600?!
Wednesday’s series finale against the Atlanta Braves went according to plan for the Florida Marlins. Needing a win to keep pace, the Marlins defeated the Braves 5-3 to take the series, winning 2 of 3 games. Hanley Ramirez homered and doubled to lead the Marlins in their victory. Rookie Chris Volstad was again extremely effective, but left with the game tied at 3, reliever Doug Waechter got credit for the win.
However, the win and the stats are not the story of the game, the story is the 600 people that showed up to watch the game. Thats right, not a typo, 600. No, not 6,000, 600. Yes, it is true that 11,211 tickets were SOLD for this game, but only 600 people came to the game. A wonderful South Florida afternoon was wasted on unappreciative fans that don’t know what they have. Lets look at some important figures. The Marlins have long suffered the worst attendance in the league, averaging 16,576 fans this year, and have had a total of 1,176,916 come out to Dolphin Stadium for games. Dolphin Stadium holds 36,331, meaning that the Marlins average a less than half full house.
These figures are pathetic when you consider that the average cost of a ticket for a Marlins game this season is $18.69, 24th (out of 30 teams) in Major League Baseball. The cost index for the Marlins is also extremely low, $164.26 will get you on average 4 tickets, 2 small beers, 4 small sodas, 4 hot dogs, parking for one car, two game programs, and two adult hats (according to an MLB Team Marketing Report published on Boston.com). This number ranks 21st among the 30 franchises in baseball in this category.
What this all means is that a Florida Marlins game is very economical and affordable, yet only 600 people showed up to see the game. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? For a city that put up a stink when MLB threatened to contract its worst teams, or allow them to move, where are these same people to suppor their team now? The threat is over so you disappear? Let me tell you what is wrong with this, 3 simple things. First off, few people go to a Marlins game and buy all the things included in the cost index, so in reality 2-3 friends could enjoy a Marlins game for $50 each, easily! Second, this is not a Marlins team that is on the verge of finishing the season with 100 or more losses. They are a winning team, and though they may not make the playoffs, this is a quality team with great talent and is set up (assuming our wonderful owner doesn’t decide to have a fire sale in the offseason) to do well again next year. Lastly, are the people of Miami telling me they would actually prefer to go to work on a Wednesday afternoon and be chained to their computers and desks than sit outside at the ballpark, have a cold beer, and catch some baseball?! I guess the economy in this country is better than most think, 10,611 South Florida residents had money to burn since they decided to purchase tickets and never show up.
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