Check out the 2024 MLB Player Poll with honest opinions of the game’s most overrated player, the length of the season and more.
You will sometimes hear MLB players say “It wasn’t about the money” when signing a free-agent contract — even if it’s with the highest bidder. In some cases, that might be true, but there are plenty of reasons why players sign with the teams they choose, with money and taxes chief among them.
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But what would would happen with a more even playing field?
In an anonymous player poll conducted this spring, we asked a pool of more than 100 players which team they would sign with if contracts, state taxes and rosters were not a factor.
Eighty-six players responded, and the Atlanta Braves were their top pick, with 12.7 percent of the vote.
“I would sign with the Braves, knowing what I know,” one player said. “If I didn’t know, I would probably try and play one year for the Red Sox or the Yankees. Just to do it. Just to experience that. Probably the Red Sox.”
The Red Sox received the second-most votes (8), with the allure of Fenway Park being one of the factors.
“It’s basically a museum,” one player said.
The Dodgers and Rangers received seven votes, followed by the Yankees and Cubs with six votes each.
A team’s stadium was a common reason among players, including those who picked the Braves.
“I love that stadium,” one player said of Truist Park, the team’s home since 2017.
With 81 games at a single venue each year, it’s important for players to like where they play — and where they spend much of their time.
The city outside the stadium was the driving force for at least one player with eyes on the West Coast.
“San Diego is a beautiful place to play,” said one of five players who chose the Padres as his preference.
The convenience of having spring training in the same city as the regular season compelled at least one player to pick the Diamondbacks.
Beyond anything, though, the allure of home is tough to beat, with players from Southern California, Miami, Seattle and even Cincinnati naming their hometown team.
The call to return home is potentially another reason players picked the Braves. In the 2023 MLB Draft, Florida had the most high school players selected (17), followed by California (14), Texas (12) and Georgia (11). Florida, California and Texas all have at least two big-league teams and multiple large population centers, while Georgia has just the Braves, and the metro Atlanta area is home to the majority of the state’s population.
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The Braves are also the team of the South, where much of the best college baseball is played. While Texas, California and Florida may have split allegiances, the Braves are the defacto home team for much of Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina. That’s why at least one player picked Atlanta in our poll.
“Just because I was a Braves fan growing up,” he said.
(Photo: Brett Davis / USA Today)
