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- The Rays are one of the best teams in baseball and yet they can’t get fans in the stands.
- Tampa Bay set an all-time attendance low on Monday and it was a very bad look.
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Despite being atop the standings in the American League, nobody wants to watch the Tampa Bay Rays play baseball. The team set an all-time low attendance record on Monday night and it is extremely embarrassing.
Sitting 1.5 games ahead of the Astros in the AL and only five games back from the Giants in the overall MLB standings, the Rays hosted the Orioles for the first of a three-game stand. Baltimore is on the opposite end of the spectrum and sits last in the AL and second-to-last in the MLB.
Terrible turnout at the Trop.
The 9-2 result in favor of the home team was a positive result but there was hardly anyone in the stands to witness the beatdown.
Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t a late-arriving “crowd” to see 1st-place #Rays in 1st home game since Aug. 4. This is the 4th inning scene. pic.twitter.com/0VUpzAKMsu
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) August 17, 2021
Tampa Bay announced a total attendance of 5,460 for the night. The abysmal number was the lowest since the then-Devil Rays played their first game at Tropicana Field on March 31, 1988 against the Tigers. ‘The Trop’ hosted an opening day crowd of 45,369 on that day— more than eight times the attendance of Monday.
Tonight's crowd of 5,460 is smallest ever for a #Rays game at Trop without COVID-related restrictions on capacity (as earlier this season). Smallest was 5,786 on May 28, 2019; had 5,855 on Aug 2 this year.
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) August 17, 2021
Putting the number into context.
Here’s the thing— there have been way worse attendance at a game throughout history and even in recent years.
- The long-standing (never breakable) record for fewest fans at a game was set in 1882 when the Troy Trojans faced the Worcester Worcesters in front of six people.
- In 2019, the Marlins hosted the Reds before a reported crowd of 5,297.
- On April 17, 1979, only 250 people showed up to watch the Oakland A’s on a cold night in the Bay Area.
- Pittsburgh announced an attendance total of 9,043 in 2019 when the Pirates hosted the Marlins, but no more than 2,000 people (and that’s generous) showed up.
I don’t run the Pirates. If I did, this look a couple minutes before first pitch would scare the hell out of me: pic.twitter.com/eA85K7RHaP
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) September 4, 2019
In each instance, there was one common theme— the team with poor attendance was very, very bad. For Tampa, however, that is not the case.
The Rays are less than a year removed from a World Series appearance. They are atop the AL and not far off from leading the entire MLB.
It is not a secret that The Trop is a dump, inconvenient to get to and simply not an enticing experience. With that being said, the Rays were outdrawn by the 51-68 Marlins, who had 6,442 in attendance for a 12-2 loss.
Concerning would be an understatement if you’re a part of Tampa’s front office.