In wake of cheating scandal, survey shows Astros are most-hated team by a wide margin
Let’s do a quick recap on the fury that’s been unleashed on the Astros in the wake of their cheating scandal.
Dodgers star Cody Bellinger, the reigning National League MVP, ripped Houston, saying it didn’t deserve the 2017 World Series championship.
Angels outfielder Mike Trout, the reigning American League MVP, criticized the Astros, saying he lost respect for the players.
Two youth leagues in California banned the use of “Astros” by its teams.
An Astros fan is suing the franchise for “deceptively overcharging” fans.
A former player is suing because he says his career was ended by the Astros.
Heck, even Buffalo Wild Wings trolled the Astros on Twitter.
Now, you may ask yourself: what does the average person think of the Astros? According to Morning Consult, which says it “delivers millions of survey interviews on thousands of brands to provide real-time insight and analytics,” says the Astros’ brand has taken a massive hit.
Before Major League Baseball’s report on the Astros’ cheating scandal, the Astros ranked ninth in favorability among all 30 teams. Since then?
“In the two weeks following the release of MLB’s report on Jan. 13, the Astros’ net favorability — the share of adults who view them favorably minus the share who view them unfavorably — dropped 12 percentage points,” Alex Silverman wrote for Morning Consult. “It made them the least-liked club in MLB and the only team with a negative net rating, with more adults having an unfavorable than favorable view.”
The Astros’ net favorability was negative-0.38. The Detroit Tigers were 29th at plus-5.85, easily the widest gulf between two spots in the rankings. Keep in mind, this was before the Astros botched their apology for the scandal, which has further enraged fans.
A Seton Hall University sports poll also found that 52% of Americans believe the Astros should be stripped of their 2017 World Series championship. That’s compared to 35% who believe Houston should keep its “piece of metal,” as commissioner Rob Manfred inelegantly referred to the World Series trophy.
Additionally, that poll asked respondents if a “team breaking rules to gain an unfair advantage was ‘no big deal’ or really hurtful to the game.” A whopping 84% said it hurt baseball.
