Braves take backseat to Yankees in East

According to this map tallying Facebook likes — hat tip, Business Insider —  North Carolina’s major-league baseball loyalties are closely divided between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees.

Why would the Yankees engender such fan interest east of I-95? Could it be residual reverence for Catfish Hunter? Or a previously underestimated  in-migration of  New Yorkers?

Neither, apparently. As Business Insider observes, “The Yankees are the default team in areas without a team close-by: Louisiana, southern Virginia, New Mexico, Utah, etc.”