Pittsburgh vs. Detroit
With the Pirates playing their home opener today against the Detroit Tigers, we thought we’d compare the two regions across a few statistical indicators not found in the box scores.
Extra money for tickets
Low costs of living will help both Pirate and Tiger fans afford a trip to the ballpark. Both regions have costs of living lower than the Pittsburgh Today benchmark average. Detroit has the edge with a slightly lower composite score of 95.1 compared with Pittsburgh’s 96.4, according to the latest Council for Community and Economic Research data.
Peanuts and Cracker Jacks
Detroit fans need the extra cash. The Tigers had the 10th highest average ticket price in 2014 at $28.22 compared with $18.32 in Pittsburgh, which ranked 29th according to the Team Marketing Report, a Chicago-based publisher of sports marketing data. The same report also showed that it cost an average of $219.88 to take a family of four to the ballpark in Detroit, compared with $169.28 at PNC Park.
Unequal playing field
Pittsburgh was home to the legendary Crawfords and Grays of the Negro Leagues. But the region has fallen into the cellar when it comes to diversity in the workforce. Minority workers account for only 11 percent of Pittsburgh’s workforce, the lowest rate among PittsburghTODAY benchmark regions, while minority workers in Detroit hold 23 percent of that region’s jobs.
Safer streets dahntahn
When it comes to public safety, Detroit strikes out against Pittsburgh’s low crime rates. While crime in Detroit has improved and the MSA’s crime rate for all crimes is below Pittsburgh Today’s benchmark average of 3,201.8 per 100,000 population, Pittsburgh’s rate of 2,149.3 is the lowest of all the benchmark regions.
Poor off-season conditioning
Many in both cities might want to think twice about reaching for the Cracker Jacks. Both Detroit and Pittsburgh tip the scales when it comes to being a healthy weight. Only about a third of residents in both regions reported being a healthy weight according to the last data from Center for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Shared baseball history
The Pirates and Tigers met once in the World Series. That was in 1909, a legendary match up which the Pirates won, 4 games to 3. It featured a face off between Detroit’s Ty Cobb and Pittsburgh’s Honus Wagner, two of the game’s greatest. The two teams also share Jim Leyland, who managed both clubs during his career.