America’s best baseball towns

The season is about two-thirds over, and the pennant races haven’t quite taken shape, but baseball fever is very much alive in some major American cities. While the economy struggles and fans are pressed to pay for high-priced tickets and $7 beers, a trip to the ballpark is still a special event in these towns.

Which are the best of the best? It’s an open debate, but someone needed to stick his neck out.

Here’s our take on America’s best baseball towns:

Chicago — Cubs fans disdain the White Sox. White Sox fans don’t care much for their neighbors from the northside, either. While a 2005 World Series title brought joy to Sox fans, it was a dagger in the heart to Cubs loyalists, who have not tasted the champagne since 1908. (Don’t get us started…) Two leagues, two very different teams, two passionate fan bases. Summers in the Windy City can be long and hot, but they are rarely dull.

New York — Yankees ownership may have pressed the envelope with $2,000 box seats in the new Yankee Stadium, but for the most part, the faithful remain as supportive as they are restless. With 39 American League pennants and 26 World Championships under their belts, fans ask only one question: How long will it be before those numbers are 40 and 27? It has been a seeming eternity since the Bombers beat their crosstown rivals, the Mets, to win their last World Series in 2000. For the Mets, however, the drought is even longer, stretching back to 1986. Both teams opened new parks this year, only adding to the local buzz. Can the pair pull off another Subway World Series to commemorate the occasion?

Boston — New England fans wear the hair shirt like few others, but they’ve had quite a bit less to pout about this decade. When the apocalypse didn’t follow in the wake of their long-awaited 2004 World Series championship, the Red Sox celebrated by doing it again three years later. Red Sox nation fills Fenway Park to overflowing and boosts attendance figures in stadiums all across America. The passion is real, and it is passed on through generations. It’s not just a game, it’s a religion…or something awfully close.

St. Louis – Old-timers can regale you with tales of listening to Cardinals games all through the Midwest, and a National League-best 10 World Championships (the most recent in 2006) have only served to fuel the fire. Cardinals fans are considered among the most knowledgeable in baseball, and Busch Stadium (new or old) is a red-clad sight to behold.

Philadelphia – The City of Brotherly Love has a complicated relationship with its sports teams, but all is good in the baseball world these days as the Phillies try to defend their 2008 World Series title. A move from the cavernous Veterans Stadium to the more cozy Citizens Bank Ballpark has helped improve the game atmosphere, although Philadelphia fans will still turn on you at the drop of a hat (or, worse yet, a fly ball). Through early August, the Phillies’ average attendance of 44,135 was about 500 more than CNB’s listed capacity of 43,647. Hard to argue with that.

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