The United Countries of Baseball (Revised and Updated)

Update (4:03pm, May 10)

I'm not sure if changing one's posts is allowed in the unwritten rules of blogz, but I gives a f-ck. I decided to make a few updates to the map from suggestions I got in the comment sections of Deadspin, With Leather, and this site right hurr. I didn't touch the Nationals or Mets region because it seems commenters disagree on those. But, I felt the White Sox needed to be pulled down. They were a bit too far north. Also, Yankees fans seem to think they have a solid footing in southern Connecticut, so I added that. I hope these changes were productive. Maybe we'll get this thing perfect after all (nah).

Here's the freshest one (click for larger view)

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The map above had the in'rnet in a bit of tizzy last year. If you didn't get a chance to see it, you're in for a treat (Click on it for a larger view). The first thing I thought when I saw it was "yesss, sweet." The second thing I thought was "no way the Rockies and Diamondbacks have such an expansive fan base." Then I started to notice more and more things I felt needed adjustments. Don't get me wrong, this map is the balls. I loves it. There are just a few minor details that I wanted to tinker with. So, today I decided to do just that. I put a ton of research (half true) and way too much time on Microsoft Paint (totally true) into the the map below (Click for larger view).

I would have liked to make a few more changes. For example, I know the Marlins don't dominate the state of Florida as shown. There are pockets of Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers, etc. fans up and down that state. You know... all the teams that do their spring work down there develop a following in that particular town. But, I didn't want to stray from what Nike started. They originally named this map the "United Countries of Baseball" so little islands of red and orange among a sea of green in Florida would be... well, islands. Not countries.

Some of the changes I made:

-The original map had a San Francisco Giants following all the way up to the state of Washington. I know that's not correct. Those in Oregon that care about Major League Baseball don't root for the Giants. They're more likely to be Mariners fans. But, Giants fans are much more prevalent in the state of California and parts of Western Nevada than was shown on the original. Those were both easy and obvious changes.

-The original map also severely underestimated the Los Angeles Dodgers fan base. About the size of Tennessee? I think not. I realize that's a highly populated region, but the Dodgers have been a staple on the West Coast for about 60 years now. They have a good amount of fans in the most southern edges of California and even western Arizona.

-I would have liked to shrink the size of that Diamondbacks region. But, I'd be making it unincorporated territory, so I decided against it. I'll let them pretend to have that large of a following. About two thirds of that is desert anyway. The same goes for the Rockies. They're not that popular. There should be spatterings of Cardinal red and Cubbie orange (?) in that black region. If not, it should be unincorporated. But, again, I didn't see the point in doing that.

-The original map didn't take into account the Cardinals' following in Oklahoma. It's for real, so I added it. A lot of those Oklahomans grew up on KMOX, a station that once carried Cardinals games to much of the Midwest. The Cards are really considered the "team of the Midwest." I think the original map did a good job of showing that, but decided to give all of Oklahoma to the Rangers, which was wrong.

-The original map also surrounded Astros country with Rangers fans, which doesn't make a lot of sense. From what I've read and heard in the past, the Astros' following spreads down through southern Texas and into Mexico. That was changed.

-The Braves have a gigantic following in the southeast United States. The original did a fine job of showing that, but I expanded it even more. The original didn't account for Braves fans in the Florida panhandle, North Carolina, or western Virginia. All of which are legit.

-The original also had this weird narrow flow of Indians fans through West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. I think most of Kentucky is Reds' country. I'm pretty positive that's right.

-The last change I made was shrinking the Mets' fan base. Their following is pretty much concentrated around northern New Jersey and the boroughs of New York City. I'm not sure why the original expanded their territory into Pennsylvania.


I'm sure this thing isn't perfect. It never will be, though I'd love to hear some feedback if there's something that is clearly wrong. In the meantime, I need a f-ing nap.