In Baltimore, Kevin Cowherd wrote, "If you're one of those gloom-and-doomers who wondered whether you'd ever feel baseball fever in this town again, I hope you were at Camden Yards on Sunday." The Orioles' 5-4 win in 10 innings yesterday against the Phillies had an announced sellout crowd of 45,267, marking the third sellout of the season and the second in a row for the Orioles. However, "as usual, Camden Yards was pretty much taken over by Phillies fans." Cowherd: "My highly unofficial read had the ratio of Phillies fans to Orioles fans at about 60-40." But it was "the kind of big-game atmosphere that's been missing for so long." If the Orioles "want to see more days like this, it's pretty clear what they have to do." If the team can win consistently, "the big crowds will return," and the attendance numbers "won't be papered by huge numbers of Phillies fans, or Yankees fans or Red Sox fans, either." Orioles manager Buck Showalter said, "We're just hoping to get to that point where (Phillies fans) can't get tickets. That's what we have to get back to. In the meantime, we'll take whatever (Phillies fans) have to pony up to get in here" (Baltimore SUN, 6/11).
FISH ARE JUMPING: In West Palm Beach, Joe Capozzi notes the Marlins are on pace to draw 2.29 million fans, which would be the "highest season attendance" since the Marlins drew 2.36 million in '97. The crowds at Marlins Park "so far are smaller than what some of the other new ballparks drew in their first seasons." With a seating capacity of 36,742, the largest attendance of the season remains Opening Day with an announced sellout of 36,601. Meanwhile, the smallest crowd was 22,242 for the May 22 game against the Rockies (PALM BEACH POST, 6/11).
SOUTH SIDE PARKING: In Chicago, Mike Imrem writes, "Judging by responses last week to a column on [White] Sox attendance, parking is as good an explanation as any for the team floundering at the gate." This is "getting to be an old story, but an important one." It impacts the Sox’ payroll, "so it will persist until somebody figures out how to lure fans to [U.S. Cellular Field], kicking and screaming if necessary." Cost is "the major issue for most who commented on the subject last week, but there are other issues for suburban fans" (Illinois DAILY HERALD, 6/11).
WELCOME TO THE SHOW: In DC, Thomas Boswell writes under the header, "The Washington Nationals Have Arrived, As Sweep Of Boston Red Sox Shows." Boswell: "After 111 years as -- almost always -- a baseball afterthought, this Washington team, with the second-best record in the majors and a charismatic cast, has caught the whole sport’s eye." The Nationals' home attendance is up 30.4% over '11, date-for-date (WASHINGTON POST, 6/11).
