The 2021 World Series is underway between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros, and both teams play in strong baseball cities. WalletHub recently released its ranking of the top baseball cities in the United States as well as its deeper dive in this year’s World Series. The outlet also released some mini rankings, and both Houston and Atlanta are among the five best performing MLB teams.
“In order to determine the best cities for baseball fans, WalletHub compared 332 of the most populated U.S. cities based on 31 key metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights,” WalletHub’s methodology states. “Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for baseball fans. For our sample, we chose cities with at least one Major League Baseball (MLB), Minor League Baseball (MiLB) or college baseball (NCAA) team.”
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Wallethub goes on to say that it grouped the cities by division and assigned weights to a divisional category based on its popularity among fans. Atlanta and Houston made the cut but is one of the cities ranked No. 1? Here’s a look at the 20 best baseball cities in the country.
1. New York
New York is the home of the Yankees and Mets, and the two teams have won a combined 29 World Series titles. The Yankees have won 27 of those championships with the last one coming in 2009. The Mets’ last title came in 1986.
2. Los Angeles
Like New York, Los Angeles has two MLB teams, the Dodgers and the Angels. The Dodgers won the World Series last year and reached the NLCS this season. The Angels are home to two of the top players in MLB – Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.
3. St. Louis
St. Louis is the home of the Cardinals who have won 11 World Series titles. Some of the legendary players who have worn the Cardinals uniform are Lous Brock, Stan Musial and Ozzie Smith. Along with 19 World Series championships, the Cardinals have won 19 National League Pennants.
4. Atlanta
As mentioned, the Braves are playing in this year’s World Series and looking to win their first title since 1995. The Braves became “America’s Team” in the 1990s after appearing in five World Series during that time. The most iconic player is Hank Aaron who died earlier this year.
5. Boston
The Boston Red Sox have won four World Series since 2004 and reached the ALCS this year. Some of the legendary players who made a major impact with the Red Sox are Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk and David Ortiz.
6. Chicago
Chicago is another city that has two baseball teams – the Cubs and the White Sox. The Cubs won the World Series in 2016, their first title since 1908. The White Sox last won the World Series in 2005, and it was their first championship win since 1917.
Rest of the Field
7. Minneapolis
8. Oakland
9. Cleveland
10, San Francisco
11. Cincinnati
12. Philadelphia
13. Pittsburgh
14. St. Petersburgh
15. Houston
16. Milwaukee
17. Arlington
18. San Diego
19. Kansas City
20 . Denver
