Here we stand with four teams left, each series destined to be a grueling battle for its league-respective pennant. Coincidentally, the four teams with the most Twitter followers heading into the playoffs are the four that remain. By this logic, we ‘ll be looking at a New York Yankees/San Francisco Giants World Series in due time, but let’s take a closer look at how the American League and National League Championship Series matchups stack up.
MLB Playoffs: Comparing the Matchups via Social Media
New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers
Yankees Twitter: 748,870 followers
- Pennant Chase Growth: 690,391 followers on August 15
So long Division Series. Been there WON THAT. #27andCounting
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 13, 2012
Tigers Twitter: 162,679 followers
- Pennant Chase Growth: 138,012 followers on August 15
Only a few more hours until Game 1. Where will you be watching your #Tigers tonight? #EveryGameCounts
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) October 13, 2012
Yankees Facebook: 6,084,951 likes
- Talking about: 607,334
Tigers Facebook: 1,087,800 likes
- Talking about: 155,987
Analysis: The Yankees hashtag ‘#27andcounting’ is just like most Yankees fans that I’ve met. It’s cocky, brash, unnecessarily loud, and it reeks of over-flowing self-confidence. Unfortunately, it’s also got a leg to stand on, as the Yankees Twitter account has the most followers of all MLB teams. This stat includes the Tigers, of course, who have about 22% of the followers that the Yankees have. Their number, while solid compared to teams across the league, pales in comparison to New York’s. And just look at those Facebook numbers. Somehow there are fewer people talking about the Tigers on Facebook than there were in the first round. Yikes.
Winner:
St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Francisco Giants
Cardinals Twitter: 195,159 followers 
- Pennant Chase Growth: 165,055 followers on August 15
“We know some of their strengths, but I think it’s more important that we focus on our strengths.” – Matheny #12in12 — St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) October 13, 2012
Giants Twitter: 313,514 followers
- Pennant Chase Growth: 287,298 followers on August 15
Show your #SFGiants pride and tag your photos with #OrangeOctober-You’ll also be eligible to win tix to Home Games 1&2 of NLCS
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) October 12, 2012
Cardinals Facebook: 1,333,288 likes
- Talking about: 223,347
Giants Facebook: 1,547,323 likes
- Talking about: 375,922
Analysis: Yes, the Giants have more than 100,000 more Twitter followers. And yes, the Giants have more people talking about them on Facebook. But at this point, how can you count the Cardinals out? There are nearly 100,000 more people talking about St. Louis now than the first round, and while the Giants have more than doubled their ‘talking about’ status, life has taught us to never bet against the Cardinals in anything ever again.
Winner:
@xfinitysports Thanks again for sharing!
Good summary on the Cardinals. And yes, I’m biased.