The 2025 MLB season hasn’t even thrown its first pitch. Yet, a different kind of leaderboard is already stirring emotions across baseball—ESPN’s latest Aggrieved Fan Index.
This snapshot of frustration shows how quickly joy can turn to anger in a sport built on patience. Even playoff berths and big-name signings don’t always calm fan bases that have seen too much losing or not enough ambition.
The Shifting Landscape of MLB Fan Frustration
The most revealing thing about the 2025 Aggrieved Fan Index? Misery moves fast. Last year’s headliners—teams like the Blue Jays and Mariners—have mostly slipped off the radar.
Recent on-field success soothed old wounds and bought some goodwill. But as some clubs rise, others sink into the emotional muck of missed opportunities and confusing strategies.
Red Sox: Winning, but Not Winning Enough
The Boston Red Sox prove that making the playoffs doesn’t erase anger. They’re back in October, sure, but for a fan base conditioned to chase banners, the grievances run deeper.
Boston’s frustration comes from high standards and recent decisions that just don’t measure up:
Cincinnati Reds: Playoffs Without Payoff
The Cincinnati Reds finally returned to the postseason. But when your last playoff series win is buried under three decades of history, one playoff berth feels more like a tease than a triumph.
The offseason didn’t help:
Orioles: From 101 Wins to Stunning Collapse
The Baltimore Orioles looked like a budding powerhouse after a 101-win campaign. Then they crashed back to earth in spectacular fashion.
There’s at least a ray of optimism in Baltimore:
Still, one big move doesn’t erase the sting of a collapse that arrived just as dreams were starting to feel real.
Teams Stuck in Neutral – Or Worse
The Index also highlights organizations whose fan bases are tired of waiting and tired of excuses. Watching other clubs execute the plans they wish their own teams would adopt just adds to the frustration.
Rockies: Historic Futility Forces Change
The Colorado Rockies plummeted to historic depths, registering the worst modern run differential the franchise has ever seen. It wasn’t just losing; it was non-competitive baseball, night after night.
The fallout finally forced movement:
Rockies fans have heard promises before, though. Until the product on the field improves, skepticism will remain the default in Denver.
Giants: Mediocrity and Missed Stars
San Francisco Giants fans are worn down by a particular kind of frustration: the grind of mediocrity dressed up as contention. Year after year, they’ve lived through confusing roster patches and half-measures.
The two biggest issues are obvious:
In a market and ballpark that should attract stars, the Giants’ inability to close those deals has become a running sore.
Cardinals: A Winning Culture Under Threat
For St. Louis Cardinals fans, the frustration feels existential. This is a fan base raised on excellence, steady leadership, and packed houses at Busch Stadium.
Now, the foundation looks shaky:
Chronic Dysfunction, Broken Trust, and Long Droughts
At the bottom of the Index, some franchises deal with issues that go way beyond a single season. Culture, ownership, and repeated failure have created long-standing resentment.
Angels: A Decade of Dysfunction
The Los Angeles Angels have become a case study in how not to run a modern franchise. Their 10th straight losing season isn’t just a number; it’s a timeline of squandered talent and misaligned priorities.
Angels fans are forced to live with:
After wasting generational talents in the recent past, the Angels remain stuck in a loop their fan base sees all too clearly.
Pirates: Hope vs. Habit
In Pittsburgh, hope is always a delicate thing. Pirates fans are again being asked to trust a future built around youth while the present keeps disappointing.
The tensions are familiar:
Until the Pirates show a real willingness to spend and retain talent, their fan base will keep viewing every rebuild with wary eyes.
Mets and Twins: Collapses and Broken Promises
The New York Mets and Minnesota Twins both land in a weirdly similar emotional spot on the Index. Sure, their markets and histories don’t line up, but their fans are dealing with fresh wounds from seasons that unraveled right when it mattered most.
Their complaints? Pretty familiar:
For Mets and Twins fans, it’s like a cruel joke. Every time hope starts to flicker, the rug gets yanked out again.
ESPN’s 2025 Aggrieved Fan Index says something honest about being a modern MLB fan. Success disappears fast, patience runs thin, and—let’s face it—context matters just as much as the standings.
Maybe it’s a controversial trade, a decade of dysfunction, or a collapse after a 101-win season. Every fan base carries its own scar tissue, and in 2025, some of those scars feel especially raw.
Here is the source article for this story: MLB aggrieved fan index: The 10 most frustrated fan bases of 2025
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