Baseball gives fans plenty of time to settle in. There might be a drink before first pitch, another round during the middle innings and at least one hot dog before the seventh-inning stretch.
But those habits are not the same across every MLB fan base.
The Action Network analyzed survey responses from 3,495 U.S. MLB fans to find out how much they drink before and during games, how many hot dogs they eat and which fan bases record the highest estimated calorie intake.
Percentages refer to the share of each team’s surveyed fan base reporting a behavior. Heavy drinking is defined in this study as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks.
Key Findings
- Chicago White Sox and Washington Nationals fans drink the most during games, averaging 2.5 drinks each.
- Nationals fans are the most likely to drink during a game, with 76% reporting at least one alcoholic drink.
- White Sox fans record the highest rate of heavy in-game drinking, with 18.5% consuming five or more drinks.
- Nationals fans also lead MLB for hot dog consumption, averaging 1.9 per game, and 18.9% eating 3+ hotdogs. New York Mets fans follow at 1.8.
- Across MLB, fans average 1.9 drinks during a game, one drink before a game and 1.6 hot dogs.
- An estimated 67% of MLB fans drink during games, while 44% drink before them.
- MLB fans are less likely to pregame than NFL fans. In our NFL survey, 49% said they drank before entering the stadium, five percentage points higher than the MLB figure.
- Under our calorie model, Nationals fans consume an estimated 1,200 calories from alcohol and hot dogs per game. That would reach 97,200 calories across all 81 regular-season home games.
- The average MLB fan consumes an estimated 915 calories from drinks and hot dogs per game.
How Much Do MLB Fans Eat and Drink?
Two-thirds of surveyed MLB fans said they drink during games.
The average fan reports 1.9 drinks during the game, with 9% consuming five or more. Pregaming is less common: 44% drink before the game and the overall average is one pregame drink.
Hot dogs remain part of the routine. Fans eat an average of 1.6 per game, while 45% report eating at least two.
| Drinks During the Game | MLB Fans |
| 0 | 33% |
| 1 | 14% |
| 2 | 22% |
| 3 | 14% |
| 4 | 9% |
| 5 | 4% |
| 6 | 2% |
| 7 | 1% |
| 8 | 2% |
| 9+ | 0% |
| Drinks During the Game (1+) | 67% |
| Heavy Consumption (5+ Drinks) | 9% |
| Average Drinks | 1.9 |
| Drinks Before the Game | MLB Fans |
| 0 | 56% |
| 1 | 18% |
| 2 | 12% |
| 3 | 5% |
| 4 | 4% |
| 5 | 2% |
| 6 | 1% |
| 7 | 1% |
| 8 | 1% |
| 9+ | 0% |
| Pregames (1+ drinks) | 44% |
| Heavy Pregame (5+ drinks) | 5% |
| Average Drinks | 1.0 |
| Hot Dogs Eaten per Game | MLB Fans |
| 1 | 55% |
| 2 | 35% |
| 3 | 7% |
| 4 | 3% |
| 5+ | 0% |
| Average | 1.6 |
When the two alcohol questions are combined, the average MLB fan reports 2.9 drinks across the pregame and game itself.
Whereas in our previous survey looking at drinking habits amongst NFL fans, the average NFL fan consumes 3.3 alcoholic drinks across the pregame and during the game.
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Which MLB Fan Bases Drink the Most During Games?
White Sox and Nationals fans share the top spot for in-game drinking, with both groups averaging 2.5 alcoholic drinks.
Nationals fans are slightly more likely to drink at all, with 76% reporting at least one drink during a game. White Sox fans, however, record the highest rate of heavier consumption. Almost one in five, 18.5%, say they drink five or more.
The Angels, Blue Jays and Orioles form the next group, averaging 2.3 drinks each. Angels fans have the highest five-plus rate among the three at 15.8%, followed by Blue Jays fans at 15% and Orioles fans at 12.8%.
Chicago is well represented near the top of the table. Cubs fans average 2.2 drinks, while 74% have at least one. Milwaukee, Colorado and Houston fans follow at 2.1 drinks per game.
Some fan bases are more likely to drink without regularly reaching the heavier end of the scale. Around 71% of Athletics fans report drinking during a game, but only 5.6% consume five or more. Dodgers fans show a similar pattern: 67% have at least one drink, while 4.9% reach five.
At the bottom of the ranking, Twins fans average 1.1 drinks during a game. Reds fans are next at 1.3, with fewer than 1% reporting five or more drinks.
Across MLB as a whole, fans average 1.9 drinks during a game. Around 67% drink at least once, while 9% consume five or more.
| Rank | MLB Team | Average Drinks | Drink 1+ | Drink 5+ |
| 1 | Chicago White Sox | 2.5 | 75% | 18.5% |
| 1 | Washington Nationals | 2.5 | 76% | 16.0% |
| 3 | Los Angeles Angels | 2.3 | 71% | 15.8% |
| 3 | Toronto Blue Jays | 2.3 | 68% | 15.0% |
| 3 | Baltimore Orioles | 2.3 | 74% | 12.8% |
| 6 | Chicago Cubs | 2.2 | 74% | 11.4% |
| 7 | Milwaukee Brewers | 2.1 | 72% | 12.5% |
| 7 | Colorado Rockies | 2.1 | 68% | 11.9% |
| 7 | Houston Astros | 2.1 | 65% | 10.1% |
| 10 | Miami Marlins | 2.0 | 69% | 11.1% |
| 10 | San Diego Padres | 2.0 | 69% | 9.2% |
| 10 | Tampa Bay Rays | 2.0 | 64% | 9.0% |
| 10 | Oakland Athletics | 2.0 | 71% | 5.6% |
| 14 | Atlanta Braves | 1.9 | 63% | 10.4% |
| 14 | St. Louis Cardinals | 1.9 | 64% | 9.5% |
| 14 | San Francisco Giants | 1.9 | 65% | 8.7% |
| 14 | Boston Red Sox | 1.9 | 69% | 6.9% |
| 14 | Texas Rangers | 1.9 | 68% | 5.6% |
| 19 | New York Mets | 1.8 | 71% | 10.2% |
| 19 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 1.8 | 69% | 10.0% |
| 19 | Kansas City Royals | 1.8 | 61% | 8.8% |
| 19 | New York Yankees | 1.8 | 65% | 7.8% |
| 19 | Detroit Tigers | 1.8 | 65% | 6.8% |
| 24 | Cleveland Guardians | 1.7 | 66% | 8.1% |
| 24 | Seattle Mariners | 1.7 | 62% | 6.5% |
| 24 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1.7 | 67% | 4.9% |
| 27 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1.5 | 63% | 4.5% |
| 27 | Philadelphia Phillies | 1.5 | 67% | 3.0% |
| 29 | Cincinnati Reds | 1.3 | 58% | 0.9% |
| 30 | Minnesota Twins | 1.1 | 56% | 2.7% |
Which MLB Fan Bases Drink the Most Before Games?
Nationals fans also lead the pregame ranking, averaging 1.7 drinks before first pitch. Some 58% report drinking beforehand, while 12% consume five or more.
White Sox and Angels fans share second place at 1.5 drinks. Their averages are the same, but the underlying behavior differs. Half of White Sox fans pregame, compared with 45% of Angels fans. The five-plus rates are almost identical at 11.2% and 11.1%.
Blue Jays fans average 1.4 pregame drinks and post the highest heavy-pregaming rate in MLB. One in eight, 12.5%, report consuming five or more drinks before the game.
Padres, Brewers, Cubs and Marlins fans follow at 1.3 drinks. Brewers fans are the most likely of that group to pregame, at 52%, while Padres fans have the highest five-plus rate at 8.4%.
Pregaming drops away sharply toward the bottom of the table. Reds fans average 0.5 drinks, with 30% drinking at all before the game. Twins fans average 0.6, while only 26% report pregaming.
The MLB-wide average is one alcoholic drink before a game. Overall, 44% of fans pregame and 5% consume five or more drinks.
| Rank | MLB Team | Average Drinks | Drink 1+ | Drink 5+ |
| 1 | Washington Nationals | 1.7 | 58% | 12.00% |
| 2 | Chicago White Sox | 1.5 | 50% | 11.20% |
| 2 | Los Angeles Angels | 1.5 | 45% | 11.10% |
| 4 | Toronto Blue Jays | 1.4 | 58% | 12.50% |
| 5 | San Diego Padres | 1.3 | 50% | 8.40% |
| 5 | Milwaukee Brewers | 1.3 | 52% | 6.30% |
| 5 | Chicago Cubs | 1.3 | 49% | 6.20% |
| 5 | Miami Marlins | 1.3 | 51% | 5.50% |
| 9 | Houston Astros | 1.2 | 50% | 7.90% |
| 9 | Boston Red Sox | 1.2 | 47% | 4.60% |
| 9 | Tampa Bay Rays | 1.2 | 42% | 4.50% |
| 12 | Colorado Rockies | 1.1 | 45% | 8.00% |
| 12 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 1.1 | 42% | 4.90% |
| 12 | Cleveland Guardians | 1.1 | 43% | 3.60% |
| 15 | Atlanta Braves | 1 | 45% | 5.60% |
| 15 | New York Mets | 1 | 42% | 4.50% |
| 15 | Oakland Athletics | 1 | 49% | 4.30% |
| 15 | Kansas City Royals | 1 | 43% | 3.90% |
| 15 | Detroit Tigers | 1 | 42% | 3.00% |
| 15 | Baltimore Orioles | 1 | 45% | 2.70% |
| 15 | Texas Rangers | 1 | 46% | 2.40% |
| 22 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 0.9 | 37% | 5.00% |
| 22 | San Francisco Giants | 0.9 | 45% | 2.90% |
| 22 | St. Louis Cardinals | 0.9 | 44% | 0.90% |
| 25 | New York Yankees | 0.8 | 42% | 2.60% |
| 25 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 0.8 | 38% | 1.80% |
| 27 | Seattle Mariners | 0.7 | 39% | 2.80% |
| 27 | Philadelphia Phillies | 0.7 | 38% | 1.00% |
| 29 | Minnesota Twins | 0.6 | 26% | 2.70% |
| 30 | Cincinnati Reds | 0.5 | 30% | 0.90% |
Which MLB Fan Bases Eat the Most Hot Dogs?
Nationals fans lead MLB for hot dog consumption, averaging 1.9 per game. More than half (55.8%) eat at least two, and 18.9% eat three or more, both the highest rates in the league. Mets fans rank second at 1.8, with 52.7% eating two or more.
Seven fan bases share third place at 1.7 hot dogs per game but diverge on volume. Blue Jays fans post the highest three-or-more rate of the group at 15.8%, while Braves and Reds fans are the least likely to reach that threshold, at 10.2% and 9.9% respectively.
At the bottom, Twins and Mariners fans average 1.4 hot dogs, the lowest in MLB. Only 8.7% of Twins fans eat three or more, and just 4.3% of Mariners fans do the same.
| Rank | MLB Fan Base | Average Hot Dogs | Eat 2+ Hot Dogs | Eat 3+ Hot Dogs |
| 1 | Washington Nationals | 1.9 | 55.8% | 18.9% |
| 2 | New York Mets | 1.8 | 52.7% | 14.4% |
| 3 | Toronto Blue Jays | 1.7 | 50.0% | 15.8% |
| 3 | Chicago White Sox | 1.7 | 48.4% | 13.7% |
| 3 | Miami Marlins | 1.7 | 43.9% | 13.2% |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Rays | 1.7 | 43.7% | 12.6% |
| 3 | Los Angeles Angels | 1.7 | 51.0% | 11.5% |
| 3 | Atlanta Braves | 1.7 | 51.0% | 10.2% |
| 3 | Cincinnati Reds | 1.7 | 52.0% | 9.9% |
| 10 | Houston Astros | 1.6 | 48.4% | 12.7% |
| 10 | Kansas City Royals | 1.6 | 40.0% | 12.7% |
| 10 | Detroit Tigers | 1.6 | 41.3% | 12.0% |
| 10 | Milwaukee Brewers | 1.6 | 37.1% | 11.5% |
| 10 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 1.6 | 46.3% | 11.1% |
| 10 | Texas Rangers | 1.6 | 48.7% | 9.7% |
| 10 | Boston Red Sox | 1.6 | 42.4% | 9.3% |
| 10 | New York Yankees | 1.6 | 44.2% | 9.2% |
| 10 | San Diego Padres | 1.6 | 43.7% | 9.0% |
| 10 | Philadelphia Phillies | 1.6 | 48.4% | 8.7% |
| 10 | Cleveland Guardians | 1.6 | 46.7% | 7.6% |
| 10 | Baltimore Orioles | 1.6 | 52.0% | 5.9% |
| 10 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1.6 | 50.0% | 5.6% |
| 23 | San Francisco Giants | 1.5 | 32.3% | 9.1% |
| 23 | Chicago Cubs | 1.5 | 43.2% | 8.8% |
| 23 | Colorado Rockies | 1.5 | 31.9% | 7.7% |
| 23 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1.5 | 41.7% | 7.1% |
| 23 | St. Louis Cardinals | 1.5 | 41.3% | 4.6% |
| 23 | Oakland Athletics | 1.5 | 39.4% | 4.5% |
| 29 | Minnesota Twins | 1.4 | 33.0% | 8.7% |
| 29 | Seattle Mariners | 1.4 | 38.9% | 4.3% |
Which MLB Fan Bases Consume the Most Game-Day Calories?
To place the drinking and hot dog figures on the same scale, we estimated how many calories each fan base consumes from those two categories.
The calculation uses 150 calories per alcoholic drink and 300 calories per hot dog. Alcohol consumption combines the average number of drinks reported before and during games.
The season figure assumes a fan maintains the same habits while attending all 81 regular-season home games. It excludes other food, soft drinks, toppings, spring training and postseason games.
What Stands Out
Methodology
The research was carried out online by Research Without Barriers on behalf of Better Collective.
All surveys were conducted between June 12 and June 22, 2026. The sample comprised 3,495 U.S. MLB fans. Base sizes varied by question, with 3,228 respondents included in the hot dog consumption data.
All research was conducted in accordance with the MRS Codes of Conduct (2023) in the UK and ICC/ESOMAR World Research Guidelines.
Research Without Barriers is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and is fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Ranking Calculations
The drinking table ranks fan bases by the average number of alcoholic drinks consumed during a game.
The hot dog table ranks fan bases by the average number of hot dogs eaten during a game.
For the calorie analysis, average total alcohol consumption was calculated by adding each fan base’s reported average before the game to its reported average during the game.
Calorie Assumptions
The calorie figures are standardized estimates rather than measurements of the exact products purchased at each MLB stadium.
Each alcoholic drink was assigned 150 calories. This was based on a regular 12-ounce beer, which MedlinePlus lists at 153 calories. The figure was rounded to 150 to create a consistent benchmark across all fan bases.
A regular 12-ounce beer at approximately 5% alcohol by volume is also recognized by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as one U.S. standard drink.
The survey did not ask respondents whether they drank beer, wine, spirits or mixed drinks. Actual calorie intake could therefore be higher or lower depending on drink type, serving size, alcohol strength and mixers.
Each hot dog was assigned 300 calories. This was based on a standard 170-calorie beef frank and a 130-calorie hot dog bun.
The hot dog calculation does not include substantial toppings such as chili, cheese or bacon, nor does it include fries, snacks, desserts or other stadium food.
The calculation used was:
Estimated calories per game = (average pregame drinks + average during-game drinks) × 150 + average hot dogs × 300
The season estimate multiplied the per-game figure by 81, representing attendance at every regular-season home game. Spring training and postseason games were excluded.
Survey averages were reported to one decimal place, so the calorie totals should be treated as modeled estimates rather than precise measures of individual consumption.
