I said they were there to see A-Rod hit 600, but Squawker reader Uncle Mike has a different opinion:
Personally, I don't think all those people were there to see A-Rod's 600th. I think a lot of them were there because the Royals stink, so there would be more tickets available and this would be their chance to see the Yankees without blowing even more of the budget on a scalper. Maybe they love A-Rod, but no more so than they love some of the others, and Number 600, if it comes while said fans are there, will just be a bonus.Let's take a look at 2010's top attendance draws at Yankee Stadium (all numbers are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com):
Date Opponent Attendance Notes
Tuesday, Apr 13 LAA 49,293 (Opening Day)
Sunday, Jun 20 NYM 49,240 (Subway Series)
Friday, Jun 18 NYM 49,220 (Subway Series)
Saturday, Jun 19 NYM 49,073 (Subway Series)
Saturday, Jul 17 TBR 48,957 (Old Timers' Day)
Monday, May 17 BOS 48,271 (Red Sox)
Saturday, Jul 24 KCR 48,138 (A-Rod)
Sunday, Jul 25 KCR 47,890 (A-Rod)
Tuesday, Jul 20 LAA 47,775 (Cap Night)
Tuesday, May 18 BOS 47,734 (Red Sox)
Friday, Jul 16 TBR 47,524 (Steinbrenner/Sheppard tribute)
All of these games were marquee events. There's a reason that two of the Kansas City games cracked the top 10 for the year, and it has nothing to do with fans looking for a bargain. If fans were merely looking for a bargain, you would probably see some Orioles games as well. But the Yankee home games against the Orioles are actually the worst attended.
As for the notion that fans were going this weekend because "this would be their chance to see the Yankees without blowing even more of the budget on a scalper," ticket prices were actually higher on the secondary market than they would normally be for a Royals series.
What do you think? Tell us about it!
9 comments:
Saturday and Sunday were two big yearly giveaway games too. Yankee Lunch Box Day and Yankee Umbrella Day which always draw big crowds. Speaking for myself personally tho' ..I was there to see Alex get the #600. I was there Thursday when he hit #599 and went to the next three games where I purchased tickets on stubhub for $16.00 or less each game. Also ..there was a promotion by the Hard Rock ...you could obtain seats for half price in most sections except for the grandstand & bleachers during the whole KC series. There were a lot of things going on this weekend that could have contributed to higher attendance against KC including the fact that Alex was going for his #600 but not solely for that reason.
Here's to a good road trip ...
Go Yankees 2010 !!
Lisa ...it seems Alex has less concern about what people are writing than you do. I have ALWAYS liked ALex and I supported him through thick and thin but I have to say I REALLY like the new & improved Alex who looks like he is finally enjoying himself because he isn't worried about the numbers as much as he use to be but more about being a great teammate and team winner. His at bats going for #600 have been more team focused getting hits instead of trying to hit everyone out like he did with #500. To your great dismay I think Alex truly admires DJ. You on the other hand are always trying to make comparisons and bringing up the negatives. Maybe you are one of the people who keeps it alive. Your articles always seem to take a negative tone instead of positive and that's why I haven't commented as much as I have in the past. I am a big fan of BOTH Alex and DJ and admire each one for their many accomplishments. Alex would be the first to tell you that he bought many of the negatives against him by his many actions and quotes. He himself has said this year that he finally "grew" up. Unfortunately the press does to try twist everything he does because he made it so easy in the past but not anymore ..he's done a good job of being more "Jeterlike" (stop cringing Lisa ..haha). He's learn to not say too much and make it about the team ..just like DJ has always done.
Time for you to let go now and stop worrying about Alex (in truth..it's borderline obsessive)because it seems he has let it go and as I said ..I LIKE THIS NEW ALEX !!!
Go Alex...get that #600 !!!
Go Yankees 2010 !!
But there are a lot of promotions throughout the year, and discount deals. Yet the only other one that had a top 10 attendance was Cap Night, against Hideki Matsui and the Anaheim Angels. Not even Bat Day, traditionally the most popular giveaway day of the year, cracked the top 10 in attendance.
And, more to the point, most of the fans at Sunday's game stayed through 2 1/2 hours of rain to watch A-Rod. Even those free umbrellas wouldn't keep fans there during normal circumstances!
Sorry, Peggy. When I read over and over and over about how no Yankee fans like A-Rod, and how nobody cares about the 600 homers, I'm gonna respond. It actually is news, after all.
And there are a gazillion places you can read about A-Rod is the worst person ever. Can we have one place where somebody points out how bogus most of the criticisms are of him? And how the valid ones (like the steroids) are applied unequally? Like the way only one reporter mentioned PEDs when it came to Andy Pettitte reaching 200 wins as a Yankee?
As for what A-Rod actually says now, what is he supposed to say? That the media treats him with a double standard? That they use him to sell papers? So, yeah, he smiles and says all the right things now. But the media still hates him.
Lisa ..
Maybe that's the difference ...I don't read most of the junk that's written. It's more gossip than sports reporting anyway. I read Lohud Blog, Confessions of a She-Fan, your blog, Yankees.com, a few baseball stories and that's it.
As I wrote ..unfortunately Alex is the one who bought most of it on himself for his actions and words in the past not to mention that he's always been a target since he signed the big contract which is totally unfair. It's also a pity that the media can't let go.
I'm happy the people were there to cheer him on and I'm happy many people waited out the rain delay..I would have been a lot happier after sitting through the 3 days if he had hit it tho'....lol. I hope for his sake he gets it out of the way soon.
Anyway ..you can keep crusading for Alex if that's what makes you happy. I just truly feel that Alex is happy now and if that's the case I'm happy for him.
Go Alex ...Go Yankees 2010 !!
Lisa: I was at the game yesterday to hopefully see Alex hit #600. I probably wouldn't have gone otherwise because it is the Royals and I had tickets to Thursday's game when he hit #599. I appreciate and admire your willingness to call out people in the media who still believe its their duty to mention his PED use as if none of this know it. I keep thinking "what is he supposed to to do? Retire from baseball?" If he did then the media would call him a quitter and admitted PED user. PS. I will never understand why these same scribes don't demand that the other 103 players names be released (why the silence about that?)
But Peggy does have a point where you do seem to be a bit too sensitive when the media writes/talks about Alex. We know its about selling papers and getting people to call in to radio talk shows and unfortunately, nothing sells more than controversy or scandal (real or alleged). I could be wrong,but it appears thatt Alex has a) figured out how to deal with the NY media and b) he's matured a lot in the past year and a half. They aren't going anywhere this season without him. Even our beloved "EL Captain" is smart enough to know that!
"I don't read most of the junk that's written. It's more gossip than sports reporting anyway. I read Lohud Blog, Confessions of a She-Fan, your blog, Yankees.com, a few baseball stories and that's it."
Now that's some good company to be in! Thanks, Peggy (and thanks, Brooklyn Girl, for your nice note as well!)
Question for you both (and for any other readers who might now) - what is the average Yankee fan percentage of attendance in Cleveland? I know Tampa Bay is practically Yanke Stadium south, but I was wondering about the Midwest. Hadn't really paid attention to the crowds there. Peggy, have you been to any games in Cleveland?
Lisa..
I've been to Cleveland twice...it was a good turnout better than their normal attendance because it was the Yankees. I think it was 35,000 or more a game when they were drawing in the 20's at the time (about 5 years ago).
Right now Cleveland has the worst attendance in baseball ..how do I know?? I just checked..haha. Around 16,000 per game.
It will be interesting to see how many turnout for the games with the Yankees and Alex going for #600.
Go Yankees 2010 !!!
In general I'm inclined to agree with Uncle Mike's logic about fans approach to seeing a game. Lisa, you mention that O's games are some of the worst attended but the O's have yet to visit YS on a weekend.
This was a weekend series - nice for the locals. It's summer - maybe out of towners are in for a NY vacation anyway and wanted to squeeze in a Yanks game so you take what you can get. Lots of factors.
Now, tying this back to the original reason for bringing this up was whether or not there was interest in A-Rod hitting #600 and I'm sure there was a last minute spike due to that. The number of tickets sold within a couple of days is the better sign of how much of the attendance was tied to A-Rod.
Regardless of why people bought tickets for those games originally, its not surprising to me that they would hang out through the rain delay to witness some history.
Keeping this in perspective - the worst attended O's game still drew over 41,000 which many teams would kill for on a Monday in May.
Cheers!
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