Chicago Cubs Ian Happ (right) hits a walk off single against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the bottom of the tenth inning at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Sun Jun 15, 2025. The Cubs are one of the toughest teams in baseball. But the New York Yankees and Mets have the toughest fans in baseball. (AP News photo)
That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:
Toughest Fans in Baseball
By Amaury Pi-González
Although it is very subjective, analyzing fans in all 30 cities and parks across baseball shows us that there is no doubt certain places are consistently more of a ‘pressure cooker ‘ for players, and yes, for fans, than others. Baseball was rooted on the East Coast.
The whole history of the game is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. In 1908, the Mills Commission issued its final report, which stated that “the first scheme for playing baseball” was devised by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, NY, in 1839.
There are other influential pioneers, such as Abner Doubleday and Alexander Cartwright. There is no doubt that passion among baseball fans for their teams runs deeper on the East Coast. Tradition is a significant part of this passion for their respective teams, namely the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies, especially when they come to mind.
While in the Midwest, there is no doubt that Chicago Cubs fans are at the top of the passion meter, followed closely by the currently suffering Chicago White Sox fans, with their number one fan being Pope Leo. While here on the West Coast, the attitudes are quite different, and I might say a little less passionate.
There is one series among two teams that draws the most passion, the Dodgers vs. the Giants. This rivalry, which originated in New York, is particularly intense among fans. However, I have witnessed that this rivalry is much more passionate in San Francisco than in Los Angeles.
When the Dodgers visit San Francisco, the Giants fans bring the “beat the Dodgers” chants and all the heat. However, when the Giants visit Los Angeles, the passion is significantly lower; for most Dodger fans, it’s just a matter of bringing their suntan lotion, and the Giants are just another team.
In my opinion, it’s a “one-sided” rivalry, hotter when they play by the bay than when they play by Hollywood. Talking about fans’ passion? For Oakland A’s fans, (I say Oakland A’s fans) because there are no Sacramento or Las Vegas fans.
For these fans, it’s as if they had to survive a horrid divorce between the city, the owner, and the team, all of which are intertwined. This divorce has hurt everybody, beginning with the fans. Most of the hate directed by fans is aimed at Athletics owner John Fisher, as evidenced by scores of fans in the Bay Area, following the team’s move to Sacramento for three years with a final destination to Las Vegas by 2028.
That “ugly divorce” weighs very heavily on real A’s fans from Oakland and the Bay Area. The national and local media also have no love lost for Mr. Fisher. The national media has taken the A’s ownership to task, and the local media has cooled off.
I have a very good friend who was a season ticket holder for the Oakland A’s. He threw a party last year to burn his tickets in front of a group of his close friends. He is a good man, a good fan who enjoys the game, but as he told me, “This owner betrayed me: why should I sponsor him buying tickets for his team”?
Quote: Baseball is not necessarily an obsessive-compulsive disorder, like washing your hands 100 times a day, but it’s beginning to seem that way. We’re reaching the point where you can be a truly dedicated, state-of-the-art fan, or you can have a life. Take your pick. –Thomas Boswell.
Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.
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