Video: Bud Selig declares St. Louis 'best baseball town' in speech

Outgoing MLB commissioner Bud Selig told a St. Louis audience on Sunday that the city is the "best baseball town in America."

Outgoing MLB commissioner Bud Selig told a St. Louis audience on Sunday that the city is the "best baseball town in America."

Selig made the remark, video of which can be found below, at the annual dinner hosted by the St. Louis chapter of the Baseball Writers of America. He was in attendance to receive the inaugural Red Schoendienst Award from the organization.

Selig's full quote is as follows:

"With world championships, perennial contention, a pipeline of homegrown players, [a] beautiful ballpark [and] continuity on and off the field, the Redbirds embody the blueprint for every team, not only in baseball, but in sports. I commend [owner Bill DeWitt Jr.] and his entire organization for building an era of Cardinal baseball that is a fair reward for the St. Louis fans, whose unwavering support continues to amaze. I really -- I wanna say this. I go to all 30 cities, obviously there’s supposed to be a neutrality, but I’ve said this many times and I’ll say it again: You are the best baseball town in America, and there is no doubt about it."

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St. Louis fans have become known for espousing the same opinion and for labeling themselves the best fans in baseball, leading to the creation of the parody Twitter account "Baseball's Best Fans." (@BestFansStLouis)

The Cardinals have enjoyed a significant amount of success in recent years. Since 2000, the team has won the National League Central nine times, made the playoffs 11 times and won the World Series in 2006 and 2011. The Cardinals have won the World Series 11 times over their storied history, second-most all time behind the New York Yankees' 27 championships.

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Selig has served as commissioner since 1992. Rob Manfred is set to take over the commissionership on Jan. 25.

- Ben Estes