The 10 Most Loyal MLB Fan Bases
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Every professional sports team claims to have the best fans in their game. However, in the case of Major League Baseball, one group of fans has actually gained a reputation for being the “Best Fans in Baseball”. These are the fans of the St. Louis Cardinals. This is a pretty big claim and one that gets questioned constantly from fans of every other team in the league. So is there proof to this claim?
There is a way to judge how loyal a fan base is to their particular team. In order to see how loyal a fan base is, one needs to look no further than how many people are in the seats during their home games. Obviously, if a fan base is ultra-loyal to their team they will go to the home games in hordes.
In order to figure out how loyal a fan base is, you first must take the average attendance per game for each team. For the purpose of this article, we used the average game attendances for the 2013 season. Since 2014 is still in its earliest stages, it is unfair to take such a small sample. After all, the true fans will go to games in the hottest months and even when their team’s playoff hopes are starting to fade. After figuring average attendances, one must find out the maximum capacity of each stadium.
Once these two numbers are discovered, divide the average game attendance by the maximum seating capacity of the stadium. This will show on average the percentage of the seats that were filled each game. When this percentage is high, one can deduce the team has a very loyal fan base. If it is not too high, that team needs to work harder on getting some butts in the seats at their home games.
While this may not be the best way to judge how passionate a fan base is for their particular team, it is definitely the only objective way. Numbers do not lie. If fans want to show how much they love their favorite team, they do so by going to the games. So, if you do not like that your favorite team is not on the list or not number one; get your friends together and take a trip to the ball park this season.
10. Chicago Cubs
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Wrigley Field is the second oldest baseball stadium in the United States. It has been the home to the Chicago Cubs since 1916.Wrigley can pack in 41,019 fans on any given day. Last year, the Cubs averaged 32,625 fans in attendance per game. This mean on average Wrigley Field was 79.54 percent full every time the Cubs played a home game.
9. Texas Rangers
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The Texas Rangers play in Arlington, Texas. Their stadium is Globe Life Park. Globe Life Park is one of the ten largest baseball stadiums in the United States. It can hold up to 48,114 people. The Rangers had an average attendance of 38,759 fans per game last season and usually had 80.56 percent of the stadium filled.
8. New York Yankees
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No team in the entire history of baseball has achieved even close to the amount of success as the New York Yankees. The team recently rebuilt its legendary Yankees Stadium; bringing the House that Ruth Built into the 21st century. The new stadium was 81.56 percent full during each of the Yankees’ home games last year. The new stadium can hold 49,642 fans. The average fan attendance in 2013 for Yankees Stadium was 40,488 per game.
7. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
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The city of Anaheim is located in the metropolitan area of Los Angeles, California. The city is the home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The team averaged 37,277 fans at every one of their home games at Angels Stadium. Angels Stadium can hold 45,483 people when it is completely full. On average the ball park was 81.92 percent full during home games in 2013.
6. Los Angeles Dodgers
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The Los Angeles Dodgers play in the largest baseball stadium in the United States. Dodgers Stadium can hold 56,000 people on any given occasion. Last year the Dodgers had an average fan attendance of 46,216 fans per game. Though the team has the highest average game attendance out of any Major League Baseball team, the size of the stadium makes it very hard to fill. On average, Dodgers Stadium is 82.53 percent full.
5. Philadelphia Phillies
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Citizens Bank Park is the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Out of all the seats available during the 2013 season, the Phillies filled 85.2 percent of them. At any given home game the team could expect to have 37,190 fans in the stadium that holds up to 43,651 people.
4. Detroit Tigers
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When the Detroit Tigers play in front of a full house, they are playing in front of 41,681 fans. The average game attendance in 2013 was 38,066 people. This means the Tigers are the first team on the list to have an average stadium attendance over ninety percent of their total seating capacity. On average, Comerica Park was 91.33 percent full last season.
3. Boston Red Sox
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The Boston Red Sox play in the legendary Fenway Park. Fenway is the oldest baseball stadium in the United States and is famous for the “Green Monster”, a 37 foot high wall in left field. With a maximum capacity of 37,499 people, Fenway Park is one of the smallest stadiums in Major League Baseball. It is one of only seven ball parks that cannot hold over 40,000 people. In the Red Sox's World Series Championship season, Fenway averaged 34,979 fans in attendance at each home game. Despite having the lowest number of fans in attendance, Fenway was typically filled 93.28 percent during each Red Sox home game.
2. St. Louis Cardinals
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Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals are often referred to as the best fans in baseball. The Cardinals have a long history of being highly successful and were the only Major League Baseball team in the Midwest for many years. Because of this the team has gained a huge fan base in the surrounding area. Busch Stadium, the Cardinals’ home, can hold a maximum of 43,975 people. Last season, the average game attendance at Busch was 41,602 fans. The stadium was 94.6 percent full on average. Great indeed, but not high enough to make the number one spot.
1. San Francisco Giants
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According to the numbers, the San Francisco Giants have the most loyal fan base. The Giants call AT&T Park home. The stadium is located right on the San Francisco Bay and can hold up to 41,922 fans. In 2013, the Giants averaged 41,584 fans in attendance at each home game. This means the Giants filled 99.19 percent of the available seats in AT&T Park in 2013.
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