Fansided

Numbers-wise, 2014 MLB All Star Game was a big success

By Mike Marteny

Jul 14, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; A general view as a rainbow appears in the first round during the 2014 Home Run Derby the day before the MLB All Star Game at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 14, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; A general view as a rainbow appears in the first round during the 2014 Home Run Derby the day before the MLB All Star Game at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Minnesota Twins and their fans sure know how to throw a party.  I am old enough to remember both the 1987 and 1991 World Series wins, and their ensuing celebrations.

So when Target Field was selected as the site for the 2014 MLB All Star Game, I expected the franchise, city, and fans to put on a show.

They did.  The numbers don’t lie, right?

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This was the most viewed version of the mid-summer classic since 2010, drawing 11.34 million viewers around the globe.  There were also 31 first time all stars in the game!

The festivities surrounding the All Star game were a big hit, drawing 121, 169 fans over the three-day event.  The FanFest drew nearly 115K fans.

Whoever came up with the idea of having an All Star block party deserves some credit.  It was a huge success, drawing 38,758 fans, which is almost as much as the game itself!

The 5K Color Run drew 27.686 fans to make it the largest 5K ever conducted by MLB.

Managers Joe Girardi and Mike Matheny used a total of 62 players, which is a record for a nine inning All Star Game.

I thought that the caps made especially for the game was just a ploy to get more revenue for MLB.  Whatever the case, it was also a huge success.  The All Star only caps saw a 385% sales increase over the previous year.  I will give credit where credit is due.  They did look pretty nice.

The Twins raised a total of $8,575,800 for charity, which is the most ever for a host city.

Of course, with social media being what it is, Twitter usage increased 113% for the game from last year.  615,886 of them were about Derek Jeter!

The Home Run Derby was streamed live by 800,000 people.  Chicks still dig the long ball.

This was the third All Star game to be held in the Twin Cities area.  Old Metropolitan Stadium, which stood where the Mall Of America now stands, hosted the game in 1965.  The Metrodome played host in 1985.  So the city is no stranger to hosting the game, but it had been 30 years.

It went over well.  Hopefully Target Field will see another one of these before 30 years have passed.