Attendance for Braves' first six home games of season is up over team's first six games in '17Braves
In Atlanta, Tim Tucker notes the Braves this season will "try to avoid" the trend of a "falloff in attendance" in a ballpark's second season. Before the Braves opened SunTrust Park in '17, 14 MLB teams had opened new ballparks since '00. While 11 of the 14 teams "enjoyed attendance increases in the first year," 12 of the 14 "posted attendance declines in the second year." The Braves’ attendance increased 24% in their first season at SunTrust Park, up "almost 500,000 to slightly more than 2.5 million." The Braves "completed their first homestand of the season Wednesday," and their "announced attendance -- defined by MLB as tickets sold -- was 194,778 for the six-game stretch, an average of 32,463 per game." This season’s opening homestand "outdrew last season’s first six home games, which averaged 31,316 per game" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 4/6).
PUT YOUR MONEY ON IT: In Denver, Mark Kiszla wrote the Rockies "proved that their stated goal of winning a World Series is more than cheap talk" after signing CF Charlie Blackmon to a six-year, $108M contract. Kiszla: "For years, I have screamed and stomped my feet, questioning whether the Monfort family ownership had a strong enough appetite or pockets sufficiently deep to compete. ... It’s only fair I salute the franchise for backing its championship dreams with cold, hard cash." The Rockies this offseason spent $100M to add Ps Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee to "construct a bullpen built to withstand the rigors of October baseball." The Rockies now have "doubled down," betting another $100M that Blackmon can "continue playing at an all-star level into his mid-30s" (DENVER POST, 4/5).
HIGH TECH: TSN.ca's Rick Westhead noted the Blue Jays are "using bat sensor technology this season for the first time that tracks swing data for players, coaches and scouts." Blue Jays Player Development Coordinator Joe Sclafani said that the team "reached an agreement with Pittsburgh-based Diamond Kinetics to buy 60 sensors" that "fit on the grip end of baseball bats." The sensors "allow batters and coaches to review information about swings in real time." Sclafani said that the Blue Jays will "begin using the batting sensors during extended spring training with about 30 to 35 position players" (TSN.ca, 4/4).
