Angels are top baseball team on ESPN The Magazine's 'Best Franchises in Sports' list
The Angels may be rather mediocre on the field this season, but they are the best franchise in baseball as far as ESPN The Magazine is concerned.
They came out as the top-ranked baseball team, and fourth in sports overall, in the magazine's ninth annual "Best Franchises in Sports" list, which is part of the “Best In Sports Issue” hitting newsstands Friday.
According to a press release from the magazine, the list is meant to provide a ranking of 122 teams from NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball "according to how much they give back to fans for the time, money and emotion they invest in them."
The magazine analyzed a team's efficiency in spending fan money compared to its performance on the field, while also factoring in fan feedback in 21 categories.
The Angels, who topped the overall list back in 2009, finished behind the previous two Super Bowl winners -- the top-ranked Green Bay Packers and No. 3 New Orleans Saints -- and the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning at No. 2.
The top 10 was rounded out by the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Pittsburgh Steelers, Colorado Rockies, Memphis Grizzlies and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Cincinnati Bengals were the lowest-ranking team at No. 122, just beating out the Washington Redskins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Mets, Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Thrashers, New York Islanders and Detroit Pistons.
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Scott Kazmir may be finished as an Angel
-- Chuck Schilken
