The Colorado Rockies did the improbable this week, sweeping the Miami Marlins to claim their 12th win of the season. For a team on track to finish with the worst record in league history, this sort of sustained success — three straight W's! — was unfathomable a few days ago. Now the Rockies are back on track.
Okay, fine, the Rockies aren't back on track, the Marlins just stink. But this is a real watershed moment for the Rockies, who will attempt to salvage what little is left on their dignity in the months to come. If Colorado can rally and end the season as a bad team, rather than the single worst team of all time, that is a huge win. But they've got some ground to make up.
Despite this consistently embarrassing on-field product, however, Colorado keeps getting fans to show up at Coors Field. It helps that it's such a beautiful ballpark. There are reasons to attend a Rockies game that have very little to do with the actual baseball. But, more often than not, when a team is 12-50 on the season, attendance has bottomed out. That is not the case in Denver right now.
Rockies fans deserve a ton of credit for supporting their team through such a nightmare season.
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National League standings by average home attendance
Order | Team | Attendance |
|---|---|---|
1 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 50,539 |
2 | San Diego Padres | 42,016 |
3 | Philadelphia Phillies | 41,209 |
4 | New York Mets | 37,686 |
5 | Atlanta Braves | 36,611 |
6 | Chicago Cubs | 35,884 |
7 | San Francisco Giants | 34,676 |
8 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 31,461 |
9 | St. Louis Cardinals | 29,344 |
10 | Colorado Rockies | 27,621 |
11 | Milwaukee Brewers | 27,406 |
12 | Washington Nationals | 26,153 |
13 | Cincinnati Reds | 23,920 |
14 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 17,079 |
15 | Miami Marlins | 11,812 |
There aren't too many surprises here, but Colorado still filling up the stadium — even if it's only a little over half capacity — is a testament to the commitment and endurance of those fans. Very few folks have gone to a Rockies home game this season and been treated to a positive experience, at least on the baseball front. That numbers shows hardcore dedication. And also the power of a nice mountain view.
Those numbers toward the bottom are pretty sad. Pittsburgh has a beautiful ballpark, a vociferous fanbase, and one of MLB's brightest stars in Paul Skenes. Not being able to put a semi-competent product on the field is an indictment not only on the front office, but on Bob Nutting and the shareholders. As for Miami, well... what do you expect at this point? It's a bummer. Getting swept by the Rockies won't help bring fans to the ballpark.
American League standings by average home attendance
Order | Team | Attendance |
|---|---|---|
1 | New York Yankees | 42,309 |
2 | Los Angeles Angels | 33,842 |
3 | Boston Red Sox | 32,436 |
4 | Houston Astros | 32,375 |
5 | Toronto Blue Jays | 28,622 |
6 | Texas Rangers | 28,264 |
7 | Seattle Mariners | 27,087 |
8 | Detroit Tigers | 25,392 |
9 | Baltimore Orioles | 23,749 |
10 | Cleveland Guardians | 21,967 |
11 | Kansas City Royals | 21,095 |
12 | Minnesota Twins | 19,596 |
13 | Chicago White Sox | 16,036 |
14 | Athletics | 10,069 |
15 | Tampa Bay Rays | 9,872 |
Credit to the fans in Los Angeles — and specifically Anaheim — who continue to show up en masse for a mediocre team. The Yankees at No. 1 is hardly a surprise, but the gap between New York and second place is considerable.
What stands out most, of course, are those two teams at the bottom. The A's and Rays are both in minor league ballparks this season. We can't really blame the Rays for their roof getting destroyed in a hurricane, but this is a full-scale embarrassment for the Athletics, who left a loyal fanbase in Oakland after years of neglecting the roster, only to field a slighty more expensive roster for equally bad results in West Sacramento, often without much fan support. The MLB should want more for its clubs.