Many people know Keith Olbermann as the unabashed and combative liberal host of MSNBC’s Countdown show weeknights at 8 pm/ET. But what many people may or may not know is that Keith is also one of the New York Yankee’s most visible fans. Seems like an oxymoron that Olbermann, a person who rails against the rich and says they should be taxed heavily would support the richest team in baseball. I mean, why doesn’t Keith support the Kansas City Royals or San Diego Padres? And yet, when you look at the Yankees, why wouldn’t Keith be a Yankee fan and a liberal Democrat. After all, the Democrats have been good to the Yankees – or at least Democratic Presidents have. Could the real reason that Keith Olbermann is a liberal Democrat have more to do with Keith’s love of the Yankees than his actual beliefs? It sounds crazy, but when you look at the statistics, it’s not as crazy as you think.
In the 100+ years of World Series play, the Yankees are baseball’s most successful franchise. They have won over a quarter of the World Series, and almost 40% of the American League Championships. But, when you look closer, some interesting statistics related to politics show up:
--Since the World Series came into existence in 1903, there have been 57 World Series played under Republican presidents and 48 under Democratic chief executives. The Yankee’s winning percentage under Republican presidents is just under 56%. Under Democrats, their winning percentage goes up to over 58%. The Yankees have made 23 World Series appearances under Democrats and 17 appearances under Republicans.
--In terms of championships, the Yankees have won 20 World Series under the Dems, but just 7 under the Reps. Translated that means the Yankees have won over 40% of the titles Team Donkey has controlled the Presidency, but just about 12% of the titles when Team Elephant has ruled.
--The Yankees have won their last 7 World Series Appearances under a Democratic administration (last loss occurred in 1964), but even more interesting is they have won each of the last 4 years of Democratic rule (last 3 years Clinton was in charge and the first year under Obama). New York has lost their last 5 World Series Appearances under a Republican administration (last title occurred in 1958).
In short, considering 2010 is a year that the Democrats control 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and that the Yankees are just 8 wins away from Title #28, are we about to see the same end result that we have the last four times this scenario has played out? Don’t bet against it.
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