America’s worst baseball towns

While baseball is still serious business in places like Chicago, Boston and New York, there are a few dozen other Major League outposts to consider. In many of those towns, the local nine is barely a blip on the sporting radar.

Which rank among America’s worst baseball towns?

Here’s our list:

Washington — There’s a reason baseball was absent from the Nation’s Capital for more than 30 years. NO ONE CARES. Much was made of the Montreal Expos’ move to D.C in 2005, and fans showed some interest for a while, but the bloom clearly is off the rose.  The team is awful, and even a brand new stadium hasn’t spurred interest. Withering summer heat and humidity that make the area one of the most miserable places on the planet in the middle of the season don’t help.  The Nationals were 25th in attendance among the 30 Major League Baseball teams as August began, and the prospects for another last-place finish won’t help brighten those dog days on the Potomac.

Oakland – When the Raiders moved back to the Bay Area, a refit of the Coliseum turned the place from passably attractive (due mainly to the view of the nearby hills) to concrete tomb. Much as the city suffers comparison to cross-bay San Francisco, the A’s home digs pale when rated against the Giants’ cozy and atmospheric AT&T Park. The fan base has grown weary of seeing tightfisted management trade good players for prospects in an endless rebuilding cycle, and a mid-week night at the Coliseum can be a quiet, lonely experience for all concerned.

Arlington — You can’t say Rangers fans aren’t patient. Since the club arrived from Washington in 1972, it has made just three playoff appearances (1996, 1998 and 1999), winning just one game and losing the next nine. Since then, the Rangers have posted just one winning season. It’s hot out there, and it isn’t particularly cheap, either. Rangers fans are generally regarded among the least passionate and least knowledgeable in the game, though you can hardly blame them. Players often admit that they like playing in Texas because the customers aren’t as demanding as they are in places like New York or Boston — an indictment if we’ve ever heard one.

Pittsburgh – An old-line baseball stronghold fallen on hard times. The Pirates haven’t been relevant since the early 1990s, and the city has pretty much turned its back on the club. Even when the team seems to be building something, management cries the small market blues and ships talent off for less expensive prospects. The likes of Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell — or even Barry Bonds — still conjure up fond memories, but they’re seeming more distant by the day.

Miami — When the Marlins haven’t been in the process of tearing the team down and selling off the spare parts like so much scrap metal, they’ve managed to win the World Series — twice (1997 and 2003). So why don’t people come? It’s hot and humid, for one thing, and maybe fans don’t know what to look for, since the stadium changes names about as often as Tyra Banks changes wardrobes. (The current monniker: Land Shark Stadium.) Things might improve when the Marlins move into a new park (with a retractable roof) on the site of the old Orange Bowl in 2012. For now? Forget it, as most South Florida fans have already done. Through early August, the Marlins were one of only three MLB teams averaging fewer than 20,000 fans per home game (Pittsburgh and Oakland were the others.)