Interleague play gives attendance big boost
I'm not a huge fan of interleague play, but it seems clear that it has some potential. Check this out:
• A Camden Yards record crowd of 49,549 attended the Philadelphia-Baltimore game on Saturday. The previous record of 49,137 was for Game 3 of the 1997 ALDS between the Orioles and Seattle. For the three-game series, the Orioles and Phillies drew 140,677, an average of 46,892.
• Kansas City drew 118,806 against St. Louis (Friday-Sunday), which was the fourth-largest total for a three-game series in Kauffman Stadium history. The crowd of 40,347 at Saturday's game was the Royals' largest non-opening day figure since Aug. 9, 1991.
• Anaheim drew 131,192 fans for its three-game series against Los Angeles last weekend, the largest for a three-game series at Edison Field. The mark surpassed the previous high of 130,341, also set against the Dodgers in 2002.
• San Francisco drew 127,631 fans for its weekend series against Oakland, marking the second-largest total for a three-game series at Pacific Bell Park. The largest three-game total was set earlier in the week against the Dodgers (127,754). Friday's game against the Athletics drew 42,604 fans, the third-largest crowd in Pac Bell history.
• Oakland drew 55,413 fans against San Francisco on June 22, the second-largest regular-season crowd in Oakland history.
So what's the recurring theme here? Anyone? Yep, they're all regional rivalries. If Major League Baseball has any common sense (never a safe assumption with the Great Satan- Bumbling Bud Selig- in charge), they'll recognize that this is what the fans want. The cross-city or cross-state rivalries are a natural way to build fan interest in baseball. This should be celebrated and promoted.
Of course, the flip side is that you have matchups that NO ONE cares about: Houston- Tampa Bay, anyone? Seattle- Montreal? Please.... Of course, Major League Baseball's upper management is allegedly populated by a whole bunch of very smart people. Surely they'll figure something out...won't they??
