About & methodology
What this is
Dugout DMs is an independent data-analysis project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Instagram, Meta, Major League Baseball, any team or any player. Team names and logos are trademarks of their respective clubs and are shown only to identify teams. It shows which accounts on an admin-curated roster appear in each other's public Instagram following lists, and when that changes. Despite the name, it never sees or shows private messages: only public follows.
A follow is not evidence of friendship, a falling-out, team chemistry or any personal relationship. People follow and unfollow for all sorts of reasons, and accounts are sometimes run by agents or teams.
Directed follows
“A follows B” is read only from A's own following list. Whether B follows A comes from B's following list. We never infer that a follow is mutual from one side.
Yes, No, Unknown, as of a date
- Yes: the account appeared in the follower's most recent collected list.
- No: it wasn't in that list, which came back whole (no limit hit, no errors, no gaps).
- Unknown: the list wasn't collected, came back cut short or with errors, or the account's identity isn't confirmed.
Every Yes and No is dated: it describes the list on the day it was collected, and follows can change after that. Lists are collected from time to time rather than continuously. Data comes from a third-party collection service, not Instagram's official API; when it stops early (Instagram limits, cost caps, errors) the affected answers are Unknown. A rare account Instagram hides from lists (for example, deactivated) can still be missing from a list that looks whole.
Observation windows
When a follow appears between two verified lists, we say it was first detected between those two collection times. We never claim the exact moment someone followed or unfollowed. The first verified list for an account is a baseline: follows that already existed are not shown as new, and “first observed” dates are not follow dates.
A disappearance is shown only after a second verified list confirms it, so a temporary glitch doesn't look like an unfollow. Deleted, renamed, private or unavailable accounts, failed collections and roster changes never create unfollows. During the current beta, unfollow tracking is switched off entirely.
The roster
Accounts are chosen and verified by hand. Following an account does not put it on the roster, and accounts are never matched by similar names. Only following relationships between roster accounts are shown; other accounts in someone's following list are not published.
Privacy, retention and takedowns
We collect only public profiles on the roster and never access private accounts or log in to Instagram. Profile data was publicly visible when collected and is subject to the collection provider's limitations. Raw collection results are kept to audit changes; profile photos are not stored.
Privacy policy: this site uses no advertising or third-party tracking. To count visits we keep a random, anonymous visitor ID in your browser's local storage and record which pages are viewed and for how long, along with coarse details (device type, browser, time zone, language, the site that linked here). We don't store IP addresses or link visits to any identity. Cookies remember your team and colors; admin sign-in uses one strictly necessary cookie. A fuller privacy policy will be published before public launch.
If you're on the roster and want your account removed or corrected, send a request below. A person reviews every request.