Rays Latest Record Attendance Low is an Embarrassment to Baseball
By Brendan Azoff
Sitting in second in the American League East with a 33-19 record, the Tampa Bay Rays should be setting attendance record highs at Tropicana Field. However, it was a record low in attendance for the Rays on Tuesday night when they beat the Blue Jays in St. Pete.
The 5,786 is the smallest crowd ever for a #Rays game at the Trop. Previous low was 6,509 on Sept. 5, 2017 when a hurricane was in the forecast
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 29, 2019
Not even reaching 6,000 fans is pitiful and a really bad look for Major League Baseball, as a successful team should be able to draw 20,000 fans or more at a home game.
Although they are not a big market team by any means, the Rays have been one of the biggest surprises in the MLB this year, and they should be able to use that shocking start to their advantage as a marketing tactic to attract fans.
MLB Attendance Update through 5/27:
— Ryan (@The_Ryan_Shull) May 28, 2019
1. Los Angeles Dodgers- 1,225,780
2. St. Louis Cardinals- 1,174,132
3. New York Yankees- 1,079,744
4. Chicago Cubs- 1,024,128
5. Philadelphia Phillies- 1,006,503
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.
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29. Tampa Bay Rays- 364,454
30. Miami Marlins- 254,618
The Rays rank 29th in the league in attendance, averaging just over 14,500 people a game, but their inability to attract fans to a divisional game at home should be concerning to the MLB. These numbers are especially worrying when you consider that the Marlins are also struggling with attendance in Florida, begging the question of should baseball be in the state to begin with?
Rays fans have to want to come and support their team, and the fact that there is no desire to go to a game at Tropicana Field is completely embarrassing for the Rays and the league.