Have you heard? Baseball is American as apple pie. (Mmmm…..crispy organic apple pie.) Now, the 2009 World Series is making it a green apple pie. This year, there are more eco-incentives than ever.

Game One started with a big eco-bang. For the first time in 59 years, a baseball team took public transportation to the opening game of the World Series. The Phillies took the train up to new Yankee Stadium. The New York Times pointed out that the effort may not have had a total green intention, as the distance to New York is too short to fly and a bus could sit in tunnel traffic longer than the train ride from start to finish. And the Phillies are not alone in their train-trekking. According to sources, the Amtrak Northeast Corridor has transported other teams, including the Knicks, Flyers, 76ers and the Boston Red Sox.

Game Two kept up the good, green effort. All of the energy used at the new Yankee Stadium was offset via the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. This organization sources 100 percent of energy from wind farms in North Dakota and Minnesota. The Natural Resources Defense Council was also roaming the aisles of Yankee Stadium, collecting plastic bottles and spreading the green word.

The Phillies’ Citizen Bank Park has also taken some eco steps. Last season, the stadium purchased 20 million kilowatts of renewable energy credits to offset all electricity usage for the park. The EPA states that this is the single largest purchase of 100 percent renewable energy in pro sports. Citizen Bank Park uses rainwater for landscaping and field irrigation, as well as bio-based and compostable service ware and cups. The Phillies also have a “Red Goes Green" team of volunteers, who walk the stadium collecting recyclables during every game.

Not to be outdone, Yankee Stadium has eco-lighting fixtures that save nearly 207,000 lbs of CO2 emissions per night game. Recycling, compost, and trash bins throughout the stadium prevent 40 percent of waste from going into landfills. Leftover food from games is sent to shelters, soup kitchens, senior centers, youth programs, and more. Even the concessions cups are made from bio-based plastic.

So with the 2009 baseball season in its last games, it will be up to football, hockey and basketball to take up the good green efforts of American sportsmen. LeBron James and Tom Brady, we throw the green gauntlet down!

Photo Credit: Loop_oh/Flickr