TDA Bullpen - Our Writers' Blog

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

The Worst Fans in Baseball?

Twins Deserve Better Support

The Yankees, Anaheim, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, Houston, St. Louis, Boston. That's nine of the top ten teams in attendance this year, in raw totals. (Philadelphia, with the new ballpark, is in fifth.) Sure, you say, they're all playoff contenders, of course they have good attendance. The Minnesota Twins rank 23rd in the majors, behind, among others, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Arizona.

If you rank the Twins' attendance by percent of capacity, it's even worse. Only 48.1% of the seats in the Metrodome were filled this year. Only three teams did worse this year, counting the Expos.

Clearly there's some kind of correlation between most of the worst parks in baseball and low attendance. The bottom of the heap is Montreal/San Juan, Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Minnesota, the four remaining astroturf fields. I will allow Twins fans to plead the evil confines of their pathetic ballpark as an excuse to stay away. But only to a point. Oakland does better than you, with a not-great park and a competitor nine miles away with a great ballpark. Anaheim drew over 3 million this year, second only to the Yankees, with a recycled ballpark. (I've been to Yankee Stadium, too, and frankly I think it's a terrible pit to watch a game.)

Twins' management has given you fans three division champions in a row, and four years in a row of pretty good teams. I know you had a drought before that, but before that you won two World's Championships in five years. Compare this to the pathetic teams in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh and Kansas City and Toronto during those years, and you should consider yourselves blessed.

It's rare that I agree with Bud Selig, but maybe Minneapolis St. Paul isn't a good baseball town. Some years ago when the Commish called for contraction of baseball from the Twin Cities, I objected, and then gloated as the Twins proved him a liar and made it to the post-season with a small payroll. But there's a point where you say, enough. Given the middle-ranking of the size of your market and your successful team, you can do better.

Yes, I'm really sorry about the Metrodome. I've been there a few times, and it's dreary. But it's not like watching good baseball in a dreary park is a chore. It should be your pride and joy.

So light a torch under it, Minneapolipaulians, and support the Twinkies a bit better -- not just during the playoffs. They've earned it. Maybe if you give the club some more revenue when it's playing well, it might actually consider dipping into its own coffers to build a ballpark the club, and you fans, deserve.

posted by The Crank 4:24 PM