A FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM editorial stated while this is one of the Rangers' "most memorable seasons in 43 years in Arlington," it may be remembered for "how many seats were embarrassingly empty at Globe Life Park when the Rangers made their incredible stretch run." As of Friday, the Rangers "had the worst attendance of the six division leaders." The team has averaged about 30,000 fans per game, their worst since '09 and in the "bottom half" of all MLB teams. The Rangers are a "delightful September surprise," but "now it's football season" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/26).
JAY WALKING: The NATIONAL POST's Erika Gilbert notes the Blue Jays have seen "24 sellouts at the Rogers Centre since a flurry of July trades en route to Toronto’s highest attendance" since '95. Blue Jays Senior VP/Baseball Operations & GM Alex Anthopoulos said, “Our fan base is insane.” He added of the crowds, "None of those things were in place (in the past). And that’s not (the) GM. That’s not baseball operations. That’s everybody pulling the same rope from an organizational standpoint. To see how far we’ve come has been great" (NATIONAL POST, 9/28). Yesterday's game against the Rays marked the Blue Jays' regular-season home finale, and the GLOBE & MAIL's Marcus Gee notes fans "filled every row, right up to the into-thin-air sections at the lip of the open dome." The crowd cheered when the Jays "took the field to do their stretches" and "roared when the national anthem wound down, a spine-chilling sound that hasn't been heard in this town in a generation" (GLOBE & MAIL, 9/28).
STEP RIGHT UP: In New Jersey, Mike Vorkunov noted Mets co-Owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz on Thursday were "not present in the celebration" of the team clinching the NL East title, but COO Jeff Wilpon assured all that his father "was reveling." He said, "Trust me, Fred was very happy. This is step one. So let's keep going. I [can't] say anything more about the guys in this room. This is great." He added, "It's a great accomplishment and hopefully a lot more to go" (NJ.com, 9/26).
HERE FOR THE PARTY: In K.C., Sam Mellinger suggested the Royals host postseason watch parties at Arrowhead Stadium, writing, "The idea is to turn the passion for the Royals into a more inclusive and bigger experience." Kauffman Stadium will likely sell out for the playoffs, and Mellinger imagines thousands more at Arrowhead Stadium "cheering along and watching live on the high-definition video boards." MLB "has to approve such gatherings." But it is "difficult to believe" the Chiefs and Royals "would not be into it, if they had MLB's approval." However, MLB "doesn't make many exceptions" to its rules about rebroadcasting its games to mass audiences for profit. Mellinger: "Inside the Royals’ business and stadium operations offices, they’ve kicked the idea around. The general feeling is that they’d like to do it, but they know they’d need baseball’s approval" (K.C. STAR, 9/27).
