous pedigree of championships or the notion that their team SHOULD be considered the best season in and season out, some fans' confidence can take a different tone.

There isn't any tangible way to measure arrogance, so it's a highly subjective matter. I haven't had personal experiences with fans of every team so I'm basing this slideshow largely on many assumptions that teams have grown to earn over time.

Any insight from fans of each team is welcomed as we try to understand just who might actually be the most arrogant of them all.

30. Kansas City Royals

With a number of promising prospects starting to emerge in Kansas City, Royals fans have plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future of their franchise.

They haven't been in the postseason in ages and haven't won a World Series since 1985, so there is certainly plenty of excitement surrounding the team as they look to work their way up in the AL Central in 2012.

29. Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays have enjoyed a great deal of success in the short time they've been in the league.

Having made their way into the postseason at the last moment this year you'd think there would be immense excitement from their fanbase.

But the Rays still continue to struggle to put people in the seats of Tropicana Field as interest in the team isn't what you'd hope for a team that needs support to contend in the tough AL East.

28. Toronto Blue Jays

The lone Canadian team in Major League Baseball, the Toronto Blue Jays have a large fanbase spanning an entire country.

With the success they enjoyed in the early 90s, the Blue Jays fans know what their team is capable of.

They have a superstar in Jose Bautista and have developed some very successful pitchers, but they are struggling to work their way into postseason contention as the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays are an annual roadblock.

27. Seattle Mariners

Fans in Seattle have seen their Mariners win over 100 games in a season, but more recently have seen their team lose over 100 games.

Management has made a number of bad signings and fans clearly are growing tired of losing, as fan attendance has dropped from one of the highest in the league during their good years, to 23rd in 2011.

26. Florida Marlins

The Florida Marlins are another team that has seen its share of ups and downs. They won the World Series in 1997, only to follow it up by losing 108 games the very next season.

With the Marlins finally heading into a baseball only stadium in 2012, the fanbase should have a renewed sense of excitement that will hopefully translate to a more profitable and consequently more successful team as ownership takes steps to improve their roster.

25. Arizona Diamondbacks

Ten years ago the Arizona Diamondbacks were celebrating their first World Championship and fans were loving every minute of it.

The Diamondbacks gave the Milwaukee Brewers everything they could handle in the NLDS this season and did so with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball.

As is the case in Tampa Bay, fan interest isn't as high as you might expect as the Diamondbacks ranked lower in attendance in 2011 than all playoff teams except the Rays.

24. Houston Astros

Fans in Houston don't have any reason to be arrogant right now, as their Astros finished in the bottom of the league with a 56-106 record.

There was still some fan support, as the team drew more than 25,000 fans per night but, that number probably won't hold up if management can't give its fans more reason for hope.

23. Oakland Athletics

Much like the Marlins, Oakland Athletics fans don't get a real baseball experience as they watch games at the Coliseum.

Their team's success rate doesn't help much either, as the A's finished 22 games out in the AL West.

The interest clearly isn't there right now, as the team finished last in attendance in 2011 averaging barely 18,000 fans per game.

22. Baltimore Orioles

During the days of Cal Ripken Jr. the excitement level over the Baltimore Orioles franchise was possibly at an all-time high.

They were filling Camden Yards on a nightly basis, most recently making playoff appearances in 1996 and 1997.

This year their attendance ranked 26th in the league as they once again found themselves in the basement of the AL East, 28 games out.

21. Cincinnati Reds

From all accounts in Cincinnati, it seems like Reds fans have a deep foundation in the history of their franchise.

There may be some level of disinterest in the franchise however, as they have one of the newer ballparks in baseball yet fill less than 65 percent of the seats on a daily basis.

20. Colorado Rockies

Since joining the league as an expansion franchise in 1993, the Colorado Rockies have only made three playoff appearances, once playing in the World Series (2007).

The early seasons brought about some of the highest attendance figures in the league as they once drew over three million fans in a season, but interest eventually waned.

19. San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres fans have to be discouraged when they see players like Adrian Gonzalez succeed with other franchises, as it only makes you wonder what could have been.

That's unfortunately the business of baseball and the Padres aren't exempt from it.

With one of the lowest payrolls and their best players leaving in free agency, it's hard to envision the Padres making any moves that will give their fans any reason for arrogance.

18. Washington Nationals

The Nationals don't have nearly enough history to have a fanbase that would have the right to be considered arrogant, but that east coast stigma does seem to stick.

High spending habits are one reason the fans can have hope, and players like Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper might just give fans an edge in future seasons.

17. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are another franchise that has a fan base that saw many ups a few decades ago, but has had little reason to hold their heads high in recent seasons.

The Pirates are making an effort to turn things around, and with a boosted payroll the team may be able to climb higher than 23rd in the league in attendance.

16. St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a franchise that is entrenched in history. With 11 World Championships under their belt, fans in St. Louis would have every reason to be arrogant. 

But they don't appear to. These fans are supportive of their team and were no doubt a big part of propelling them from more than 10 games out of the Wild Card race in August to where they are now, World Champions.

15. Minnesota Twins

"Minnesota Nice" would seemingly put the Minnesota Twins franchise down at the bottom of the league in terms of arrogance, but that's not always a case.

Twins fans have great reason to feel positive, as they've made postseason appearances since 2000.

But a number of recent first-round exits have fans growing restless as the team's new stadium and inflated payroll warranted one of the worst seasons in franchise history this year.  The team has gone back to the drawing board heading into 2012.

14. Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are preparing for the loss of their franchise player this offseason as Prince Fielder is set to enter free agency.

Fans in Milwaukee are prepared for this change, but at the same time want to continue to push for the World Series as they did this season.

With the Cardinals potentially losing Albert Pujols and the Cubs in a constant state of peril, the fans still have reason to believe Milwaukee can be a playoff team, but their confidence is no doubt lowered with the offensive loss soon to be felt.

13. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Anaheim Angels have one of the biggest payrolls in baseball, which leads to some of the highest expectations in baseball.

They haven't lived up to those expectations recently after making postseason appearances six times since 2000, including one World Series championship in 2002.

12. Cleveland Indians

It's been a rough period for fans in Cleveland, as their Browns have struggled to produce any gains and the Cavaliers haven't rebounded from hometown boy LeBron James bolting for South Beach.

The Indians haven't been immune to the Cleveland suffering either, as they've struggled since making the playoffs in 2007.

That changed this season as the Indians emerged as a contender in the AL Central, coming up just short as the season progressed.

11. Detroit Tigers

After knocking off the New York Yankees in the ALDS this postseason, Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland had fans in the Motor City thinking a championship could feasibly be heading back to town.

Things didn't go as planned as they ended up falling just short against the Texas Rangers, leaving fans to root for their newly revived Detroit Lions.

10. San Francisco Giants

World Champions just a year ago, the San Francisco Giants fans had high hopes of a repeat performance this season.

Injuries and decreased productivity brought the fans back to earth as they were on the outside looking in this postseason.

It's back to the drawing board as the Giants look to get back to their winning ways in 2012.

9. Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs haven't had nearly the success to call themselves arrogant, but being one of baseball's most storied franchises does tend to provide that stereotype.

If Theo Epstein has his way in Chicago, fans will have plenty of reason to hold their heads higher in due time.

8. Atlanta Braves

Any arrogance coming from the Atlanta Braves fans can be attributed to the great deal of success they've enjoyed in the past two decades.

The team won the NL East division every season between 1995 and 2005, but only had one World Series ring to show for it.

7. Texas Rangers

For years, the Texas Rangers failed to produce any real gains and went years on end without making any postseason appearances.

Two straight World Series appearances have changed that as fans have a new expectation of greatness in the Lone Star state.

6. Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are coming off a disappointing 2011 season in which a number of players failed to live up to expectations, most notably the biggest acquisition of the previous offseason, Adam Dunn.

Fans are still passionate about their team although I've seen firsthand how arrogant it can come off in the confines of U.S. Cellular Field.

5. Los Angeles Dodgers

Since their 1988 season in which Kirk Gibson played hero as the Dodgers won their most recent World Series, the team has been in limbo.

Fans are stuck in a tough situation right now as legal problems with ownership have prevented any real growth.

Hopefully players like Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp can become players who turn the franchise in a new direction for years to come.

4. New York Mets

One of the biggest problems facing the fans of the New York Mets is the fact that they'll always be second best in town.

Their two World Series titles pale in comparison to their NYC counterpart, and the team has struggled in recent years.

Should Jose Reyes leave town and the Mets not make some big adjustments to remain competitive, things won't get better anytime soon for the Mets fans.

3. New York Yankees

Fans in Yankee Stadium are widely regarded as some of the most verbally abusive in all of baseball. Not to say that pride in your team is a bad thing, but the bleacher creatures take things to another level.

With the biggest payroll in baseball on an annual basis and far and away the most championships in the league (27) fans have plenty of reason to be arrogant.

Having only one title under their belt in the last 10 years the Yankees may have actually underperformed by their standards, only fueling the attitudes of the Bronx faithful.

2. Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies (and any other team in Philadelphia for that matter) have what is perceived as one of the most arrogant fanbases on Earth.

I have certainly seen instances where this would seem to be the case, but much like the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, it seems like the arrogance is really just an extreme level of confidence that has been bred by the successes of the franchise.

Hey, if my team had Halladay, Lee, Hamels and Oswalt in it's rotation, I'd probably be arrogant too.

1. Boston Red Sox

By a general consensus, you could really put the Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox as 1A, 1B and 1C on this list.

But the collapse of the Red Sox this season really put a negative jolt in the fans of Boston as their manager and GM (who have both enjoyed successes in Boston) fled for other opportunities. 

Getting the Bambino off their back in 2004 no doubt helped take the decades of frustration down a notch in Boston, but another season with the same fate of 2011 won't sit well with Sox fans.