Four Midwest League cities are ranked among the top 25 in Minor League Baseball, according to a new study by SmartAsset.
Davenport, Iowa — home of the Quad Cities River Bandits — is tied with Des Moines, Iowa — home of the Triple-A Iowa Cubs — for third place. Geneva, Illinois — home of the Kane County Cougars — is ranked fifth, while Fort Wayne, Indiana — home of the Fort Wayne TinCaps — is ranked seventh. Midland, Michigan — home of the Great Lakes Loons — is ranked No. 21.
SmartAsset included a paragraph about each of the top 10 towns. Here is what was written about the Midwest League cities:
Davenport: “Even in Minor League Baseball, where delicacies such as the Grilled Cheese Hot Dog or the Pulled Pork Parfait can make the game seem like a sideshow, everyone has more fun when the home team wins. In 2015, fans of the Quad City River Bandits must have had a lot of fun. The team won 88 games, posting the best regular-season record of any team. Add to that a top-20 stadium according to StadiumJourney.com and attendance that averages 95 percent of capacity, and you have one of the best atmospheres in all of baseball.”
Geneva: “Located along the Fox River an hour west of Chicago, Geneva is a charming small town of just over 20,000 residents. It rated first among all Minor League Baseball towns for its quality of life, scoring a perfect 100. One reason for that high rating? Geneva is extremely safe. It has the lowest violent crime rate of any MiLB town, with 9 violent crimes per every 100,000 residents. Whether they are walking to a game or walking around town afterwards, baseball fans in Geneva can feel safe doing so.”
Fort Wayne: “In 2009 the TinCaps began playing in a brand-new stadium in downtown Fort Wayne. Today, Parkview Field is rated as the best stadium in all of Minor League Baseball, and TinCaps fans regularly fill it to near-capacity. Visitors to Parkview Field should make sure to try the Big Apple, a five-pound dessert that includes four servings of apple crisp and five scoops of vanilla ice cream.”
Read more about the study here.