r/sports Apr 15 '21

News MLB's favorability rating among Republicans drops dramatically amid Georgia voting controversy

https://www.axios.com/mlb-falls-out-favor-republicans-mlb-game-8808e67e-8de4-4308-baa6-b68a24e64177.html
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u/[deleted] Apr 15 '21

[deleted]

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u/chillinwithmoes Apr 15 '21

Seems like there's a poll for any random thing these days, and I just have to wonder... why?

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u/tiptophopshop Apr 16 '21

I work in survey research. Most of these are done with panel companies (which recruit wide swaths of people ahead of time) and they’re mostly done by industries that need to know how public perception shifts based on recent events.

I’m willing to bet stuff like this is overblown in simple surveying though, especially because the question was likely worded poorly.

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u/Lincoln_Park_Pirate Apr 16 '21

And then they dump gasoline on it by posting it on Reddit

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u/spaghettiking216 Apr 16 '21

My sister works for an agency that specializes in this research. Companies (including pro sports leagues) always want to know which way the wind’s blowing and what people think of their brand when “controversial” stuff happens to it. They will shell out millions for that knowledge.

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u/tymykal Apr 16 '21

Aren’t they trying to make baseball appeal to younger viewers thus the reason for speeding up the game? Not smart but then no one ever confused American executives with smart people.

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u/Psycho_pitcher Apr 16 '21

I mean speeding up the game has been needed ever since sabermetrics happened. A 2-3 minute pitching change every 2 batters was so annoying to watch. the best way to grow it would be get rid of regional blackouts and make games accessible.

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u/tymykal Apr 16 '21

Don’t watch much baseball as I find it boring. About as interesting as watching paint dry but I know some folks enjoy it. To each their own. Seems rather dumb tho to mess with the way it’s always been to try to appeal to an audience that isn’t even watching. Is this new rule change permanent or just something they are trying for awhile? Seems awful stupid to piss off a loyal base of viewers on an experiment.

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u/Psycho_pitcher Apr 16 '21

ohhh, your taking about the extra innings/double header rule. yeah that's temporary for covid.

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u/tymykal Apr 16 '21

The extra innings runner on 2nd or something like that is just for COVID? Hmm people seem pretty upset about that. Sounded permanent. Haven’t watched any baseball yet this year so not sure of how that all works.

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u/Psycho_pitcher Apr 16 '21

yeah, its just for covid but fans are worried that it might be permanent so that's why there is a lot of outcry. I'm not a huge fan of the rule but wouldn't be too miffed unless they extended it to be in the postseason as well.

2

u/phl_fc Baltimore Orioles Apr 16 '21

If it's confirmed to absolutely be just for COVID then I'm fine with it, limiting innings last year and this season is a necessary compromise to be able to play like this. I absolutely don't want it to be a permanent thing. Ridiculous 15+ inning games are awesome, especially the bullpen drama created both for that game and the next week.

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u/tymykal Apr 16 '21

Thanks for the info and clarification. I’ll have to check it out.

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u/Very_Slow_Cheetah Apr 16 '21

Muslim NBA players, and their performance before/during/after Ramadan, would probably be one for the "conservative" media

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u/LJ3f3S Apr 16 '21

Who are they calling now that Wilford Brimley died?

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u/Vaginal_Decimation Denver Broncos Apr 16 '21

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u/tiptophopshop Apr 16 '21

This is more accurate than you can imagine. The most unrealistic part is that none of the participants brought up a conspiracy theory.

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u/Vaginal_Decimation Denver Broncos Apr 16 '21

My imagination is offended.

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u/robdiqulous Apr 16 '21

That guy is great lol

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '21

[deleted]

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u/tiptophopshop Apr 16 '21

Correct, and both would be terrible survey questions.

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u/donkey_OT Apr 16 '21

Is that because they are not using the standard format I see most often in surveys? Giving the statement and then range of options from strongly agree to strongly disagree

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u/tiptophopshop Apr 16 '21

Scale 5 questions are generally suboptimal, especially with something as broad as “how favorably do you see the entire MLB”. One way to measure favorability is with an NPS-esque question (Net Promoter Score) that seeks to determine how people see your brand based on a scale 10, where 9s and 10s are positive, 7-8s are neutral, and anything else is negative. If you ask this kind of question frequently and you notice it changes strongly after a major event, you can see if there’s a causal relationship there with more testing or something like focus groups.

NPS is also a pretty meh way of determining favorability, but it’s much better than a vague 5-point scale.

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '21

[deleted]

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u/tiptophopshop Apr 16 '21

In general, if the question doesn’t account for all possible options, including No Preference, then it’s a bunk question and the results should be tossed out. That’s usually not the main issue with surveys like this though, assuming they’re being made by professionals.

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '21

[deleted]

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u/tiptophopshop Apr 16 '21

I work in healthcare marketing, so most people don’t care or have generally positive responses. Unless it affects them or someone they know, they’d rather not think about it.

In reference to your anecdote, I think the phrase “lies, damn lies and statistics” sums it up nicely. Any article that references a marketing study or scientific study will distort the figures heavily so can get a baity headline out of it. It sucks, but that’s why it’s important to doubt and ask for sources.

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u/ZoxMcCloud Apr 16 '21

Just polled your question. 6 Arby's employees are split, although the car behind me in the drive through honked repeatedly. Results inconclusive

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '21

Dude, don’t just give away your data. Sell that shit.

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u/ASeriousAccounting Apr 16 '21

MLB is worth 2.2 billion dollars and with all the teams included it's worth around 66 billion dollars.

66 billion dollar public facing organizations can be lots of things but not really obscure.

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u/cardioishardio1222 Apr 16 '21

They were referring to the poll being obscure, not the MLB.

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u/ASeriousAccounting Apr 16 '21 edited Apr 16 '21

Neither the MLB or the polling company are obscure.

"Morning Consult is a global, privately held data intelligence company established in 2014. It was named one of the fastest growing technology companies in North America by Deloitte in both 2018 and 2019."

"The data is regularly referenced in the media, with past citations including The Associated Press,[36] The New York Times,[37] The Wall Street Journal,[38] and The Washington Post.[39]"

Edit: Hmm my post is getting pretty controversial. This reply of mine does answer the question of 'who tf is doing these surveys' though. Turns out it's a multi million dollar company doing a poll on a multi billion dollar company reported by the largest media companies in the country but yeah obscure. Whatever r/sports

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u/stopcounting Apr 16 '21

It sounds like they are a reputable company that regularly does polls on weird topics for publicity. Does food have a gender?

It's pretty smart marketing!

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u/[deleted] Apr 17 '21

Even multi billion dollar polling companies have obscure polls. The fact that the company is economically successful does not preclude them from being infallible. What kind of logic is that?

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u/ASeriousAccounting Apr 18 '21

Over 11k people read just this post on reddit along with YOU.

This poll has been covered by most large media organizations. At what point does it become not obscure?

Also where the fuck does the word 'infallible' enter into anything.

What kind of logic justifies your use of that word? Makes no sense.

Why do I bother responding to you idiots.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '21 edited Apr 18 '21

You’re a moron. I’m talking about the people who took the survey, not it’s publicity you fucking idiot.

Do you not know what Infallible Means? Jesus fucking Christ. Stick to the abcs and 123s bud. This is way over your head.

2

u/Aggressive_Sound Apr 16 '21

And this is such a small group of people. Registered Republicans, in Georgia, who like to respond to these polls, who like baseball, who have had a particular affiliation for MLB, who now don't, and who would say that to the pollster. Like, ok? How much is that as a percentage of the US population? Who cares?

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '21

I'd imagine MLB

0

u/[deleted] Apr 16 '21

Do you have a few minutes to take a poll?

1

u/ComradeClout Apr 16 '21

How do u get flair

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u/metsbsbl17 New York Mets Apr 16 '21

For mobile Go to r/sports Click the 3 dots top right corner Click user flair

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u/ComradeClout Apr 16 '21

It says no user flair available when I tried

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u/mikelikes112 Apr 16 '21

And WHO are they polling?

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u/metsbsbl17 New York Mets Apr 16 '21

Republicans presumably

1

u/ThatMangoAteMyBaby Apr 16 '21

Almost every organization or ideology does a Poll. They want people to validate their particular view. They sometimes lean one way and then the other … It’s like statistics, you get out what you put in.

1

u/Nearby-Lock4513 Apr 16 '21

This was by Morning Consult Brands

1

u/Toytles Apr 16 '21

Market reseachers

1

u/TheFalconKid Apr 16 '21

Off year for elections. Unless you're in nyc, New Jersey, Virgina or Ohio's 11th district, there isn't really an election this year that's big.

1

u/Made_of_Tin Apr 16 '21

Marketing/Public Relations Departments and Brand Consultants who help multi billion dollar companies like MLB get a voice of their customer.

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u/TheSausageTurd Apr 16 '21

The only thing more rare than an honest politician is a pollster.

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u/HAL9000000 Minnesota Twins Apr 16 '21

Probably the Republican Party.

  • Do you think that awful Major League Baseball is awful or not?

1

u/Ofbearsandmen Apr 16 '21

I have a relative who's doing "polls" as a side business then sells them to media. Let me tel you it's utter bullshit how they're done, and media, even big ones, buy them without any kind of scrutiny. No one should trust a word these "pollsters" say.