The 7 Most HATED MLB Teams in 2025
- Josh Green
- Apr 14
- 4 min read
As much as MLB fans enjoy rooting for their favorite team, they enjoy root against their least favorite team just as much. When a fan mentions which team is their least favorite, one of the seven teams listed will likely be their answer. So here are the 7 most hated MLB teams in 2025:
Los Angeles Dodgers:
The Dodgers are the Chiefs of the MLB; they win much more frequently than we're comfortable with. However, the Dodgers take a step further by buying those wins, exploiting the MLB's lack of a salary cap. The Dodgers have ranked in the top five in payroll every season since 2013 and have the most wins of any team since 2013.
The hate directed at the Dodgers only intensified after their World Series win in 2024, after again outbidding the rest of the league for a generational talent in Shohei Ohtani. Despite having a World Series team, the Dodgers were still not satisfied, spending over $450 million guaranteed to sign eight free agents during the 2025 offseason. It would be an understatement to say that fans are sick of the Dodgers' egregious spending sprees.
New York Yankees:
The Yankees aren't just the most hated MLB team, they're the most hated sports team in America. The Yankees have appeared in 38 percent of the World Series and won 26 percent. Fans have eternally despised the Yankees for buying those 27 championships, as the Yankees have ranked top-five in the league in payroll more consistently than any other team, even the Dodgers.
Additionally, the Yankees' notoriety and popularity draw a tremendous amount of bandwagon fans, which earns the most ire from true fans of less successful franchises. Even the Yankees' real fans are criticized for being overly snobby about their team's loads of success, which we all love hearing about.
There's a rather apparent reason as to why the Astros are hated, and it's because no one likes a cheater. While the Astros were not the only team to use electronic sign stealing, they were the most egregious example.
It was a shame that a new team other than the Dodgers or Yankees topping 100 wins had to cheat to reach that feat, although the Astros' cheating did save us from the Dodgers or Yankees winning the World Series in 2017. MLB fans' distaste for the Astros has declined in the six years following the news of their cheating first breaking, and since the Astros won a World Series without cheating in 2022. However, they still rank fourth in the league in most negative tweets.
During the 2024 MLB season, the Phillies surpassed the Dodgers and Yankees for the title of the highest amount of negative tweets. The Phillies received a grand total of 9,657 hate tweets, five times the amount of the Marlins, who received the lowest amount. Much of the hate for the Phillies is directed toward the notoriously obnoxious Philly sports fans. The Phillies' reputation has only worsened since signing Bryce Harper, one of the MLB's most hated players for over a decade. Partially due to Harper's gigantic contract, the Phillies also garner hate from consistently ranking near the top of the league's payroll rankings.
Chicago White Sox:
The White Sox have never entered the conversation of the most hated MLB teams until recently. They have consistently earned ire from rival fanbases such as the Twins and Guardians, but they began receiving hate from their own fans as well. Much of the recent contempt towards the White Sox came from their fanbase's frustration over the franchise's historic 121 losses in the 2024 season and the organization's lack of direction and mismanagement.
White Sox GM Chris Getz piloted a comedy of errors in the front office, as his team descended from a 2021 playoff team to 121 losses in just three years. During this three-year stretch, Getz continuously sold star players such as Dylan Cease, Eloy Jimenez, and Jose Abreu, failing to replace those players with journeymen such as Erick Fedde, Mike Soroka, and Paul DeJong. The White Sox' abysmal 3-10 record through 13 games in 2025 shows that little has changed in the clubhouse or their ranking as one of the league's most hated teams.
Boston Red Sox:
Every team on this list except for the White Sox consistently ranks high in payroll, and the Red Sox are no different. The Red Sox have ranked in the top five in MLB payrolls in every season from 2001 to 2019, although their spending has dipped during the past few seasons. Fans hate teams that buy wins, and teams that cheat for them as well, which accurately describes the Red Sox. Similarly to the Astros, the Red Sox used electronic sign-stealing using Apple watches during their 2018 World Series winning season. So if you're going to hate on the Astros for cheating, you have to hate the Red Sox for doing the same.
The Mets are never the MLB's most hated team, but they often hover between the No. 5 and No. 10 spots out of the MLB's 30 teams. The Mets received the 7th-most negative tweets in 2024 and the 4th-most in 2023. Fans tend to dislike the Mets' hefty spending, with the team's front office averaging a 4.2 rank in payroll over the past five seasons. And while the Mets' haven't seen quite the return on their investment of the Dodgers or Yankees from their extensive spending, fans don't enjoy seeing every high-profile free agent bought up by the same team.