Chicago Cubs attendance up for first time since 2008 season
Things haven’t exactly gone as planned on or off the field for the Chicago Cubs in recent years, but fans appear to see a light at the end of the tunnel thanks to a stacked farm system and a team President with a long-term plan.
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ChicagoBusiness.com is reporting that for the first time since 2008, attendance will be up over the previous year at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.
According to the report, the Cubs head into tonight’s 2014 home season finale with total paid attendance of 2,618,821, or an average of 32,735 per game.
It’s an average that is slightly up over last season and the 11th-best mark in Major League Baseball this season. A lot of the small bump can be attributed to the future being present on the Cubs’ roster for the better part of the last two months.
The Cubs called up two of their biggest minor league names, Javier Baez and Jorge Soler, during August and it helped peak fan interest in a team that has been out of the playoff hunt all season long.
Baez has struggled since coming up on August 5, hitting just .164, but has shown the power that had Cubs fans excited for his future. He’s hit nine home runs and has 18 RBIs in 195 plate appearances over 48 games to date.
Solar meanwhile, is hitting .329 with five home runs and 18 RBI’s in 73 at bats over 20 games.
The Cubs are also set to begin renovations on Wrigley Field as soon as this season ends, and it could mean a boost to attendance in the coming years too.
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