Fans watching the Rays yesterday helped form Tropicana Field's largest crowd in all of '19GETTY IMAGES
The Rays saw 32,251 fans "fill Tropicana Field" for their ALDS Game 3 win over the Astros, despite an "inconveniently scheduled" 1:05pm ET first pitch, according to Ryan Kolakowski of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Rays manager Kevin Cash called yesterday's crowd "tremendous." The Rays had been "buried in a 2-0 hole in the series," and "closed parking lots presented another roadblock, delaying fans' entry into the ballpark by as much as 45 minutes." But "despite the hurdles, the crowd persisted" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 10/8). In N.Y., David Waldstein notes it was Tropicana Field's "largest crowd" of '19 and "more than three-and-a-half times the number of fans that showed up for a game two weeks ago during a pennant race." Fans "even sat in the upper deck, where the seats are usually covered by tarps during the regular season" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/8). Meanwhile, Rays Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg acknowledged that as of yesterday, sales for Game 4 were "significantly" less than Game 3. He also said that he "hasn't had any recent talks" with St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman about the "plan to split future seasons in Montreal as he is focused just on how the team is doing in the postseason." Sternberg: "One lane on this. It's all baseball" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 10/8).
