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World Series May Be Midwest Matchup, But Baseball Ranks High In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. — Maybe its the proximity to the Bridgeport Bluefish — or to the Yankees and Mets? More likely it's due to Fairfield University and Sacred Heart. But the town of Fairfield made its way onto WalletHub’s latest list of "Best Baseball Cities 2016."

The only game in town? The Bridgeport Bluefish

The only game in town? The Bridgeport Bluefish

Photo Credit: Bridgeport Bluefish

Poll
Who are you rooting for in the World Series this year?
Final Results Voting Closed

Who are you rooting for in the World Series this year?

  • Indians
    29%
  • Cubs
    43%
  • Who?
    5%
  • No one
    19%
  • I'm watching football
    5%

According to the personal finance website, Fairfield ranked 68th in the nation. Other cities from Connecticut, some of which are or were home to other minor league teams, on the list are:

  • New Britain at No. 94
  • Norwich at No. 166
  • Hartford at No. 258
  • Storrs at No. 295
  • New Haven at No. 345 
  • Hamden at No. 346

WalletHub released its survey Tuesday, the day the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians faced off in Cleveland to start the 2016 World Series.

WalletHub’s top 10 baseball cities are, in order: New York City, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Arlington, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Chicago.

The website, noting that while football is the most followed sport in America, more than 52 million adults say they are baseball fans and are willing to pay “top dollar” to watch their favorite teams play.

A seat at Wrigley Field for certain games in the World Series costs a whopping $7,200, WalletHub reported.

The site surveyed 361 of the largest U.S. cities, ones that had at least one professional or college baseball team. Those cities were then grouped by division, based on 25 factors relating to “baseball-fan friendliness,” WalletHub said.

Those factors included everything from the teams’ performance levels to stadium accessibility to average ticket price for a game.

Fairfield had an overall score of 13.61, with a Major League Baseball rank of 27, a Minor League Baseball rank of 158, and an NCAA rank of 16.

By comparison, New York City , at the very top of the list, came in at 58.07 overall, second for MLB, fifth in MiLB and third in NCAA.

As far as best vs. worst goes, outside of our area, WalletHub said:

  • The St. Louis Cardinals’ performance level was 1.4 times better than the Houston Astros’.
  • The State College Spikes’ performance level was two times better than the Bristol Pirates’.
  • The Louisville Cardinals’ performance level was seven times better than the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils’.
  • Phoenix has the lowest average season ticket price (for MLB games) -- $18.53. It is three times less expensive than in Boston , the city with the highest, $54.79.
  • San Francisco has the highest attendance as a percentage of stadium capacity (for MLB games), 99.2 percent; Cleveland has the lowest at 44.7 percent.

To read the complete list of Best Baseball Cities, the questions WalletHub asked its panel of experts to answer, its methodology and other factoids, click here.

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