At Least the Chicago Cubs Are No. 1 in One Thing...Ticket Prices

Look, when you're a long-suffering Cubs fans like myself, you have to find your success's where you can.

So, when I heard the news that the Cubs passed the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees for the highest non-premium average ticket, I shouted: "We're Number One! We're Number One!"

OK, so this isn't much to get excited about. In fact, it hurts because going to Wrigley Field is just so darn expensive these days that as a family man, I just can't afford it.

And to be able to charge an average ticket price of $52.56 despite not having won a World Series since...well...a long time, is kind of arrogant on the Cubs part.

It speaks to the lack of premium seating available at Wrigley; fewer skyboxes and a fan base that flocks to the park win or lose.

Underperform in 2009? No problem, the average ticket went up 10.1 percent anyway.

By the way these figures are all based on something called "Team Marketing Report's 2010 Fan Cost Index."

Meanwhile, the Cubs' have the smallest percentage of tickets classified as "premium" in all of baseball, at one percent. The ones that are average out at $256.98 each.

By comparison, the Mets classify 37 percent of their tickets as premium, the Red Sox 21 percent and the Yankees 16 percent.

In case you were wondering, The White Sox are no bargain either. While the average ticket is nearly $14 cheaper than the Cubs, they rank as the fourth-highest in baseball at $38.65, after a 4.3 percent increase.

As Jon Greenberg of ESPNChicago.com reports, "Boston is still the most expensive park to take a family of four, at $334.78. The Cubs are second at $329.74."

Of course, if you want to get decent seats to a Cubs game, you'll likely be forced to go through a third-party unless you have connections.

Those ticket brokers, or legal scalpers, escalate the cost of the tickets even further.

Now, all of this is nothing new to Cubs fans.

But hey, being number one certainly is! Go Cubs!