The World Series is upon us.

Tomorrow marks the thrilling start to the final (possibly) seven Major League Baseball (MLB) games where the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians will face off for the chance to win it all.  We’re not going to analyze the starting rotations or make bold predictions on who might take the series in 5 games — that’s done elsewhere.

We’re more curious, naturally, about the energy involved in the World Series.  Understandably, and unsurprisingly, both teams play in large stadiums that require a lot of electricity to run its daily operations.  The cost associated to this level consumption is high, which often brings challenges to the organizations or companies that own the stadium.

Chicago Cubs

This baseball team is based in Chicago, Illinois (go figure) out of Wrigley Field. The Cubs are actually one of two teams that play out of Chicago, the other team being the Chicago White Sox. This team is fondly known as “the North Siders.”  This nickname is in reference to the fact that Wrigley Field is located in the northern part of the city.

Manager: Joe Maddon
Stadium: Wrigley Field
General Manager: Jed Hoyer
Owner: Thomas S. Ricketts
Mascot: Clark
World Series Champions: 1907 and 1908

Wrigley Field – Stadium Stats

Wrigley Field opened in 1914, but under the name Weeghman Park. It was named after Charles Weeghman, one of the founders of the Federal League (which closed in 1915). Wrigley Field was then dubbed Cubs Park between 1920 to 1926. Finally, in 1927, the stadium became Wrigley Field after the man who owned both the team (and the now famous chewing gum company). The Chicago Cubs played their first game in Wrigley Park in 1916.

There are many interesting details about this historical stadium, some of which include:

  • It was the last major league ballpark to have lights installed.
  • Its playing field is 600 feet above sea level.
  • The first baseball game played here was between the Chicago Federal and the Kansas City Packers in 1914.
  • Ernie Banks hit his 500th career home run in this stadium.
  • It used to be the home for the Chicago Bears (NFL team) from 1921 to 1970.
  • Fenway Park is the oldest stadium in the MLB. Wrigley Field is only 2 years younger.

Other stadium stats include:

Seating Capacity: 41,160
Height of Wall:

  • Bleachers – 11.5 feet
  • In corners – 15.0 feet

Distances From Plate:

  • Left field – 355 feet
  • Left-center – 368 feet
  • Center field – 400 feet
  • Right-center – 368 feet
  • Right field – 353 feet

Energy Efficiency Initiatives

The Chicago Cubs are dedicated to energy efficiency initiatives. These initiatives primarily include making changes or upgrades to Wrigley Field where the Cubs play all of their home games. These initiatives include the 1060 project. The 1060 project aims to achieve many energy-centric goals, including:

  • Installing more efficient appliances and fixtures to reduce water waste.
  • Developing partnerships with recycling centers for construction debris.
  • Utilizing recyclable materials and products.
  • Finding electrical services that provide renewable energy credits.
  • Upgrading outdated appliances or equipment like heating, air-conditioning and ventilation to more energy efficient models.
  • Support the local economy and help to reduce transportation related emissions by purchasing products, construction materials, etc. locally.
  • Improve air quality through the use of organic paints, carpets, flooring, and adhesives.

Since Wrigley Field is the second oldest stadium in the MLB, over the past several years upgrades and expansions have been made to the building. The idea behind these upgrades is to help bring the best in baseball to the fans. These upgrades affect many areas within the stadium, but utilized all elements of their energy efficiency initiatives including:

  • Bleacher Expansion
  • Clubhouse
  • Two Storey Annex
  • Concessions
  • Suites and Premium Seating
  • Upper Outdoor Concourse

Cleveland Indians

Established in 1894, the Cleveland Indians call Cleveland, Ohio home. The team originally played out of Michigan under the name Grand Rapids Rustlers.  They arrived in Cleveland in 1900 and changed their name to the Cleveland Lakes Shores. By 1901, their name had changed again to the Cleveland Bluebirds until 1914 when finally, their name changed to the Cleveland Indians.

General Team Information

The Cleveland Indians will have home field advantage tomorrow. Some might say this gives them a bit of an advantage for the rest of the series as more games could be played on their turf — again though, we’ll leave the in-depth analysis for other folks.

Manager: Terry Francona
General Manager: Mike Chernoff
Stadium: Progressive Field
Mascot: Slider
World Series Championships: 1920 and 1948

Cleveland’s roster is stout is responsible for much for their success this year:

  • Yan Gomes – Catcher
  • Mike Napoli – First Baseman
  • Jason Kipnis – Second Baseman
  • Francisco Lindor – Shortstop
  • Jose Ramirez – Third Baseman
  • Raja Davis – Left Field
  • Tyler Paquin – Center Field
  • Lonnie Chisenhall – Right field
  • Corey Kluber, Josh Tomlin, Trevor Bauer, Danny Salazar, Danny Salazar – Starting pitchers
  • Dan Otero, Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen – Relief Pitchers

Progressive Field – Stadium Stats

The Cleveland Indians started playing games in a larger ballpark during their 1932 and 1933 seasons. The stadium, which seated 80,000 fans, was a bit too big for the team at the time, and so they returned to playing in smaller fields until 1947.

Construction of Progressive Field began in early 1992.  It opened on April 4, 1992. This was the first new major sporting facility in Cleveland’s since 1937 with the opening of the Cleveland Arena.  Since the first ball was thrown in the ballpark, Progressive Field has seen many games — some stick out more than most:

  • In 2007, during a playoff game, a swarm of bugs made their way onto the field. They distracted a relief pitcher, causing him to walk the batter. The batter later scored the tying run. This game is known as the “Bug Game.”
  • The Cleveland Indians qualified for the World Series in 1995. This was the first World Series game played in the stadium.
  • The first Progressive Field All-Star Game was hosted in 1997.
  • Jim Thome hit the longest home run at the stadium at 511 feet.
  • “Snow Days” was an event held at the stadium in 2010. An ice skating track was installed around the warning track, as well as other winter related activities.
  • The stadium’s first hockey game was on January 15, 2012 between the Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Other quick stadium related facts include:

Cost: $175 million
Public Financing: $84 million
Private Financing: $91 million
Surface: Kentucky Blue Grass
Capacity: 43,345
Architect: HOK Sport (Kansas City)
Construction: Gateway Economic Development Corporation
Owner: Cuyahoga County

Energy Efficiency Initiatives

It is no secret that running and maintaining a baseball stadium isn’t easy, or cheap. The cost of electricity alone can cause major problems for owners and city. Progressive Field owners and employees do everything they can to try and keep the stadium as energy efficient as possible. They achieve this in many ways, including:

Recycling and Trash: In 2011, Progressive field hosted an event by the Natural Resources Defense Council called National Recycling Day. Through this event many different items got recycled such as:

  • Batteries
  • Cooking oil
  • Scrap metal
  • Aluminum
  • Paper
  • Cardboard
  • Florescent bulbs

Energy Efficient Products: In 2008, Progressive Field installed LED lights. These lights offer significant cost savings, reduce CO2 emissions, are considered environmentally safe and operate at a low-voltage. Since 2009, the stadium has avoided generating over 74,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

The staff at the stadium also use:

  • Cleaning products with a Green Seal certification
  • Computable cutlery, plates and cups
  • Biodegradable retail bags

Solar: Progressive Stadium was the fist ballpark in the MLB to use solar power. The stadium uses 42 GE solar panels and has produced over 37,500 kWh. It’s enough power to run the 400 television sets within the ballpark.

The Winner

As far as energy efficiency goes, and in our humble, non-scientific opinion:  the Cleveland Indians and Progressive Stadium come out on top due to the extensive efforts they’ve gone through to conserve energy while producing cleaner energy (solar panels).