SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — As the MLB season approaches the All-Star Break, it's clear that the San Diego Padres aren't meeting the sky-high expectations from the offseason.
Following a deep run in the 2022 playoffs and major splashes in free agency, fans in America's Finest City were ready for the Friars to carry that momentum over and hit the ground running.
According to a new study that analyzed data from Twitter, it seems other fan bases are taking notice of the Padres' start to the season.
Researchers at BetOnline.ag, an offshore online sportsbook, used trends software and the Twitter API to compile a list of the 10 most disliked teams in the MLB, based on negative sentiment on Twitter.
The researchers looked at data over the last 60 days, using hashtags and direct keyword phrases to pinpoint negative tweets. For example, they would search things along the lines of "I hate the Yankees," "the Red Sox are garbage," "the Phillies are overrated," and more typical smack talk from sports fans.
Over 100,000 tweets were tracked, and BetOnline.ag concluded that the Padres are the ninth most hated team in the league.
However, there is a silver lining for Friar fans: The Los Angeles Dodgers ranked #1 on the list, beating out the Yankees by a margin of 304 tweets for the top spot.
Take a look at the full list below:
You can see the exact number of negative tweets for every MLB team in this spreadsheet.
If you want to learn more about how tweets are tracked, follow this link.
