Poor Attendance In Baseball

When you are in the last 20 games of the baseball season, for many teams you know what your fate is going to be. You know that the playoffs are not in the cards and the games really don't mean much. Occasionally you will face a team that is still in the hunt and you can use the role of spoiler as motivation to go out and win the game or take a series. For some bubble players you play for your job next year. Maybe if you finish strong you will be in good favour with the management and keep your roster spot or position in the organization.

They always say that you have to play for pride and play for your teammates and that works to a point but you know you are not likely to get that same effort from everyone. This is no secret to anyone especially the fans. It is hard enough to get people to come to a game late in the season when you know your team is out of it and the likelihood of a great game is very slim. Watching highlights it is evident that getting a seat is not an issue.

It wasn't too long ago that the Blue Jays manages the lowest attendance at Rogers Center that I believe they have ever had. Sure a bad economy has a great deal to do with low ticket sales and that is an issue for just about every team in every major sports league. For that matter take into account that a 3rd or 4th place team with no leadership at the top, little or no direction as a club as a whole and 5 year plan that is into it's 9th year is not the way to pack in the fans. Watching the game the other night there were either a ton of empty seats or a lot of people in blue shirts. Where is Shea Hillenbrand when you need him with his "this is a sinking ship" comment?

In Pittsburgh it is the same thing for similar reasons. Recently they had a game where paid attendance was 15,892, but turnstile count was about 3,000, and even that seems generous. Attendance was so sparse that the Pirates closed off the upper deck at PNC Park.

it is sad to see a pro game that is pulling in less then a Triple A franchise on a bad night. The Ottawa Lynx on a bad night could get that many people. The playoffs can't start soon enough to get some meaningful games being played again. There is few things better then Baseball in October.