Hey, let’s crap all over the Miami Marlins a little bit more!
On Wednesday night, the Marlins drew just 6,150 fans to their 4-1 loss to the New York Mets, a night after drawing 6,516 for an 8-6 loss to the Mets.
On the same night in Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Miami’s AA team, had their home opener and drew 6,960 fans.
That’s right – the Marlins drew fewer fans than their own AA team on the same night.
Through nine home games this season, the Marlins are averaging just 12,641 fans per game, by far the lowest total in Major League Baseball. That’s still a better mark than the low point that the Montreal Expos hit in 2001, when they averaged a pathetic 7,935 per game at Stade Olympique.
But as the 2018 season rolls on, I don’t think it would surprise anyone if Miami reached those lows. So far this year in those nine home games, the Marlins have already played four games against the Cubs, three against the Red Sox, and three against the Mets. The Cubs and Red Sox are two of the strongest road draws in all of baseball (along with the Yankees, who play two games in Miami in the middle of August), and the Mets are a large market team that typically draw strong road crowds.
It’s reasonable to assume that the Marlins’ average attendance will continue to fall as the season goes on and less desirable opponents come into Marlins Park. For instance, the Pittsburgh Pirates will play in Miami this weekend – who is going to go watch those games? The same is true for the weekend series with the Rockies in two weeks.
The Marlins’ AAA team, the New Orleans Baby Cakes, drew 10,218 last week for their home opener with the Nashville Sounds. The Marlins were in Philadelphia at the time, but didn’t reach 10,000 fans for any of the three games with the Mets this week.
[ESPN]
