ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - With St. Louis known as one of the best baseball towns in America, Missouri has now been named one of the best baseball states in the country too.
The Show Me State showed up well in a new ranking from Fox Sports of every U.S. state based on its overall baseball background. Missouri was No. 8 – just ahead of No. 9 Illinois. Here's the full top-10:
10. Ohio
9. Illinois
8. Missouri
7. Pennsylvania
6. Georgia
5. Arizona
4. Florida
3. Texas
2. New York
1. California
Fox Sports also announced the 10 worst states...
You may be wondering why states with only one MLB team like Georgia and Arizona beat two-team states like Missouri and Illinois. That's because the ranking was not just about MLB fans or winning percentages of each state's MLB team/s. It went into the all-time history of baseball in each state.
They looked at four major components:
• MLB production: How many MLB players has a state produced? Who are the best players born in the state? How many Hall of Famers hail from the state? How many players born in the state appeared in MLB in 2021?
• Cultural impact: How have happenings in a state or figures associated with a state influenced baseball history? What notable baseball-related sites, ballparks, leagues or annual baseball events exist in the state? How big of a deal is baseball to the state’s residents?
• Pro teams: How many MLB teams does a state have? How many affiliated MiLB teams does the state have? How many independent league teams does the state have?
• Collegiate teams: How many collegiate baseball programs are in a state, including four-year universities and junior colleges (Division I, Div. II, Div. III, NAIA, NJCAA Div. I, NJCAA Div. II, NJCAA Div. III), as well as summer collegiate leagues such as the Northwoods and Cape Cod Leagues?
Missouri was touted for not only it's "holier-than-thou" Cardinals fans, but also its massive connection to the Negro League in Kansas City, home of the Negro Leagues Museum.
Check out the full ranking, here.
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