Fansided

Ranking the best in-game experiences for each MLB team

By Joshua Sadlock

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 29 : Freeze races during game one of the 2019 Major League Baseball London Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees on June 29, 2019 at West Ham London Stadium in London, England. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 29 : Freeze races during game one of the 2019 Major League Baseball London Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees on June 29, 2019 at West Ham London Stadium in London, England. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FL – MARCH 28: A general view of Marlins Park before the game between the Miami Marlins and the Colorado Rockies on Opening Day at Marlins Park on March 28, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – MARCH 28: A general view of Marlins Park before the game between the Miami Marlins and the Colorado Rockies on Opening Day at Marlins Park on March 28, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

Miami Marlins: Listening to the players

Jeffrey Loria swindled the people of Miami out of hundreds of millions of dollars after threatening to move the Marlins to another city. More than 80 percent of Loria’s $634-million vanity project was financed through public bonds. The city will pay back over $2 billion for the next 40 years. Loria promised increased attendance would help offset the costs of the bonds, but he gutted the team almost immediately after he got his new stadium.

Marlins Park is one of the great boondoggles in the history of professional sports, and it is absolutely hideous. Loria fancies himself a cultured patron of the arts, so he tried to design an art-deco ballpark with a modern exterior. The end result is something that looks like a giant spaceship with pastel art installations meant to invoke South Beach. Marlins Park’s retractable roof has dealt with leaking issues and the original sod died because it wasn’t receiving enough sunlight with the roof closed. Just an all-around brilliant job.

This could have actually been a great stadium, but everything Jeffrey Loria has attempted to do in baseball has resulted in a huge mess. There is reason to believe the retro-vintage ballpark theme has run its course. What better city to try out an extremely modern feel than Miami. Alas, the Marlins are in shambles and drawing fewer than 10,000 paying customers a night.

The Marlins have announced crowds of less than 6,000 three times this season. It cannot really be understood how small a crowd that is in a professional sports venue. If you are sitting in the lower level with significantly fewer than 10,000 people around you, it is possible to hear things from the field that you would never hear in a full stadium. It’s a unique, if eerie experience, but the Marlins really do need to bring back the Home Run Sculpture.

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