Last night, the Tampa Bay Rays had a chance to clinch a playoff birth at home. They had the best record in baseball, and are on the verge of beating out the big bad Yankees for the AL East title. This was another huge step for the once woebegone franchise.
After the game, ace pitcher David Price tweeted that he was embarrassed by the Rays fanbase.
So what was the problem?
Well, they were going to clinch that playoff spot in front of roughly 12,000 fans.
Tampa Bay averages 22, 913 fans per game, which is 52% stadium capacity. That means they were at roughly 30% stadium capacity on a night in which they almost clinched a playoff spot.
Tampa Bay is the 54th most populated city in the nation, and they can't fill a baseball park for the best team in baseball? Cincinnati is below them, population wise, and they are ranked much higher in attendance. Heck, Toledo is below them in population and their Triple-A team (who isn't fighting for a title) averages around 9,000 per game!
I was listening to the Scott VanPelt show today and they were discussing this, and one former player said the problem was the economy. He chastised Prices' comments and argued that people had less money, and weren't willing to spend it on baseball tickets. He said that Price couldn't understand because he was a millionaire.
This may be true for some cities like Detroit, but Tampa Bay's economy is ranked as the 25th largest regional economy in the United States. Their economy has shrunk by 0.2 percent since the recession.
So what is the excuse now? Not to mention you can get tickets to Rays games for as little as $5. You are telling me that people living in the 25th largest economy in the US can't pay for a few tickets? People in Tampa just flat out don't care what the Rays do this year, next year, or any year for that matter. Price was right - he should be embarrassed by the fans of Tampa Bay.
Maybe it's time Tampa takes its talents elsewhere - Las Vegas anyone?
Being from Cincinnati, I know that we have also struggled with attendence over the past few years. Granted, we haven't had the best team in the past decade and a half or so, but as one of the game's most historic franchises, I can hardly see the Reds moving elsewhere. As you mentioned, we did have higher attendance this year, and have certainly not been the lowest in attendance at our ball games.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Tampa Bay should move. If there is another city out there, like Vegas that might appreciate them more, attend their games, and actively enjoy having a baseball team, why not move the team there?
Heck, Green Bay has a miniscule population compared to most NFL cities, but they show up every week. I know comparing NFL to MLB is different, but the point remains that if a city is interested in its sports, it will show it. Maybe Vegas is the answer, maybe Nashville or Memphsi deserve a shot. Heck, there are plenty of cities that love sports and don't have a baseball team. Why not?
They're an expansion team, it might take longer to develop a strong fan base. I think there are two draw casual fans (such as myself) to a baseball game:
ReplyDelete1.) Winning
2.) Tradition
The Devil Rays might have the first part, but they have only been in existence for 12 years. People want to go see teams with histories and traditions, unfortunately the Rays don't have that yet. This isn't football where the game is filled with hitting and action, this is baseball, America's traditional sport of choice. People want to connect with that age old history.
And I don't blame the economy, I blame the Devil Ray's marketing for not establishing a rapport with the people of Tampa Bay. People don't want to go see a team that they don't care about.
Maybe we should think about the expansion teams then... I mean what did it really do? Expand the market to cities that are not interested at the cost of allowing several hundred of the next best players into the Major Leauges? Maybe we should just downsize baseball back a bit. It could make the historical teams more competative, draw in bigger crowds, and actually be better for baseball.
ReplyDelete1) after reading your last paragraph I kinda wish the title was "the Price is right" but I like the direction you went in too.
ReplyDelete2) they can't blame the economy...look at the Buccaneers around 100 bucks for a seat to watch football in the same city...57,616 people showed up to watch them lose to the Sixburgh Steelers last Sunday
3) I agree with you guys I'd take it a step further: less teams & less games. Supply and Demand, Supply goes down demand goes up.
boom Principles of Microeconomics Winter Quarter 2009 at the Ohio State University C+
I don't think that would ever happen. Having more teams benefits the sport tremendously. By having more teams you create more chances for players to develop. Where if there were fewer teams they may not have received that opportunity. Allowing more players time to develop creates more stars to populate teams in more cities. Some players take longer to master their skill sets.
ReplyDeleteVegas has been a proposed city for a lot of different professional sports but haven't been able to succesfully convince anyone to move a team there. Could be the way a lot of people view vegas ethically and morally, and the fact that professional athletes have a hard time staying out of legal trouble. Can you imagine these guys running around las vegas all the time??
But having fewer teams means fewer players which means the ones that are playing are going to work harder to be there. Which is your same reasoning for not having a minimum wage, jared. Wait, are we not supposed to reference other posts? ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's a matter of priorities to the "fans". If they really want to support their team, they'll show up and they did...to the Buccaneers game.
All expansion does is water down the league. It just allows more players who shouldn't be playing into the league, whether that is NFL, NBA, MLB, whatever. Less teams means that only the really good players will be professional athletes - this allows for a more competitive league. Let the Yankees take the best players as usual, but then there are still really good players left for every other team to take and every team will be more competitive. There will never be a dominant team. Who doesn't love parity in sports?
ReplyDeleteIf anything the MLB has dominant teams bc there is no salary cap. Not because there are too many teams. The rays roster is made up almost entirely with players thy brought up hrough their farm system. This season has had more close division races than any in recent years. The Reds in the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. Seems to be that there is parity in the sport if you manage your franchise right you can be competitive even with a smaller payroll.
ReplyDeleteSome teams may be dominant in certain years but the power shifts over time..I think we can clearly see this with the rays having the best record in the majors and winning arguably the best division in baseball.