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Bad Year for Big Markets

If you were a betting person and placed your money on all the small market teams this post-season, you would have won lots of money.  Why?  It was a clean sweep for the smaller markets in the divisional series.  In fact, if not for the Yankees' win on Sunday, the big market teams would have been shut out completely.

Each of the matchups in the divisional series featured one team with a lopsided market size advantage over the other.  Conventional wisdom says that teams in bigger markets have an advantage in baseball.  Conventional wisdom was wrong in these playoffs.

Here are the divisional series breakdowns with market sizes from this Baseball Almanac story:

Colorado Rockies (2,581,506) v. Philadelphia Phillies (6,188,463):  Rockies win 3-0

Arizona Diamondbacks (3,251,876) v. Chicago Cubs (9,157,540):  Diamondbacks win 3-0

Boston Red Sox (5,819,100) v. Los Angeles Angels (16,373,645):  Red Sox win 3-0

Cleveland Indians (2,945,831) v. New York Yankees (21,199,865):  Indians win 3-1

There's no doubt that a five game series does not offer the best data from which to draw conclusions.  So, I'll avoid doing that here, except to say the following, which I can say quite confidently:  this is not how MLB or TBS wanted things to happen.

0 recs  |  Comment 5 comments

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Re: Bad Year for Big Markets
not that it changes your point that much, but I think those Baseball Almanac numbers are wrong for Boston - Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_Statistical_Area) has the Boston/Worcester/Manchester metro area population at 7,465,634.

(and of course the Boston fanbase both in New England and the rest of the country is obviously much larger than even that.)

by perfectdepth on Oct 9, 2007 11:07 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Re: Bad Year for Big Markets
I looked at a few different market size data collections and they all differed a bit, but not in any way that changed this point.  Boston is a big market, but LA is much much bigger.

by David S. Cohen on Oct 9, 2007 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Bad Year for Big Markets
absolutely, although when you're talking about the Red Sox, I think you can pretty much throw market size out the window.

by perfectdepth on Oct 9, 2007 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Bad Year for Big Markets
Which is why MLB and TBS are not entirely disappointed, since at least the Red Sox are in the playoffs.  But, they lost to a team with a much bigger market, albeit a split and less fanatical one.

by David S. Cohen on Oct 9, 2007 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Re: Bad Year for Big Markets
The Angels are also clearly the lesser team in that market.  It's like those years when the Nets made it to the NBA Finals.  Biggest TV market in the country, yet NBC was not exactly thrilled.

by taco pal on Oct 9, 2007 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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