Per-game attendance for MLB this season has also dipped, falling by nearly 2,000 fansGETTY IMAGES
Poor weather "may have had an early impact" on MLB's lower attendance figures, but it "can’t be pointed to as a cause any longer," according to Jon Tayler of SI.com. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that total attendance this year is "down nearly 10%." Average attendance also is "falling by nearly 2,000 fans," as 19 of 30 teams have "seen declines in year-over-year attendance, while only five have seen attendance increase by over 1,000 fans per game." But if Manfred and MLB are "truly confused about what’s leading to fewer fans trekking to stadiums nation-wide, the answer is easily visible in the standings." There are 16 teams "currently below .500" and "six of them are on pace to lose 100 or more games." The Blue Jays, who have "lost a staggering 400,000 fans from last year’s numbers, are eight games under .500 and 17 games back of first place in the AL East." The Marlins (down 359,006) "traded away their entire All-Star outfield over the winter as part of a wholesale teardown." The Tigers (down 292,564) are "amid the first year of a rebuild." The Orioles (down 250,865) have the "worst record in baseball." Tayler: "Why exactly would fans rush in droves to Camden Yards or Marlins Park or Kauffman Stadium to watch a crappy team with no chance at contention?" Then consider "what it costs those fans to attend games" (SI.com, 6/15).
FISH TANK: In S.F., John Shea noted only a "few folks showed up" for the Giants-Marlins four-game series last Monday-Thursday. The announced attendance figures were 6,023, 5,928, 6,075 and, "because the finale was a kids’ day promotion," 9,726. Those figures are an "embarrassment anywhere, especially for a franchise that opened a new yard six years ago." The lingering effects of a "horrible Jeffrey Loria ownership and the roster teardown under new CEO Derek Jeter have left the fan base disinterested and unwilling to support the franchise." The empty seats at Marlins Park reaffirm that MLB’s attendance problems "aren’t exclusive to the A’s and Rays, the teams most in need of new ballparks." The Marlins’ issues are "just as serious if only because 'if you build it, they will come' isn’t necessarily true if the wrong people are running the team (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/17).
CAN WE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE? In Cincinnati, Bobby Nightengale noted the Reds are "averaging 18,746 fans" after 34 games at Great American Ball Park, down 15%, or 3,318 fans per game, from the same point last year. More fans usually "attend games in the summer, but if attendance remains at the current pace, it would be the team’s lowest season total" since '84. Based on average attendance, the Reds have the "sixth-lowest mark in MLB." In smaller markets, "winning usually is the driving force behind attendance numbers." Reds P Jared Hughes said that there is a "difference in how apparel companies market stars in the NBA and NFL compared to baseball." Earlier this year, ESPN released its annual "World Fame 100" list and it had "zero MLB players." For some of the "biggest names in sports" their ad campaigns are "everywhere." But that is "not the case for the top players in baseball." Reds 2B Scooter Gennett said, "Baseball players don’t get the attention. I don’t know why because in a sense, we’re out there more than those guys. We’re on TV more." Gennett thought last year’s Players Weekend was a "step in the right direction toward engaging fans, which included nicknames on the back of jerseys" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 6/17).
