The Indians yesterday had a "stunning walk-up crowd" of nearly 10,000 fans for their afternoon game against the Tigers, drawing 29,346 to watch the club win their Al-record 21st game in a row, according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY (9/14). In Cleveland, Paul Hoynes writes walk-up crowds are "supposed to be a thing of the past at Progressive Field" in the era of dynamic ticket pricing. However, for the Indians' last two games, fans have been "waiting to get into the ballpark until well after the first pitch." It "felt like a playoff crowd" yesterday at Progressive Field (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 9/14). THE ATHLETIC's Zack Meisel noted the Indians "haven’t recorded any sellouts this week," but advance ticket sales are "typically few and far between for a weeknight game in mid-September against a familiar opponent." The Indians for the season are "averaging 24,849 fans per home date," an increase of 26.5% over last season. The club is "on pace to draw 2.01 million fans to the ballpark this season" (THEATHLETIC.com, 9/13). Meanwhile, in Cleveland, Joe Noga writes around 250,000 homes in Northeast Ohio "tuned in" for Tuesday night's Tigers-Indians matchup on SportsTime Ohio, in which the team tied the AL record for consecutive wins. It was the "second-highest rated telecast this season behind opening day on April 11." Ratings for September Indians games are up 50% over '16. To date this season, ratings are up 27% over '16 figures (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 9/14).
ALL A-TWITTER: The Indians' streak is inspiring plenty of fun and humorous tweets. Author Stephen King: "I'm sure I speak for all of Red Sox Nation when I congratulate the Indians on their 21-game streak, and when I hope they peaked too soon." SI.com's Ted Keith: "Think of the Indians streak this way: There have been 1,235 team seasons in AL history. Cleveland is the first one to win 21 straight." Super 70s Sports: "Indians are so on fire they just called up Ricky Vaughn and Jake Taylor." MLB.com's Jordan Bastian: "The last time Indians lost: A stamp cost 49 cents. Milk cost $2.25. Donald Trump was President. Kids who are 22 days old weren't even born." On a more critical note, Fox Sports Radio's Jason Smith tweeted, "No sport blows chances to market itself more than MLB does. Indians going for 21 needs to be on national TV at night & promoted." LeBron James posted a congratulatory video via The Uninterrupted's feed:
