Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
August 26, 2007
Bringing in the Fans

Blaine Newnham wonders why baseball fans returned to Seattle but not Arizona and Cleveland:

The sudden surge at the box office -- the M's have had 11 sellouts this season after only six last season -- means the team will justify spending $12 million more than it had budgeted for the year in payroll, money taken up basically by the late signing of Weaver and the retention of Ben Broussard.

It also means baseball is alive and well in Seattle, even after three miserable seasons. It means there will be more season tickets sold next season than this one.

Why Seattle, and not Cleveland and Phoenix?

Safeco Field is one answer. The ballpark is no less appealing than it was when it opened. Other than Pike Place Market, it is the city's favorite place to gather.

Another, ironically, is management's much-maligned spending. Despite giving money to Rich Aurilia and Scott Spiezio and Pokey Reese and even Beltre and Richie Sexson, the will was there to remain competitive, if not the way.

Earlier this season, I showed that attendance started to spike up with the introduction of free agency (subscription required). Signing a big name free agent certainly creates buzz for a team. While building a team from within is a cost effective way of winning, sometimes a big name coming to the ballpark might do more to keep fans interested.


Posted by David Pinto at 09:45 PM | Attendance | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Re: Cleveland. Newnham has it partially right; the Indians have failed to make big splashes in free agency despite some valiant efforts. The idea that "Dolan is cheap" does seem to pervade the fan base. But Mark Shapiro is doing it the right way. He is spending his money on extending and retaining his very talented core players in their prime (Sizemore, Hafner, Peralta, Westbrook) rather than paying free agents on the back 9 of their career for their past performance.
If there is a fan perception that is actually keeping Clevelanders away from the ballpark it is that the team is a group of chokers who wilt under the pressure of expectations. Fans cite the collapse in the last week of 2005, a disastrous season last year when the Indians were expected to challenge for AL dominance, and the recent slide where they can't score any runs. A lot of fans also don't like the manager, seeing Wedge as an uninterested or robotic.
But i think the biggest reason you're not seeing mid 90's levels of attendance are 1. Cleveland is a very economically depressed city right now, and 2. the Browns are back. They were gone during the early Jacobs Field era. Now that they are back they own the town like they always did, no matter how putrid they are or how promising the Indians are.

Posted by: Matt at August 27, 2007 10:24 AM

Matt,

I agree with everything you say. However, if the Indians signed A-Rod over the winter, I bet attendance would go way up.

Posted by: David Pinto at August 27, 2007 10:30 AM

I'd also echo Newnham's sentiments regarding Safeco Field. Instead of building a park and watching it age, they continue to enhance the experience for fans. This includes now allowing fans to use portable electronic devices to watch in-game replays and order concessions.
I'm curious as to how much that costs relative to a free agent.

Posted by: Barron at August 28, 2007 10:35 AM
Post a comment









Remember personal info?