Baseball remains smothered in superstition. In an era of in-game analytics tracking bat speed, rotations on each pitch, and launch angle, many of the MLB rituals that began in the 19th century linger.
Hitters tap the plate before each at-bat. Fielders avoid stepping on the fair/foul lines in between innings. Teammates shun pitchers in the midst of throwing a no-hitter. Hats cannot be washed in-season if a players is on a hot streak for others. This has carried over to fans.
What are the Most Superstitious MLB Fanbases? We shunned the Tarot cards and Ouija boards and, instead, ran the numbers to find out.
Fenway Faithful Add Another Title
One doesn't need to be a devotee of Ken Burns or John Updike to guess which fanbase tops our MLB 2026 Superstition Index. 
Red Sox fans sat haunted by "The Curse Of The Bambino" for 86 years. They take their superstitions to unique levels. After all, New England gave us the Salem Witch Trials, Stephen King, and Calvinistic guilt. The Red Sox won the first of four World Series titles in this century in 2004. Meanwhile, those same ticks and routines that delivered Red Sox fans their deliverance have continued since.
The Red Sox fanbase scored a perfect 100 score in our survey. That combines its documented title drought history, team-specific fan rituals, and mainstream coverage of it all. When the Red Sox won 27 of 30 games this summer, (mostly) male fans in attendance at Fenway Park take off their shirts and go "tarps off" during team rallies. That has stuck into September.
Most Superstitious MLB Fanbases: All 30 Teams Ranked
| Rank | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
1 | Boston Red Sox | 100.0 |
2 | San Francisco Giants | 91.7 |
3 | Chicago Cubs | 90.0 |
3 | Cleveland Guardians | 90.0 |
5 | San Diego Padres | 80.0 |
6 | Philadelphia Phillies | 75.0 |
T7 | Minnesota Twins | 65.0 |
T7 | Los Angeles Angels | 65.0 |
9 | Milwaukee Brewers | 63.3 |
10 | Atlanta Braves | 61.7 |
11 | Toronto Blue Jays | 58.3 |
T12 | Seattle Mariners | 56.7 |
T12 | Texas Rangers | 56.7 |
T12 | New York Mets | 56.7 |
15 | Chicago White Sox | 55.0 |
16 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 53.3 |
17 | St. Louis Cardinals | 46.7 |
18 | Kansas City Royals | 45.0 |
18 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 45.0 |
20 | Colorado Rockies | 43.3 |
21 | New York Yankees | 41.6 |
T22 | Tampa Bay Rays | 36.7 |
T22 | Baltimore Orioles | 36.7 |
T22 | Detroit Tigers | 36.7 |
T25 | Miami Marlins | 35.0 |
T25 | Washington Nationals | 35.0 |
T25 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 35.0 |
T25 | Athletics | 35.0 |
T29 | Houston Astros | 28.3 |
T29 | Cincinnati Reds | 28.3 |
Most Superstitious MLB Fanbases: Methodology
Each of the 30 MLB fanbases was scored on three weighted components sourced exclusively from ESPN, MLB.com, and Wikipedia: documented curse or title-drought history (41.7%), team-specific fan rituals still tied to the fanbase (33.3%), and mainstream coverage of postseason grooming or gameday rituals (25%). Weights were rescaled after two originally planned components, search-interest trends and social listening volume, were excluded from this pass since that data has not yet been collected. Composite scores are shown on a 0-100 scale; per house style, no team was assigned a curse, ritual, or superlative that was not directly documented in a permitted source.
Most Superstitious MLB Fanbases: The Breakdown
The 
San Francisco Giants slide into second in our survey, just edging out the 
Chicago Cubs and 
Cleveland Guardians. The Giants played at the Polo Grounds in New York until the 1958 season. Despite a lineup that included Willie Mays, the Giants floundered in the standings and at the gate. In leaving New York (along with the Dodgers), they sparked the eternal ire of scorned fan base.
Meanwhile, fans on Chicago's North Side felt the ire of a billy goat that belonged to William Sianis from 1945 until 2016. The Cubs rivaled the Red Sox in finding agonizing and catastrophic ways to lose during a World Series winless span that covered 106 years. And who did the Cubs beat to win that 2016 World Series in seven games? Yep, the then-Cleveland Indians.
While the Indians changed their name to the Guardians in 2022, that doesn't erase the fact that the franchise - no matter the name - hasn't won a World Series since 1948. The ghosts of Municipal Stadium (famously known as the 'Mistake By The Lake') remain lore in Cleveland. As does the pain of losing the 1995 World Series to the Braves in six games. The woebegone Indians boasted a roster that included Orel Hershiser, Dennis Martinez, Eddie Murray, Jim Thome, Albert Belle, and Manny Ramirez. They went 100-44 during the lockout-shortened 1994 regular season.
Two years later, the Indians knocked out the Yankees in the ALDS, only to lose the World Series to the Florida Marlins in seven games. The Indians were the only AL team to reach the World Series besides the Yankees from 1995-2001. Yet, they have no rings to show for it.
That's enough to drive any fan base batty.
Meanwhile, fans of the Reds - a franchise that goes back to 1876 - have eschewed the unscientific world of superstition and rank last in our survey. Fans in Cincinnati appear to be resigned to their fate as also-rans in the NL Central. Among the smallest of small-market teams, the Reds last won a World Series 36 years ago. With the passing of Pete Rose, the lifting of his "lifetime" ban, and his impedning Hall of Fame eligibility in 2027, Reds fans may be ready to forgo any and all ill-will toward baseball.
