While the World Series rolls on. Here is a report that WalletHub did on this subject https://wallethub.com/edu/best-baseball-cities/12864. I spoke to Jill Gonzalez about a few of these cities.
New York was #1. That’s not a surprise, but it’s still interesting to know why?
“The number of teams is something that we look at, so that certainly helps them,” said Jill Gonzalez, who has studied all the data. “We look at NCAA as well. There are a good number of teams there as well. We look at past wins, Hall of Fame, there’s no surprise they are #1 as far as fandom goes.”
Philadelphia is a terrific baseball city that needs some more excitement surrounding the team.
“I really thought they were going to make it to the playoff.” Gonzalez sighed. “Performance could have been better. It’s an affordable place. Affordable tickets. The Phillies are a little on the back burner as far as fandom goes. You gotta give Bryce some players to help him out.”
The Oakland A’s were ranked 8th. That’s great for the fans, but it won’t be great when they get moved. That’s a travesty in the making.
“Cost-benefit and the team and what’s its worth factored in,” said Gonzalez. “In their case, you have a city that wants to keep its team, but it’s so much of a business move. The fandom is there. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will be enough to save it.”
Atlanta ranked fourth. That surprised me because they don’t generally sell out every game until the playoffs start, and they were back in them and now the World Series.
“Performance is one reason. We looked at the best performing teams this season,” Gonzalez added. “We also look at things like the average ticket price. Because they have that regular season problem, tickets are pretty reasonable.”
Chicago with both of its teams is ranked sixth. Should it be higher? Maybe the occasional odor at Wrigley is a reason?
“The presence of urine does not play into it,” Gonzalez said with a chuckle. “We haven’t gotten that down to a science yet. Performance was better for the White Sox this year. Just going to Wrigley is an experience, and that helps too.”
