U.S. Map of Baseball Teams by Zipcode. (By using Facebook data)

[7,052,770]

Based on this map, seems like North Carolina, New Orleans, Memphis, SLC, Omaha and Albuquerque would all be good places for new franchises.

Richmond and Jacksonville as well.  Maybe Nashville, Las Vegas, and San Antonio too.  Dodgers max 25% in LV and Rangers 33% in SA.  Braves are 17% in Nashville.

But is this how such decisions are made?

This is a fun map, but keep it in perspective:  The article is from the NYTimes.  And it is based on Facebook data.  In fact, if you link to the facebook page, there are a whole bunch of other interesting correlation graphs.  

https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-data-team/baseball-on-facebook/10150142265858859

I think the Facebook link is from a few years ago, but this chart was very interesting:

[MaxQue]

I was under the impression that the Yankees were America's #1 team, but if you didn't like them, then the Red Sox were America's #2 team. (Similar to the Leafs / Habs dynamic in Canada)

Not nearly in the same way. The Leafs are much more popular in Canada than any sports team is in America. Furthermore, support for baseball teams in particular is heavily localized. Teams like the Yankees and Red Sox only show up in areas that lack a local team.

I don't know, the Leafs are hated much more than they are loved. They do have fans everywhere though.

Never met a Leafs fan in Quebec. I met Canadiens, Bruins, Pinguins, Senators, Blackhawks and Red Wings fans, through.

[Hatman 🍁]

The 506 is compiling NHL support by Canadian city using Facebook data. You're right, no Leafs fans in Quebec:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Looks like the Penguins are the most popular American team (at least with young people). Very high in Halifax for obvious reasons (Crosby is from there).

[Linus Van Pelt]

It's possible that people are "liking" teams on Facebook that they're rooting for in the playoffs even when it's not really their team. I don't think the majority of hockey fans in Toronto are really non-Leafs fans, and some of the others seem low too.

[Hatman 🍁]

Might explain Blues fans in Montreal, but still...

[7,052,770]

I realize this is probably laughable ignorance on my part, but please remember that I'm a Southerner and thus have no exposure to the NHL ... the Habs are the Canadiens, I assume? Is that some kind of French pun or something?

[Linus Van Pelt]

I realize this is probably laughable ignorance on my part, but please remember that I'm a Southerner and thus have no exposure to the NHL ... the Habs are the Canadiens, I assume? Is that some kind of French pun or something?

Yes.

It is short for "Habitants", which is a French name for early settlers in colonial Quebec. But how it got applied to the hockey team, actually, I don't know.

MaxQue or RogueBeaver can confirm this, but I think that it's actually mainly used in English, even though it's from a French word.

[Nhoj]

The western border of Wisconsin is a media market thing.

[Хahar 🤔]

I realize this is probably laughable ignorance on my part, but please remember that I'm a Southerner and thus have no exposure to the NHL ... the Habs are the Canadiens, I assume? Is that some kind of French pun or something?

Yes.

It is short for "Habitants", which is a French name for early settlers in colonial Quebec. But how it got applied to the hockey team, actually, I don't know.

"Canadien" in its original sense (the sense in which it's used in the team name) also refers to French-Canadians, the original inhabitants of Canada; in this sense it contrasts with "anglais".

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

This is for dumb-dumbs.  This data probably over-represents 14-19 year old boys by such a degree as to make it useless.  Facebook?  Really? 

Can I just guarantee you that the Yankees do NOT own Queens? 

[Hatman 🍁]

I realize this is probably laughable ignorance on my part, but please remember that I'm a Southerner and thus have no exposure to the NHL ... the Habs are the Canadiens, I assume? Is that some kind of French pun or something?

Yes.

It is short for "Habitants", which is a French name for early settlers in colonial Quebec. But how it got applied to the hockey team, actually, I don't know.

"Canadien" in its original sense (the sense in which it's used in the team name) also refers to French-Canadians, the original inhabitants of Canada; in this sense it contrasts with "anglais".

Original inhabitants of Canada certainly were not Frenchman.

THEY WERE INDIANS LIKE YOU, XAHAR! (Thought I'd correct ignorance with faux ignorance for you)

I feel like I'm hijacking this, but the 506 has some more numbers:

Windsor: 31% Wings, 19% Leafs, 8% Habs
Saskatoon: 22% Oilers, 12% Leafs, 11% Flames, 10% Canucks
Regina: 23% Oilers, 12% Canucks, 12% Habs, 11% Leafs, 10% Flames
St. John's: 22% Leafs, 22% Habs, 16% Bruins, 13% Penguins
Sudbury: 39% Leafs, 20% Habs, 8% Senators
Kingston: 35% Leafs, 21% Habs, 14% Senators
Trois-Rivieres: 48% Habs, 19% Avalanche, 5% Penguins
Moncton: 31% Habs, 16% Leafs, 12% Penguins, 8% Bruins
Saint John: 27% Leafs, 25% Habs, 12% Penguins, 9% Bruins

[traininthedistance]

This is for dumb-dumbs.  This data probably over-represents 14-19 year old boys by such a degree as to make it useless.  Facebook?  Really? 

Can I just guarantee you that the Yankees do NOT own Queens? 

Awwwww, poor widdle Mets fan. 

[7,052,770]

This is for dumb-dumbs.  This data probably over-represents 14-19 year old boys by such a degree as to make it useless.  Facebook?  Really? 

Can I just guarantee you that the Yankees do NOT own Queens? 

Possibly, but where is there a better source of data like this? Some kind of phone survey could never get data in every single county and ZIP code.

Also, there is no multiplier by how hardcore a fan is. Queens may very well have more actual Mets fans, but anyone, casual fan who barely keeps or just following the crowd, can "like" a team on Facebook. Also, people cast multiple votes, so if they prefer the Mets but also kinda like the Yankees OK, they'll be marked as an even vote for both.

Thirdly, it only covers "likes" team's official Facebook pages. Lots of fans may not care about actually going to the official team page and clicking "Like." The A's especially lost a lot on this map because of people "liking" unofficial A's pages instead of the official one.

I wish I could do some freelance work for Facebook on the side with sports maps data like this. I would like to incorporate an algorithm for how deep the support is, etc.

[Хahar 🤔]

Original inhabitants of Canada certainly were not Frenchman.

THEY WERE INDIANS LIKE YOU, XAHAR! (Thought I'd correct ignorance with faux ignorance for you)

Well, yeah, obviously I meant the first inhabitants of the place who called it Canada.

[Antonio the Sixth]

As someone who doesn't know/care much about baseball, I found this really fascinating.

[Hatman 🍁]

This is for dumb-dumbs.  This data probably over-represents 14-19 year old boys by such a degree as to make it useless.  Facebook?  Really? 

Can I just guarantee you that the Yankees do NOT own Queens? 

Possibly, but where is there a better source of data like this? Some kind of phone survey could never get data in every single county and ZIP code.

Also, there is no multiplier by how hardcore a fan is. Queens may very well have more actual Mets fans, but anyone, casual fan who barely keeps or just following the crowd, can "like" a team on Facebook. Also, people cast multiple votes, so if they prefer the Mets but also kinda like the Yankees OK, they'll be marked as an even vote for both.

Thirdly, it only covers "likes" team's official Facebook pages. Lots of fans may not care about actually going to the official team page and clicking "Like." The A's especially lost a lot on this map because of people "liking" unofficial A's pages instead of the official one.

I wish I could do some freelance work for Facebook on the side with sports maps data like this. I would like to incorporate an algorithm for how deep the support is, etc.

Problem with baseball is it's actually two different leagues. I'm sure there are many people in NYC and SF that are fans of both local teams. Since they hardly ever play against eachother, no rivalry has really developed, meaning there is no hate for the other local club.

[Dr. Cynic]

This is for dumb-dumbs.  This data probably over-represents 14-19 year old boys by such a degree as to make it useless.  Facebook?  Really? 

Can I just guarantee you that the Yankees do NOT own Queens? 

Awwwww, poor widdle Mets fan. 

I find it hard to believe that if it was 14-19 year old fans that the Pirates would have even that much popularity given the fact that until last year, none of those kids would have seen a winning season.

[traininthedistance]

This is for dumb-dumbs.  This data probably over-represents 14-19 year old boys by such a degree as to make it useless.  Facebook?  Really? 

Can I just guarantee you that the Yankees do NOT own Queens? 

Awwwww, poor widdle Mets fan. 

I find it hard to believe that if it was 14-19 year old fans that the Pirates would have even that much popularity given the fact that until last year, none of those kids would have seen a winning season.

Yeah, something like over half of all Americans have a Facebook account now.  Good luck trying to "unskew" the Mets, Hockey... it'll work about as well for you as it worked for Romney.

[Thomas D]

The Oakland A's didn't carry a single pixel.

[DemPGH]

It's Facebook, so I imagine the map is only very generally accurate. I would definitely argue that Erie and NW PA is more Indians, but who knows. The thing about the Pirates is, over the years I have seen very little Pirates gear worn in public around western PA - now it's visible but modest. Pittsburgh and the surrounding area is all about the Steelers, plain and simple.

I never bonded with the Pittsburgh teams, although I do pay attention to them. I've always been a Yankees fan because they are an institution; I have no other diehard loyalties because I like the outside and I'm interested in coaches and philosophies and so on. I probably see it all through too modern a lens, honestly.

[angus]

over the years I have seen very little Pirates gear worn in public around western PA - now it's visible but modest. Pittsburgh and the surrounding area is all about the Steelers, plain and simple.

Lots of steelers stuff here too.  My son had a Steelers blanket and a Steelers shirt and a Steelers kite.  We're not Steelers fans, but there's always lots of Steelers stuff cheap.  We were looking for a kite one day.  "Hey, look at those kites, Dad.  Dora is $9.99.  Spiderman is $9.99.  Steelers one is $3.99."  Same material.  Same design.  "Let's go with the Steelers one, son."

[DemPGH]

over the years I have seen very little Pirates gear worn in public around western PA - now it's visible but modest. Pittsburgh and the surrounding area is all about the Steelers, plain and simple.

Lots of steelers stuff here too.  My son had a Steelers blanket and a Steelers shirt and a Steelers kite.  We're not Steelers fans, but there's always lots of Steelers stuff cheap.  We were looking for a kite one day.  "Hey, look at those kites, Dad.  Dora is $9.99.  Spiderman is $9.99.  Steelers one is $3.99."  Same material.  Same design.  "Let's go with the Steelers one, son."

That's interesting - I figured that you in eastern PA would be primarily inundated with Eagles stuff; maybe you are. I saw earlier that you mentioned that there are several teams present, as I might expect. The territoriality of this always interests me. In WV it's still all Steelers (Pitt has quite a few fans in the South as well, from my experience, so maybe timezones have something to do with it), but as soon you cross over into Ohio - like in Youngstown, it's all Ohio State and certainly Indians. Steelers and Browns are mixed because the Browns have been such a joke for so long, but the Steelers are basically the NFL's version of the Yankees. They have pockets of haters and lovers over most of the country. I heard two Broncos fans talking at a bar once while on vacation, and one said to the other: "There are two teams I hate: The Steelers and the Cowboys."

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

This is for dumb-dumbs.  This data probably over-represents 14-19 year old boys by such a degree as to make it useless.  Facebook?  Really? 

Can I just guarantee you that the Yankees do NOT own Queens? 

Awwwww, poor widdle Mets fan. 

If you want to put something as unscientific as this up on a pedestal, be my guest. 

[traininthedistance]

This is for dumb-dumbs.  This data probably over-represents 14-19 year old boys by such a degree as to make it useless.  Facebook?  Really? 

Can I just guarantee you that the Yankees do NOT own Queens? 

Awwwww, poor widdle Mets fan. 

If you want to put something as unscientific as this up on a pedestal, be my guest. 

It's more scientific than anything you've put forth.

[7,052,770]

This is for dumb-dumbs.  This data probably over-represents 14-19 year old boys by such a degree as to make it useless.  Facebook?  Really? 

Can I just guarantee you that the Yankees do NOT own Queens? 

Awwwww, poor widdle Mets fan. 

If you want to put something as unscientific as this up on a pedestal, be my guest. 

This is the absolute best study that could possibly be done. It might be better to do a longitudinal study over a period of years to factor out bandwagoners, but there's just no other possible way to get this level of data.