St. Louis named America’s best baseball city. Kansas City comes in 11th out of 272. Where does Springfield rank? You’ll be shocked

by | Jun 4, 2015

Busch Stadium? Best place to watch baseball? You betcha. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Busch Stadium? Best place to watch baseball? You betcha. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

WalletHub.com researched the best and worst cities in the U.S. to follow America’s Pastime, baseball.  It especially focused on fans who are on a tight budget. To rank the cities, the website looked at 11 key parameters such as the performance level of each city’s teams, average ticket and minimum season ticket prices, stadium accessibility and more.

What they learned is that St. Louis came in number one, not only in the category of “Team and Performance Rank,” but also number one in “Cost and Fan Engagment Rank.”  Kansas City wasn’t that far behind either, coming in ranked 11th overall.  We also had three other cities that were ranked.  Cape Girardeau at 83, Columbia at 125 and Springfield at 194.

How Cape and COMO finished ahead of Springfield is beyond my comprehension, so I take this study with a grain of salt, but Cardinals and Royals fans, you at least have something to brag about.

Here’s the methodology they used to determine that Cullowhee, North Carolina is the 7th best baseball town in the country.

WalletHub analyzed 272 of the most populated U.S. cities and chose cities with at least one college baseball or Major League Baseball team.

Teams & Performance – Total Weight = 5

-Number of MLB & NCAA Division 1 Baseball Teams: Full Weight
-Performance Level of Teams (Number of Wins Divided by Total Games Played): Double Weight
Note: Past three seasons’ averages for MLB and NCAA Division 1 baseball teams were used for this calculation.
-Number of Championships Won: Full Weight
Note: Includes both MLB & NCAA Division 1 championships
-Number of Division Championships Won: Half Weight
Note: Includes both number of division championships MLB team has won and number of conference championships NCAA –Division 1 team(s) has won
-Franchise Value (Team Estimated Value in $Million): Half Weight
Note: For MLB teams only

Costs & Fan Engagement – Total Weight = 5
-Average Ticket Price for an MLB Game & Minimum Season Ticket Price for an NCAA Division 1 Baseball Game: Double Weight
-Number of Sports Bars per Capita: Half Weight
-Fan Friendliness & Engagement (Number of Twitter Followers Plus Number of Facebook “Likes” per Capita): Full Weight
-Stadium Accessibility (Stadium Capacity Divided by City Population): Half Weight
-Attendance (Average Home-Fan Attendance Divided by Arena Capacity): Half Weight
Note: For MLB teams only
-Viewership Rate (Number of Viewers on National TV per Capita): Half Weight
Note: For MLB teams only

Here’s the full list.

Overall Rank

City

“Teams & Performance” Rank

“Costs & Fan Engagement” Rank
1 St. Louis, MO 1 1
2 Pittsburgh, PA 21 3
3 Cincinnati, OH 56 2
4 Atlanta, GA 13 12
5 Cleveland, OH 18 10
6 Stanford, CA 12 20
7 Cullowhee, NC 35 7
8 Anaheim, CA 10 18
9 Oakland, CA 2 39
10 Minneapolis, MN 15 24
11 Kansas City, MO 27 19
12 Chapel Hill, NC 23 25
13 Detroit, MI 7 38
14 San Francisco, CA 32 21
15 Arlington, TX 36 17
16 Starkville, MS 26 36
17 Milwaukee, WI 74 8
18 St. Petersburg, FL 52 26
19 Denver, CO 69 14
20 Clemson, SC 40 37
21 Boston, MA 55 32
22 Phoenix, AZ 28 45
23 Seattle, WA 59 28
24 Miami, FL 65 27
25 Gainesville, FL 44 44
26 Columbia, SC 11 66
27 Buies Creek, NC 64 42
28 Baltimore, MD 108 15
29 Baton Rouge, LA 5 94
30 San Diego, CA 19 65
31 Hanover, NH 87 23
32 Houston, TX 22 69
33 Oxford, MS 49 58
34 Notre Dame, IN 117 12
35 Orono, ME 128 9
36 Corvallis, OR 3 106
T-37 New York, NY 37 70
T-37 Philadelphia, PA 63 50
39 Malibu, CA 24 92
40 Hammond, LA 51 62
41 Fayetteville, AR 58 59
42 Los Angeles, CA 14 96
43 College Station, TX 38 98
44 Washington, DC 107 43
45 Chicago, IL 99 47
46 Charlottesville, VA 49 77
47 Elon, NC 126 35
48 Champaign, IL 43 83
49 Bloomington, IN 39 107
50 South Orange, NJ 60 92
51 Conway, SC 62 79
52 Norman, OK 20 110
53 Tempe, AZ 9 124
54 College Park, MD 88 63
55 Lafayette, LA 24 112
56 Jacksonville, AL 146 33
57 Stony Brook, NY 66 101
58 Smithfield, RI 29 117
59 Hattiesburg, MS 106 67
60 Farmville, VA 183 29
T-61 Manhattan, KS 122 56
T-61 Kennesaw, GA 121 57
63 Williamsburg, VA 68 95
64 Blacksburg, VA 95 80
65 Stillwater, OK 6 142
66 East Lansing, MI 79 102
67 Annapolis, MD 184 30
68 Morgantown, WV 120 64
69 San Luis Obispo, CA 45 116
70 Radford, VA 141 51
71 Troy, AL 114 70
72 West Point, NY 76 133
73 Huntsville, TX 16 143
74 Coral Gables, FL 84 100
75 Morehead, KY 214 16
76 Lawrenceville, NJ 211 5
77 Tuscaloosa, AL 109 89
78 West Long Branch, NJ 94 145
79 Boone, NC 132 76
80 Eugene, OR 16 161
81 Kent, OH 33 146
82 Fullerton, CA 4 187
83 Cape Girardeau, MO 185 53
84 Ann Arbor, MI 109 115
85 Boiling Springs, NC 186 48
86 Fargo, ND 134 97
87 Pullman, WA 137 86
88 Bowling Green, OH 170 61
89 Prairie View, TX 193 48
90 Richmond, VA 67 139
91 Kingston, RI 173 55
92 Lincoln, NE 82 154
93 Cookeville, TN 105 137
94 Storrs, CT 166 75
95 Thibodaux, LA 172 73
96 Mount Pleasant, MI 152 90
97 Oxford, OH 176 68
98 Wichita, KS 46 161
99 University Park, PA 229 41
100 Carbondale, IL 162 90
T-101 Ithaca, NY 133 119
T-101 Lexington, VA 233 22
103 Lewiston, NY 239 4
T-104 Lubbock, TX 113 121
T-104 Terre Haute, IN 34 178
106 Louisville, KY 30 185
107 Tallahassee, FL 95 159
108 Auburn, AL 112 129
109 Lynchburg, VA 77 146
110 Greenville, NC 57 170
111 Waco, TX 92 168
112 Orlando, FL 72 156
113 Natchitoches, LA 188 82
114 Dover, DE 70 192
115 Homewood, AL 123 126
116 Raleigh, NC 47 182
117 Nashville, TN 42 184
118 Santa Barbara, CA 78 191
119 Huntington, WV 208 74
120 Daytona Beach, FL 148 121
121 Fairfax, VA 145 134
122 Spartanburg, SC 197 84
123 Statesboro, GA 136 144
124 West Lafayette, IN 201 86
T-125 Charleston, SC 71 176
T-125 Columbia, MO 146 120
T-127 Fairfield, CT 127 153
T-127 Normal, IL 82 198
129 St. Bonaventure, NY 235 34
130 Boca Raton, FL 75 173
131 Ypsilanti, MI 219 60
132 Iowa City, IA 143 130
133 Rochester, MI 248 54
134 Fort Myers, FL 91 164
135 Beaumont, TX 86 171
136 Valparaiso, IN 142 135
T-137 Monroe, LA 180 108
T-137 DeKalb, IL 260 52
139 Macon, GA 41 233
140 Greensboro, NC 164 124
141 Grambling, LA 237 46
142 Wilmington, NC 104 165
143 Villanova, PA 218 70
144 Mobile, AL 125 152
145 Lexington, KY 81 186
146 Clarksville, TN 101 177
147 Tampa, FL 117 188
148 Davidson, NC 212 86
149 Lewisburg, PA 210 98
150 Colonie, NY 224 81
151 Piscataway, NJ 98 229
T-152 Austin, TX 8 227
T-152 Dayton, OH 134 156
154 Reno, NV 139 149
155 Lawrence, KS 138 151
156 Clinton, SC 222 84
T-157 Bowling Green, KY 177 136
T-157 San Marcos, TX 124 169
T-159 Winston-Salem, NC 89 216
T-159 Knoxville, TN 174 141
161 Highland Heights, KY 245 78
162 Ruston, LA 186 132
163 DeLand, FL 178 138
164 Tucson, AZ 52 212
165 Princess Anne, MD 269 40
166 Murfreesboro, TN 102 188
167 Greenville, SC 174 150
168 Lorman, MS 265 11
169 Edwardsville, IL 223 105
170 Newark, DE 139 190
171 Itta Bena, MS 271 6
172 Omaha, NE 90 197
173 Princeton, NJ 231 104
174 Emmitsburg, MD 263 31
175 Charleston, IL 209 126
T-176 Spokane, WA 80 204
T-176 Kalamazoo, MI 230 109
178 Muncie, IN 163 163
179 Birmingham, AL 168 160
180 Orem, UT 116 216
181 Jonesboro, AR 131 206
T-182 Columbus, OH 61 252
T-182 Buffalo, NY 52 255
184 Lowell, MA 200 140
T-185 Fort Worth, TX 31 234
T-185 Albuquerque, NM 47 224
187 New Britain, CT 144 179
188 Harrisonburg, VA 247 103
189 Nacogdoches, TX 217 130
190 North Charleston, SC 220 126
191 Hempstead, NY 164 173
192 Amherst, NY 195 155
193 Richmond, KY 203 158
194 Springfield, MO 129 196
195 Johnson City, TN 179 167
196 Moraga, CA 242 118
197 Provo, UT 190 172
198 Binghamton, NY 148 202
199 Conway, AR 119 200
200 Athens, OH 261 114
201 Brookings, SD 199 180
202 Corpus Christi, TX 97 215
203 Durham, NC 153 208
204 Chestnut Hill, MA 258 110
205 Honolulu, HI 195 175
206 Edinburg, TX 167 208
207 Youngstown, OH 266 112
208 Las Cruces, NM 161 219
209 Martin, TN 270 123
210 Paradise, NV 103 236
211 Rock Hill, SC 238 146
212 Berkeley, CA 111 253
213 Irvine, CA 73 240
214 Evansville, IN 157 203
215 High Point, NC 156 205
216 Long Beach, CA 100 237
217 Charlotte, NC 169 211
218 Athens-Clarke, GA 150 218
T-219 Memphis, TN 130 230
T-219 Lake Charles, LA 194 199
221 Santa Clara, CA 190 201
222 Little Rock, AR 180 207
223 Hamden, CT 250 195
224 Norfolk, VA 153 246
225 Tulsa, OK 155 223
226 Jackson, MS 92 266
T-227 Dallas, TX 85 268
T-227 Macomb, IL 252 183
229 Old Westbury, NY 272 166
230 Asheville, NC 246 180
231 Towson, MD 197 231
232 Sacramento, CA 114 241
233 Savannah, GA 182 239
234 Cambridge, MA 204 225
235 Easton, PA 253 193
236 Peoria, IL 213 220
237 New Orleans, LA 205 210
238 San Antonio, TX 202 213
239 Poughkeepsie, NY 206 232
240 Murray, KY 225 221
241 Grand Forks, ND 220 226
242 Jacksonville, FL 159 238
243 Salt Lake City, UT 243 214
244 Worcester, MA 188 254
T-245 Riverside, CA 150 262
T-245 Abilene, TX 241 222
247 Huntsville, AL 268 194
248 Montgomery, AL 160 261
249 Toledo, OH 207 247
250 Bethlehem, PA 215 242
251 Amherst, MA 240 227
252 Indianapolis, IN 192 259
253 Fresno, CA 157 251
254 Albany, NY 232 244
255 Bakersfield, CA 171 267
256 Davis, CA 227 248
257 Akron, OH 236 245
258 Pine Bluff, AR 259 235
259 New Rochelle, NY 264 250
260 New Haven, CT 244 249
261 Greeley, CO 228 258
262 Newark, NJ 216 263
263 Portland, OR 249 255
264 Stockton, CA 254 243
T-265 Colorado Springs, CO 262 257
T-265 West Hartford, CT 234 265
267 Teaneck, NJ 257 260
268 Evanston, IL 226 269
269 Fort Wayne, IN 256 264
270 Jersey City, NJ 255 270
271 San Jose, CA 251 272
272 Providence, RI 267 271

Source: WalletHub


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