Orioles Rank Third In ESPN MLB Ultimate Standings
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- ESPN has been asking fans to vote on their favorite teams for the past 13 years, and then they rank them, all 122 sports franchises, from top to bottom. Last year the Orioles saw their highest overall ranking in Ultimate Standings history, but the Birds soared even higher this time around.
The Baltimore Orioles landed in the Top 20 for the first time and outranked every MLB team that didn't win a World Series last year.
Overall: 15
Title track: 55
Ownership: 68
Coaching: 3
Players: 26
Although ownership is up 24 spots from last year, Peter Angelos was under fire for dropping more than $200 million in the offseason to retain Chris Davis, Darren O'Day and Matt Wieters because he taxed fans for it. Game-day costs were up 13.3 percent, third highest in MLB.
Buck Showalter (ranked third overall and best in MLB) is a favorite to win his fourth Manager of the Year award and other than the mishap in the playoffs, Birdland seemed to have unwavering pride in their skipper.
Fan relations: 36
Affordability: 14
Stadium experience: 7
Bang for the buck: 15
Change from last year: +8
Despite attendance issues, Camden Yards still ranked No. 1 in the best ball park experiences and the Orioles went up 12 spots in fan relations.
During a crucial September series against the division rival Red Sox, Camden Yards averaged fewer than 22,000 fans per game, driving home the reality that folks just aren't Bird watching like they used to, but according to Forbes, the Orioles television ratings ranked fourth in MLB and were up 36 percent over the 2015 season.
Fans are clearly still pleased with the Orioles ranking them No. 15 overall and third in MLB.
