The fans’ favorite MLB opposition player: A Twitter study

A challenge to Twitter followers yielded some surprises about the popularity of that often-declared “dying sport,” MLB. Let’s take a closer look.

In the continuing absence of actual baseball this “season,” Call to the Pen is happy to report our latest randomized study about the most beloved MLB opposition player.

This study is the result of totally stealing data related to replies to a tweet by a CBS writer named Danny Vitelli, who prompted his followers (and others, of course) as follows: “Name a player who doesn’t play for the team you root for, but you would still buy and wear his jersey.”

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In other words: Everybody’s favorite MLB opposition player, or – wait – damn – the sport isn’t identified. Rats.

Your correspondent was worried that he might have to scroll through hundreds of replies involving replies about several sports, including whatever that big-deal English soccer league is called.

Nonetheless, I decided to “create a study” based on filling out a grid that would be “complete” once 40 MLB opposition players were named, picked at random – meaning, I would go down Vitelli’s replies in order for a bit, recording those replies, then scroll down a way, pick another batch of replies, and record their results in order.

I have no idea whether this method meets actual STEM requirements for a random study since I have never been, nor have I played on TV, a STEM person, but it seemed random enough for a COVID-19-propelled notion.