Oh, how quickly they fall.
From the biggest Opening Day crowd last Friday to the lowest game attendance in Camden Yards’ history, if there’s one thing you can say about the Orioles, it’s that they keep you guessing.
But as a fan, that’s not really a good thing. Not that great for a business, either.
The O’s hosted the Tampa Bay Rays last night, and this year’s squad claimed the dubious honor of drawing the fewest number of fans ever to attend a game in Camden Yards’ 18-year history. Monday’s crowd was announced at 9,129 — and that’s the official count, which includes season ticket holders, so it’s typically higher than the actual number of people there.
There’s really no silver lining you can put on this one. Fewer than 10,000 fans in a ballpark that can hold almost five times as many people just stinks. But I’ll give you a little perspective on on it:
Tampa Bay is one of the worst-drawing teams at Camden Yards. Even Toronto last year averaged nearly 21,000 per game at Camden Yards. Last year Tampa averaged 14,770 people per game in Baltimore, drawing roughly 129,000 people to Camden Yards over nine games — and three of those games were on the weekend.
Which brings me to my next point: Monday games are duds (note: exception made here for Red Sox or Yankees games). Actually, Monday through Thursday games at Camden Yards are pretty poorly attended. Last year, the Orioles averaged 22,743 fans per game on Mondays — but eliminate the two Red Sox and Yankees games and that average goes down to 17,076.
Tuesday through Thursday games last year averaged between 16,000 and 18,700 — snoozefest. Meanwhile weekend games fared far better — Friday attendance averaged 28,774, Saturdays 31,792 and Sundays 25,755.
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