The Cardinals and Texas Rangers have met just once in interleague play. And, with the possible exception of the Bowling Hall of Fame abandoning downtown St. Louis for Arlington, Texas, in 2008, there's not much of a history upon which to build a great city rivalry.

Of course that might change very soon. To be ready, here's a run-down on how the teams, their stadiums and cities stack up in a few areas off the field.

FRANCHISE HISTORY

St. Louis • With 10 World Series championships, the Cardinals trail only the New York Yankees. The team has won 18 National League pennants.

Texas • In the 50-year history of the franchise, the Rangers have never won the World Series. It did not win the American League pennant until last year. During its 10 years as the Washington Senators, the team had only one winning season.

MASCOTS

St. Louis • For the first 87 years of Cardinals history, the team had no mascot. Fredbird hatched in 1979. According to the team's website, Fredbird has "beaked" more than one septillion fans. (That's a one followed by 24 zeroes.)

Texas • Rangers Captain is an upright-walking palamino that wears the number 72, which refers to the year that the second incarnation of the Washington Senators moved to Texas.

STADIUM STATS

St. Louis • The latest version of Busch Stadium opened in 2006 and can accommodate 50,345 fans. The $344 million ballpark was built primarily with private dollars, although the public picked up about 12 percent of the tab.

Texas • Rangers Ballpark in Arlington opened in 1994 and seats 49,170. Taxpayers paid for about 80 percent of the $191 million construction costs.

STADIUM NAMES

St. Louis • Busch Stadium is the third Cardinals ballpark to be named after an iconic family of American industry.

Texas • Rangers Ballpark is named after the team. It used to be called Ameriquest Field, named after a now-defunct leader of the subprime lending industry.

DOES THIS BUS TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME?

St. Louis: Out-of-town visitors can get to Busch Stadium by bus or MetroLink.

Texas: Arlington is America's largest city without public transportation.

CITY HISTORY

St. Louis: Founded in 1764 near the confluence of the continent's grandest rivers, St. Louis was named after the 13th century king, crusader and patron of arts and culture.

Arlington: Founded in 1876 on the banks of the diminutive Johnson Creek, Arlington was named after the plantation of defeated Confederate general Robert E. Lee.

METRO AREA ECONOMIES

St. Louis: With 2.8 million people, and about 9.1 percent of them unemployed, the St. Louis area boasts eight headquarters of Fortune 500 companies. About 29.9 percent of the population have a college degree, and the median home price is a steal at $129,000.

Dallas-Fort Worth: About 6.4 million people call the metro area home, as do 14 Fortune 500 HQs. Unemployment is 8.4 percent, 31.1 percent of residents have a college degree and the median home price is $151,500.

CULINARY HISTORY

St. Louis: Boasts several culinary innovations, most notable toasted ravioli, gooey butter cake, pork steaks and its own style of pizza. The 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis popularized the ice cream cone, hot dogs served on a bun, the hamburger, peanut butter, cotton candy and an obscure Texas soft drink called Dr Pepper.

Texas: According to the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau, the frozen margarita machine was invented there.