Rockies fans "are making themselves heard" during the
team's 12-16 start, according to Tracy Ringolsby of the
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. Nine home dates into the '99 season,
the Rockies "already have posted five of the 10 smallest
crowds in the history of Coors Field." The team still leads
MLB with a home average of 42,420, but the number is down
"an average of 3,630 over the first eight home dates a year
ago." Rockies Chair Jerry McMorris: "We're not fools. The
fans expect and deserve a better record than we have been
able to produce so far this year" (ROCKY MTN NEWS, 5/11).
SOX APPEAL? White Sox Owner Jerry Reinsdorf, on the
team's attendance woes this season: "I don't pay attention
to it. It will be what it will be." The team is on pace to
draw just over 1 million after setting a franchise record
with 2.9 million fans in '91 (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/10).
Reinsdorf said the team's youth movement and $24M payroll
are "crucial" to "reverse" its recent financial losses.
More Reinsdorf: "Most of our fans aren't blue-collar, but
they think they are because their parents were. They want
to see these (players) get dirty. Seeing players who relate
to the fans was a missing ingredient here, and we didn't
realize how much it was (a factor) (SUN-TIMES, 5/10).
