With Major League Baseball’s Opening Day just 26 days away, millions of fans are preparing for a return to the diamond, not just for the love of the game, but for a reprieve from the culture wars. While the NFL and NBA have spent the last season doubling down on the divisive agenda, baseball remains the nation’s last great cultural sanctuary.
As the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees open the season on March 25, 2026, fans will get a welcome reminder of how different baseball feels from the NFL’s culture-war noise — and the contrast has rarely been sharper.
In an era when the NFL and NBA have frustrated many longtime fans with campaigns that feel overtly political, MLB hasn’t been perfectly neutral either: In recent years, it has embraced causes such as Black Lives Matter and LGBT pride, with teams hosting pride-themed events at ballparks across the league.
Some clubs have largely stayed out of it. The Texas Rangers, for example, are often seen as operating in a more conservative political environment and have a history of conservative-leaning political giving. They also remain one of the few teams without an official pride night — at least as of the currently posted 2026 promotions calendar.
The Atlanta Braves are another example, often emphasizing broadly popular, community-based philanthropy, such as field renovations and local service projects, rather than taking high-profile positions on contentious social and political debates.
A VoteHub analysis published in early 2026 found that 53.7% of MLB players are registered Republicans, compared with 20.2% in the NFL and 10% in the NBA.
Something that MLB does to deeply root itself in the American values and traditions of the past is built into how the game is played.
Rooted in objective truth and individual accountability, baseball aligns naturally with conservative thought. The game is a series of binary realities — safe or out, strike or ball — now refined by the technological frontier.
With the new automatic ball-strike challenge system, Major League Baseball is replacing fallible “judgment calls” with high-tech precision, ensuring the correct answer is found in even the closest of margins. It’s a “rule of law” approach to sports that appeals to traditionalists.
Another massively successful approach that MLB has been pioneering for several decades is the perspective it has on international players. Rather than relying on the escapades of domestic superstars such as LeBron James, who takes every chance to voice his hate for the United States, MLB has elevated a new generation of superstars who view America not as a source of oppression but as a land of unparalleled opportunity.
For players from the Dominican Republic, Japan, South Korea, Venezuela, Mexico, and many more, the diamond is a place of gratitude. Currently, over 27% of MLB players come from countries outside of the U.S., making it the most diverse sport in America, and even still, the majority of the league leans right. While other leagues are defined by domestic athletes pushing a “woke” agenda, baseball’s international stars bring a refreshing appreciation for the American dream.
Baseball is built on objective truth and individual accountability — principles that align perfectly with the conservative mind. It is the epitome of a meritocracy: You simply cannot hide.
A player is judged by the cold, hard reality of a batting average, and a pitcher by a definitive earned run average. There is no narrative that can rescue a hitter stuck below .200, just as there is no saving a pitcher with a 7.32 ERA. In baseball, as in life, the scoreboard doesn’t lie.
However, the biggest difference can be seen on the lawns of the White House — for years, we have watched the NBA, a league now synonymous with political grievances, dismantle the tradition of the championship visit.
From the Golden State Warriors to the Boston Celtics, NBA teams have frequently chosen to snub the commander in chief, preferring to make a political statement rather than show respect for the office.
EL MENCHO FALLS, SHEINBAUM NEEDS TO ACT
Contrast that with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite intense pressure from activist groups and “woke” media critics to skip their invitation following a back-to-back World Series run, the Dodgers have consistently chosen to show up. For stars such as Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani, the visit isn’t about endorsing a person or political view — rather, it’s about honoring a nation.
As Dodgers manager Dave Roberts famously put it, he’s a baseball manager, not a politician, and he was raised to respect the highest office in the land, regardless of who sits behind the Resolute Desk.