October means playoff baseball. And this year, it looked like Braves fans were in for some exciting post-season play.
However, fans were left with a disappointing end to this year's season, after the Atlanta team's playoff run came to a crashing halt.
But despite the heartbreak, Atlanta is still among the top 10 cities nationwide for enjoying America's favorite pastime.
New rankings from personal finance website WalletHub put Atlanta in the No. 6 overall spot for "best baseball cities." According to the rankings, Atlanta trails New York, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Boston and Chicago.
While current World Series contenders, Houston and Washington, D.C., found themselves further down the list at No. 16 and No. 20, respectively.
The study compared 361 cities across the country with at least one professional or college baseball team.
So what makes a city a good place to root, root, root for the home team? The report ranked cities in 31 categories, including performance and level of team, number of championship wins, fan engagement, attendance, average ticket price and number of hall of fame head coaches.
Atlanta didn’t fare as well in rankings for minor league and NCAA baseball, on those lists, the city came in at No. 144 and No. 51.
(For those keeping score at home: Fishkill, New York, took the top spot for Minor League Baseball and Los Angeles ranked No.1 for NCAA).
But despite this year's abrupt ending, the Braves franchise has seen some big baseball moments. There was the streak of division titles in the '90s. And, of course, the World Series victory in 1995, when the Braves were victorious over the Cleveland Indians.
Or the famous moment in 1974 when Hank Aaron slugged a home run for the 715th time — breaking Babe Ruth's long standing record.
Of course, the Braves are still settling in to their new home. After 50 years in the city — first at the former Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium and then at Turner Field — the Braves moved north to Cobb County in 2017.
After a couple of years at SunTrust Park, the Atlanta team seemed to be finding its footing this season. Remember, prior to the ending, this year had plenty to celebrate.
And come next spring, Braves fans are sure to be ready with the peanuts and Cracker Jack, because it’s still a good town for baseball.
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