ROCHESTER, N.Y., July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- At the midway point of the regular season, the New York Yankees find themselves again on top as the favorite baseball team among those who follow Major League Baseball. However, the New York Mets aren't far behind. They have jumped up three spots and are now at No. 2, while the Atlanta Braves move down one spot to No. 3 on the list. Rounding out the top five on the list are the Chicago Cubs at No. 4 and the Boston Red Sox at No. 5.

 

These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,351 U.S. adults, 884 of whom follow Major League Baseball. The poll was conducted online by Harris Interactive? between July 12 and 18, 2005.

 

Most improved

Three teams have moved up eight or more places since 2005:

-- The Detroit Tigers move up 12 places from a tie at No. 19, to No. 7

-- The Oakland Athletics move up eight places from No. 27, to No. 19

-- The Cleveland Indians move up eight places from a tie at No. 19, to a

tie at No. 11

-- The Houston Astros move up eight places from a tie at No. 17, to No. 9

 

Room for improvement

Three teams have dropped seven or more places since last year:

-- The Pittsburgh Pirates have fallen 13 places from a tie at No. 8, to a

tie at No. 21

-- The Minnesota Twins have fallen eight places from a tie at No. 13, to a

tie at No. 21

-- The Los Angeles Dodgers have fallen seven places from No. 7, to a tie

at No. 14

 

 

The survey also looked at the issues surrounding Barry Bonds. About two- thirds of all adults (65%) believe that the allegations surrounding Barry Bonds' steroid use are true, and only six percent of adults believe they are false, while three in 10 (29%) say they are unsure. Among those who follow baseball, over three-quarters (81%) say the allegations are true, seven percent say they are false, and 12 percent say they are not sure.

 

Though Bonds slammed his way into second place on the all time Home Run leader list behind Hank Aaron, only one-quarter (23%) of adults and 27 percent of those who follow baseball believes he deserves this recognition. Half of adults (52%) and two-thirds (66%) of those who follow baseball say that his success is tainted by the allegations of steroid use.

 

TABLE 1

FAVORITE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM: 1999 - 2006

"What is your favorite Major League Baseball team?"

 

Base: Follow Major League Baseball

 

Rank Rank Rank Rank Rank

1999 2003 2004 2005 2006

New York Yankees 2 1 1 1 1

New York Mets 12 3 14 5 2

Atlanta Braves 1 2 3 2 3

Chicago Cubs 3 7 2 3 4

Boston Red Sox 8 6 4 4 5

St. Louis Cardinals 4 14 13 6 6

Detroit Tigers 10 15 5 =19 7

Baltimore Orioles 9 =18 8 12 8

Houston Astros 22 =20 =9 =17 9

Seattle Mariners 6 11 =15 =13 10

Chicago White Sox 20 27 27 =10 =11

Cleveland Indians 5 4 =9 =19 =11

Philadelphia

Phillies 16 12 6 =13 13

Arizona

Diamondbacks NA =16 =17 16 =14

Cincinnati Reds 13 10 =19 =8 =14

Los Angeles Dodgers 7 8 =9 7 =14

San Francisco

Giants 26 9 7 =10 =14

Milwaukee Brewers 21 23 23 24 18

Oakland Athletics 19 =20 22 27 19

Los Angeles Angels

of Anaheim* 23 =16 =25 =17 20

Kansas City Royals 24 =25 =19 =22 =21

Minnesota Twins 11 5 =17 =13 =21

Pittsburgh Pirates 18 =18 =9 =8 =21

Washington

Nationals NA NA NA =22 24

Colorado Rockies 14 24 24 26 =25

San Diego Padres 17 22 =25 25 =25

Florida Marlins 25 =25 21 28 =27

Texas Rangers 15 13 =15 21 =27

Tampa Bay

Devil Rays NA 28 28 =29 28

Toronto

Blue Jays** 28 29 29 =29 29

Montreal Expos 27 30 30 NA NA

 

*While the name may have changed, we have kept the trend from previous

years since it is the same team.

 

**It should be noted that the sample was limited to the United States. It

is therefore no surprise that the Canadian team placed last on this list

in a survey where no Canadian residents are surveyed.

 

http://sev.prnewswire.com/sports/20060710/...10072006-1.html

thats it...im goin to be the next marketing director and work on this ranking a little bit

thats...im goin to be the next marketing director and work on this ranking a little bit

 

 

finish this sentence....that's?????

sorry...i was tryin to keep ya in suspense...actually i was eating and got a lil ahead of myself...good catch though!