10 Most Expensive Trips to the Ballgames in 2012

7. Detroit Tigers
Average ticket price: $31

The team made the American League Championship Series last year and signed free agent slugger Prince Fielder to a $214 million contract. That success comes at a price for fans, as ticket costs have risen 5.7% from last year and a day at the ballpark for a family of four is 8.8% more costly than it was in 2011.

6. St. Louis Cardinals
Average ticket price: $31.57

The team could have named its price after winning the World Series last year, but losing star slugger Albert Pujols in free agency tempered the excitement a bit. Considering the Pujols-deprived Cards have return to form as the top team in the NL Central, that 1.9% ticket price hike from last year still seems like a bargain.

5. Minnesota Twins
Average ticket price: $33.04

Ticket prices that jumped when Target Field opened in 2010 have just kept going up, climbing 5% each year for the past two years. This year's bump is particularly galling after the team went from a playoff squad in 2010 to 99 losses in 2011.

4. Philadelphia Phillies
Average ticket price: $37.42

The Phillies ace-laden pitching staff won 102 games last year and seemed like a lock for the World Series before losing to the Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs. How do they get over that disappointment and injuries to stars such as Ryan Howard and Chase Utley? By jacking up ticket prices 4.9% and making it 6.9% more expensive to take a family out to the ballgame.