In spring 2005 Vegas put the Pirates over/under at 74 wins. I advised a buddy to bet heavy on the under. This year's roster was decidedly triple-A.
Troubled by the culture of mediocrity and ownership's unwillingness to spend another $40m in payroll in hopes of the team's first winning season since 1992, local sports columnists encouraged fans to boycott the games to force ownership's hand.
They didn't. Despite being bad in general and worse at home, the team averaged 23,000 attendance per home date and 1.817 million on the year. Season ticket sales were higher this year and will be higher yet next year with the All-Star Game perks. The fans expect the team to lose more than they win, yet they still show up in respectable numbers. Owner McClatchy figured, heck, I can spend $54m and win 74 games and draw 1.6 million fans or spend $34m and win 70 games and draw 1.6 million fans. In fact he won fewer than 70 and drew more than 1.6m. This season was essentially an experiment to see if the fans would continue to support an organization that was not trying to improve. The fans came. It's a great ballpark, the fans are resigned to the fact that the Pirates will never quite compete, and it's still major league baseball and a nice night out, so why improve the team?
The final home game of the season drew a paid crowd of 23,008. The Pirates drew 1,817,245 fans through 79 dates, an average of 23,003 per game.
It marked the sixth time in franchise history the Pirates surpassed 1.8 million attendance. The most recent time was 2001 when the Pirates drew a franchise-record 2.4 million.
Despite winning their final two home games, the Pirates finished with a 34-47 record at PNC Park. It was their worst home record in the five-year history of the ballpark.
2 comments:
I guess they're just coming to hang out at the park. I remember them having trouble getting 15,000 to a game at the old Three Rivers post Bonds.
It's definitely a nice night out. You might get to see Bonds hit a homer or witness a no-no while enjoying delicious snacks. You've got to admire the Brian Giles trade, and that is how good clubs are built from bad clubs. There are some promising young starters on the scene, who could develop nicely if they are not traded away to make room for Operation Shutdown.
Post a Comment