When it comes to the best baseball cities in the U.S., Chicago should be No. 1. Period.
Nothing personal against WalletHub’s latest study, which ranked Chicago 10th among the best cities for professional and college baseball fans. It’s just how we feel.
New York, St. Louis and Los Angeles topped the list with scores of 58.07, 53.34 and 52.81, respectively. Chicago’s scored a 39.51, narrowly beating Detroit (39.48) for a spot in the top 10. Despite all the hoopla surrounding the Cubs and their historic season thus far, Chicago didn’t even break the top five? Come on.
To determine the best places to be a baseball fan, WalletHub compared 361 of the most populated U.S. cities with at least one college or professional baseball team across 25 metrics, ranging from average ticket price to stadium accessibility.
A seat at Wrigley Field for Games 3, 4 and 5 of the World Series costs $7,200, according to the study. So it should come as no surprise that Chicago was ranked among cities that boast the most expensive average ticket price for MLB games. And when it comes to accessibility of MLB stadiums, Chicago’s ballparks are lacking.
Regardless, our ranking is bound to skyrocket after the Cubs (win) compete in the World Series. Because obviously.
The Cubs and Indians have had the two longest World Series droughts in MLB. Here is a numbers breakdown of the 112th World Series:
174 Years: The combined length of the Cubs’ and Indians’ World Series droughts.
$2.2 billion: The estimated value of the Cubs.
18: Number of U.S. presidents who have held office since the Cubs last won the World Series.
April 8, 1908: The date that Harvard Business School was established, and the year of the Cubs’ last World Series win.
@RianneCoale | rcoale@redeyechicago.com
