NESN

Yankees Are Florida’s Favorite Baseball Team, Poll Shows, With Red Sox, Rays, Marlins Not Far Behind

If the empty seats at Rays and Marlins games throughout the years weren't evidence enough, a recent poll has now confirmed that Florida fans don't like baseball all that much.

A Quinnipiac poll on Florida fans' baseball allegiances showed that just 46 percent of the state's adults are "very interested" or "somewhat interested" in pro baseball, according to the Orlando Sentinel, with a hat tip to SportsGrid.

Of those interested, 20 percent say they live and die for … the Yankees. The Rays got just 18 percent and the Marlins 15 percent. The Red Sox even got 8 percent.

"Florida has only a 19-year tradition with Major League Baseball, so there is less fan interest, with the possible exception of those transplanted New Yorkers and their offspring," Quinnipiac University Polling Institute's Peter A. Brown said.

The Rays have garnered more attention recently as they've put together several years of playoff ball, and the Marlins were looking to do the same with their new ballpark and amenities. But it may be a tall task to pick off the allegiance of baseball fans who have been rooting for baseball's best all these years.