Dodgers top MLB in social media popularity

The Dodgers' popularity on social media this season certainly matched the team's success on the field, according to numbers recently provided by Major League Baseball Advanced Media.

The Dodgers, who led the Major Leagues in attendance, saw those numbers reflected across social media platforms. Dodger Stadium was the most checked-in sports venue in the United States and ranked fourth on the list of most checked-in locations in the U.S. in 2013, according to Facebook.

Dodger Stadium was also the eighth-most Instagrammed location of 2013. The team led MLB in total growth throughout the 2013 season on Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram and its growth of 193,483 on Twitter was third in baseball.

"Our 2013 marketing campaign was 'A Whole New Blue' and it truly is," Dodgers executive vice president and chief marketing officer Lon Rosen said in a statement. "Our fans are back at Dodger Stadium and that extends across all social and digital platforms. We anticipate these numbers will continue to grow in 2014, thanks in part to the improved connectivity at Dodger Stadium."

Today, we throw it back to the most legendary performance of "Take Me out to the Ballgame" ever. Take it away, Vin: http://t.co/ckGwtP6Thh

- Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) December 19, 2013

Based on social interactions per post, the Dodgers were tops in baseball in engagement per fan on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr. Instagram was the club's most engaged platform, with 30,849,622 likes, 373,072 comments and 309,314 new followers of the @Dodgers account. On Twitter, the club saw a Major League-best 1,588,291 retweets from January to October, a 274 percent increase from the past season.

Much of this achievement was reflected in the recent MLB Network Social Media Awards, which honored the Dodgers with three awards: Best Team Promotion for the Vin Scully Takeover (which resulted in 434 percent new followers over the daily in-season average, 56,868 mentions of @Dodgers and 19,643 mentions of #VinScully); Snapshot of the Year for the photo of Clayton Kershaw and Sandy Koufax in the clubhouse following Game 4 of the National League Division Series; and #BestBite featuring Nick Punto and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Danny DeVito. Outfielder Yasiel Puig was also honored as Socially Savvy Rookie and #SAW (Stop and Watch) Player of the Year.