Facebook fans of MLB teams as of 2020

Major League Baseball (MLB) is one of the biggest sporting leagues in the United States and its most valuable team, the New York Yankees, are also the most-followed MLB team on Facebook with more than 8.52 million followers as of August 2020.

MLB value and revenue

In 2019, the teams in Major League Baseball are valued at an average of 1.78 billion U.S. dollars. Total MLB league revenue in 2018 amounted to 9.9 billion U.S. dollars, the highest ever. The New York Yankees are one of the most popular teams in the league, ranking third in regular season home attendance behind the LA Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals. The average ticket price for New York Yankees games in the MLB was 47.62 U.S. dollars in 2019.

MLB and social media adoption

Despite the sport’s prominence, the MLB is lagging behind other U.S. sports leagues such as the NBA (National Basketball Association) or the NFL (National Football League) on social media. This is largely due to a late adoption of the medium and the possibly strictest social media policy of any major sports league, prohibiting not only fans but also teams and TV stations from promoting and discussing content on social media. In February 2019, the MLB had agreed to loosen some of its rules regarding the use of licensed content and will allow players to post more material regarding matches on social media. This reversal on policy is largely due to the need to engage with younger sports audiences, who frequently discuss sports on social media.