Monday, August 31, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 30, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Sunday, August 30, 2015:

Total Attendance: 20,201

Tampa Bay Rays:
  • Team Home Game #: 65
  • Attendance: 18,634
  • Starting Pitcher: Nathan Karns
  • Opponent: Kansas City Royals
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Danny Duffy
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 15,740
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 18,876
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 19,342
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 15,266
  • Promotions (if any): DJ Kitty bag giveaway
  • Other local events: None

Bradenton Marauders:
  • Team Home Game #: 67
  • Attendance: 1,567
  • Starting Pitcher: Cody Dickson
  • Opponent: Palm Beach Cardinals
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Blake McKnight
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,494
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,716
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,501
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,058
  • Promotions (if any): Family Fun Sunday

Dunedin Blue Jays:

No other games scheduled

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 29, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Saturday, August 29, 2015:

Total Attendance: 25,222

Tampa Bay Rays:
  • Team Home Game #: 64
  • Attendance: 24,372
  • Starting Pitcher: Jake Odorizzi
  • Opponent: Kansas City Royals
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Kris Medlen
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 15,695
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 18,997
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 21,909
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 17,181
  • Promotions (if any): Kiermaier "The Outlaw" figure giveaway
  • Other local events: Tampa Bay Bucs preseason game - Raymond James Stadium: attendance 51,521

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 66
  • Attendance: 850
  • Starting Pitcher: Alonzo Gonzalez
  • Opponent: Lakeland Flying Tigers
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Jairo Labourt
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 810
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 827
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 908
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 662
  • Promotions (if any): Fireworks and Back to School Night

No other games scheduled

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 28, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Friday, August 28, 2015:

Total Attendance: 14,364

Tampa Bay Rays:
  • Team Home Game #: 63
  • Attendance: 13,622
  • Starting Pitcher: Erasmo Ramirez
  • Opponent: Kansas City Royals
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Edison Volquez
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 15,557
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 13,622
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 15,437
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 14,877
  • Promotions (if any): Rays Mustache Giveaway
  • Other local events: None

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 65
  • Attendance: 742
  • Starting Pitcher: Coner Fisk
  • Opponent: Lakeland Flying Tigers
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Brennan Smith
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 809
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 823
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,311
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 600
  • Promotions (if any): Autism Awareness Night

No other games scheduled

Friday, August 28, 2015

Rochester Red Wings rip Rays attendance

I've written about unprofessional Minor League Baseball employees before. Several times since I started this blog, Minor League Baseball employees have taken to twitter and compared their local attendance to Rays attendance.

Yes, Rays attendance is often not good by Major League standards, but it is superior to Minor League standards. (And of course, the Tampa Bay area is also home to four Minor League teams. But I digress.)

While most comments have been from MiLB employees' personal Twitter accounts, there has never been a team account talk trash. Until now.




Like the comment below the tweet says, "Well done!". It is absolutely great that the Red Wings had 9,576 people attend fireworks night at Frontier Field. That's great.

(And I have often talked about how fireworks adds approximately 20% to attendance.)

But Red Wings attendance has nothing to do with the Rays. The second sentence is uncalled for and unprofessional.

Why would a team tweet something like that? It makes no sense. Unless this is a critique of the Rays business model. Perhaps the Red Wings front office is taking a jab at the Rays front office by showing the Rays that the Red Wings product is better received than the Rays' product.

Because that's what that tweet says to me.

No Major League team would ever compare their attendance numbers to another team. At least not in public. Especially not on their twitter feeds. And no Minor League team would compare their attendance with another teams' on their twitter feeds. That too would be unprofessional.

It would be just as unprofessional if the Red Wings tweeted that they drew over 22x more people than the Dunedin Blue Jays Thursday night. The Dunedin Blue Jays drew only 428 fans, their second lowest amount of the season.

Attendance isn't a contest. It is a daily barometer of marketing success. The Red Wings did well, no doubt, but the success of baseball isn't when one team outdraws another. It's when every team does well.

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 27, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Thursday, August 27, 2015:

Total Attendance: 9,803

Tampa Bay Rays:
  • Team Home Game #: 62
  • Attendance: 9,375
  • Starting Pitcher: Drew Smyly
  • Opponent: Minnesota Twins
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Tommy Milone
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 15,589
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 9,404
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 11,661
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 10,636
  • Promotions (if any): None
  • Other local events: None

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 64
  • Attendance: 428
  • Starting Pitcher: Jeremy Gabryszwski
  • Opponent: Lakeland Flying Tigers
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Endrys Driceno
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 810
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 837
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 715
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 746
  • Promotions (if any): Tickets for the Price of Gas
  • Other local events: None

No other games scheduled

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 26, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Wednesday, August 26, 2015:

Total Attendance: 9,205

Tampa Bay Rays:
  • Team Home Game #: 61
  • Attendance: 9,205
  • Starting Pitcher: Chris Archer
  • Opponent: Minnesota Twins
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Tyler Duffy
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 15,691
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 9,419
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 14,214
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 17,410
  • Promotions (if any): None
  • Other local events: None

No other games scheduled

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 25, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Tuesday, August 25, 2015:

Total Attendance: 13,727

Tampa Bay Rays:
  • Team Home Game #: 60
  • Attendance: 9,632
  • Starting Pitcher: Nathan Karns
  • Opponent: Minnesota Twins
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Ervin Santana
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 15,799
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 9,632
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 12,249
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 15,007
  • Promotions (if any): None
  • Other local events: None

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 68
  • Attendance: 949
  • Starting Pitcher: Jonathan Holder
  • Opponent: Dunedin Blue Jays
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Shane Dawson
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,485
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 845
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 976
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 2,308
  • Promotions (if any): 2-for-1 Tuesday

Clearwater Threshers:
  • Team Home Game #: 66
  • Attendance: 3,146
  • Starting Pitcher: John Richy
  • Opponent: Daytona Tortugas
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Keury Mella
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 2,690
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 2,613
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 3,313
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 3,146
  • Promotions (if any): $1 Tuesday

No other games scheduled

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 24, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Monday, August 24, 2015:

Total Attendance: 1,962

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 67
  • Attendance: 586
  • Starting Pitcher: Dietrich Enns
  • Opponent: Dunedin Blue Jays
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Derek Blacksher
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,494
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 830
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 796
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 686
  • Promotions (if any): Military Monday
  • Other local events: Tampa Bay Bucs Pre-season game (Raymond James Stadium)

Clearwater Threshers:
  • Team Home Game #: 65
  • Attendance: 1,376
  • Starting Pitcher: Mark Leiter
  • Opponent: Daytona Tortugas
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Amir Garrett
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 2,683
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 2,547
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,545
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 2,411
  • Promotions (if any): Feeding Frenzy Monday

No other games scheduled

Monday, August 24, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 23, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Sunday, August 23, 2015:

Total Attendance: 2,239

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 66
  • Attendance: 957
  • Starting Pitcher: Vincente Campos
  • Opponent: Dunedin Blue Jays
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Alonzo Gonzalez
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,510
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 871
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,369
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 827
  • Promotions (if any): Family Sunday
  • Other local events: None

Clearwater Threshers:
  • Team Home Game #: 64
  • Attendance: 1,312
  • Starting Pitcher: Mat Imhof
  • Opponent: Daytona Tortugas
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Nick Routt
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 2,705
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 2,714
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,482
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 3,650
  • Promotions (if any): Brunch at the Park

No other games scheduled

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 22, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Saturday, August 22, 2015:

Total Attendance: 6,959

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 65
  • Attendance: 2,435
  • Starting Pitcher: Chaz Hebert
  • Opponent: Daytona Tortugas
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Jackson Stephens
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,520
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,727
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 2,523
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,769
  • Promotions (if any): Fireworks: Back to School Blast
  • Other local events:

Clearwater Threshers:
  • Team Home Game #: 63
  • Attendance: 3,567
  • Starting Pitcher: Victor Arano
  • Opponent: Brevard County Manatees
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Javier Salas
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 2,729
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 2,279
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 4,125
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 2,279
  • Promotions (if any): Superhero Night

Bradenton Marauders:
  • Team Home Game #: 66
  • Attendance: 957
  • Starting Pitcher: Tyler Eppler
  • Opponent: Fort Myers Miracle
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Mat Batts
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,493
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,073
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 2,190
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 962
  • Promotions (if any): Baseball Bingo/Ladies Club/Silverauders

No other games scheduled

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 21, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Friday, August 21, 2015:

Total Attendance: 4,094

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 64
  • Attendance: 1,608
  • Starting Pitcher: Jordan Montgomery
  • Opponent: Daytona Tortugas
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Nick Travieso
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,504
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,639
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,549
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,325
  • Promotions (if any): Social Media Friday
  • Other local events: Rob Thomas Concert  - Ruth Eckerd Hall

Clearwater Threshers:
  • Team Home Game #: 62
  • Attendance: 1,795
  • Starting Pitcher: David Whitehead
  • Opponent: Brevard County Manatees
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Johnny Hellweg
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 2,714
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 2,095
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 3,878
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,866
  • Promotions (if any): Spirit Sock Giveaway

Bradenton Marauders:
  • Team Home Game #: 65
  • Attendance: 691
  • Starting Pitcher: Frank Duncan
  • Opponent: Fort Myers Miracle
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Matt Summers
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,501
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,090
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,907
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,374
  • Promotions (if any): Happy Hour / Free T-Shirt Giveaway

No other games scheduled

Friday, August 21, 2015

Sports Business Journal ranks Tampa Bay Minor League markets

For the sixth time since 2005, the Sports Business Journal conducted an in-depth ranking of Minor League Baseball markets. Over 200 markets were ranked and studied with the goal of finding the best overall place in the country for Minor League Baseball.

Here are the results for 2015, 2013, and 2011.

Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay market has not fared well in these rankings. Let's look at the results and trends and then explore why I don't think the Sports Business Journal understands the Tampa Bay market very well.

Clearwater/Dunedin:
  • 2011: 23rd of 241
  • 2013: 31st of 229
  • 2015: 45th of 212

Bradenton:
  • 2011: N/A
  • 2013: 165th of 229
  • 2015: 156th of 212

Tampa:
  • 2011: N/A
  • 2013: N/A
  • 2015: N/A

According to its methodology page,
Each market’s total score is the result of three category-specific measures: tenure rank, attendance rank and economic rank

Tampa is not ranked because "Markets that are home to an MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL or MLS franchise are not measured."

Bradenton, which began play in 2010 (too late for the 2011 rankings), saw a 9-point increase between 2013 and 2015 most likely because the "92 markets where construction was completed on at least one new or extensively upgraded minor league facility between Jan. 1, 2010, and July 31, 2015, received extra credit."

With the above rankings in mind, there are two major flaws in the SBJ ranking of Tampa Bay area Minor League teams:
  • Attendance ranking is misleading
  • Market definition and bleed-over

In regards to attendance, all of the Minor League teams in the area are doomed from the start. They may have received deductions in the attendance rank category as "overall percentage of seats filled over the five-year period" was one of the weighing considerations. Tampa Bay minor league teams play in Spring Training stadiums and often don't fill 20% of capacity.

The second major problem with the Sports Business Journal rankings is their idea of market. Each of the Tampa Bay area Minor League teams are in the Rays market. I've written often about how the Tampa Bay market is unique in its baseball saturation. But let's look at other Minor League teams close to Major League teams and see how they fare in the Sports Business Journal rankings.




(Complete list of distances for all 164 Minor League teams here.)

Of the Minor League teams closest to Major League teams, Clearwater and Dunedin are the best "market within a market". The Potomac Nationals are the only other team in the top 100. Five of the 11 are below 100 and three are not ranked.

We can assume, like Tampa, Brooklyn is not ranked in 2015 or 2013 due to its NBA franchise (Brooklyn Nets). In 2011, however, Brooklyn was on the SBJ list and ranked 115th. I have no idea why Wilmington was not ranked.

More importantly, what is the cut-off between a Major League market and a Minor League market? If these teams are so close to MLB stadiums, why are they considered their own market? Shouldn't there be an arbitrary MLB market radius?

According to the SBJ:
Each team in this year’s survey was assigned a territory based on the location of its home venue within one of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 917 metropolitan (areas with a population of at least 50,000) and micropolitan (less than 50,000) market designations.

That makes sense. However, the SBJ contradicts itself when it states they changed their market analysis because:
the willingness of fans to visit a new stadium outside their own home-team markets, paired with the propensity of most clubs to market well beyond their own county lines, placed less significance for the sake of this study on the historic boundaries as defined by the leagues.

Don't fans residing in Minor League markets closest to Major League Baseball visit MLB stadiums? Don't the closest Minor League teams promote within the Major League team's market?

I wonder if there is any correlation between the SBJ market rankings and the distance from Major League parks. The number one ranked market, the Quad Cities, is 3 hours from Wrigley Field. Are teams further away from Major League Baseball generally higher in Minor League market ranking?

That will definitely be a study for a later date.

With the average Minor League team 2 hours, 44 minutes and 179 miles from Major League Baseball, if there is a correlation between distance and a better market, the Tampa Bay Minor League teams might never shine in the Rays shadow.

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 20, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Thursday, August 20, 2015:

Total Attendance: 4,536

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 63
  • Attendance: 1,595
  • Starting Pitcher: Gabriel Encinas
  • Opponent: Daytona Tortugas
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Keury Mella
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,502
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,643
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,219
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,218
  • Promotions (if any): Throwback Thursday
  • Other local events: None

Clearwater Threshers:
  • Team Home Game #: 61
  • Attendance: 1,651
  • Starting Pitcher: Yacksel Rios
  • Opponent: Brevard County Manatees
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Cy Sneed
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 2,731
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 2,145
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 2,088
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 2,084
  • Promotions (if any): Thirsty Thursday

Bradenton Marauders:
  • Team Home Game #: 64
  • Attendance: 1,290
  • Starting Pitcher: Felipe Gonzalez
  • Opponent: Fort Myers Miracle
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Omar Bencomo
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,515
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,156
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 969
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,845
  • Promotions (if any): Thirsty Thursday

No other games scheduled

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 19, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Wednesday, August 19, 2015:

Total Attendance: 1,286

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 63
  • Attendance: 595
  • Starting Pitcher: Derek Blacksher
  • Opponent: Clearwater Threshers
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Mark Leiter
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 817
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 751
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 695
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 595
  • Promotions (if any): None
  • Other local events: None

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 61 / 62
  • Attendance: 691
  • Starting Pitcher: Dietrich Enns / Jonathan Holder
  • Opponent: Lakeland Flying Tigers
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Jonathan Maciel / Kevin Ziomek
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,500
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,717
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,819
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 739 / 2,478
  • Promotions (if any): Kids Eat Free

No other games scheduled

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 18, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Tuesday, August 18, 2015:

Total Attendance: 508

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 62
  • Attendance: 508
  • Starting Pitcher: Alonzo Gonzalez
  • Opponent: Clearwater Threshers
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Matt Imhof
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 820
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 770
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,005
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 600
  • Promotions (if any): None
  • Other local events: None

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 61
  • Attendance: 0 (POSTPONED)
  • Opponent: Lakeland Flying Tigers

No other games scheduled

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 17, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Monday, August 17, 2015:

Total Attendance: 1,159

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 61
  • Attendance: 615
  • Starting Pitcher: Coner Fisk
  • Opponent: Clearwater Threshers
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Ricardo Pinto
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 826
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 807
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 545
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 529
  • Promotions (if any): None
  • Other local events: None

Bradenton Marauders:
  • Team Home Game #: 63
  • Attendance: 544
  • Starting Pitcher: Tyler Eppler
  • Opponent: St. Lucie Mets
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Marcos Molina
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,518
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,511
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 2,584
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 963
  • Promotions (if any): None

No other games scheduled

Monday, August 17, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 16, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Sunday, August 16, 2015:

Total Attendance: 2,791

Clearwater Threshers:
  • Team Home Game #: 60
  • Attendance: 1,281
  • Starting Pitcher: Victor Arano
  • Opponent: Dunedin Blue Jays
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Shane Dawson
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 2,750
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 2,845
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,511
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 2,118
  • Promotions (if any): Brunch at the Park
  • Other local events: J. Cole concert (amphitheater)

Bradenton Marauders:
  • Team Home Game #: 62
  • Attendance: 1,510
  • Starting Pitcher: Frank Duncan
  • Opponent: St. Lucie Mets
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Rafael Montero
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,535
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,649
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,492
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,443
  • Promotions (if any): Family Fun Sunday / Bark at the Park

No other games scheduled

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 15, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Saturday, August 15, 2015:

Total Attendance: 3,346

Clearwater Threshers:
  • Team Home Game #: 59
  • Attendance: 0 (CANCELLED)
  • Opponent: Tampa Yankees

Bradenton Marauders:
  • Team Home Game #: 61
  • Attendance: 3,346
  • Starting Pitcher: Clay Holmes
  • Opponent: Charlotte Stone Crabs
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: German Marquez
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,535
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 2,120
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 2,344
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 2,148
  • Promotions (if any): Fireworks / Back to School Night

No other games scheduled

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 14, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Friday, August 14, 2015:

Total Attendance: 3,859

Clearwater Threshers:
  • Team Home Game #: 58
  • Attendance: 2,836
  • Starting Pitcher: Yacksel Rios
  • Opponent: Tampa Yankees
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Jonathan Holder
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 2,778
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 3,572
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 4,175
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 2,192
  • Promotions (if any): Concert: Dave Matthews Tribute Band
  • Other local events: None

Bradenton Marauders:
  • Team Home Game #: 60
  • Attendance: 1,023
  • Starting Pitcher: Cody Dickson
  • Opponent: Charlotte Stone Crabs
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Brent Honeywell
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,504
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,966
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 2,042
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,007
  • Promotions (if any): Happy Hour / Free t-shirt giveaway

No other games scheduled

Friday, August 14, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 13, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Thursday, August 13, 2015:

Total Attendance: 2,675

Clearwater Threshers:
  • Team Home Game #: 57
  • Attendance: 1,824
  • Starting Pitcher: Mark Leiter
  • Opponent: Tampa Yankees
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Dietrich Enns
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 2,776
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 3,677
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 2,132
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 2,584
  • Promotions (if any): Thirsty Thursday
  • Other local events: None

Bradenton Marauders:
  • Team Home Game #: 59
  • Attendance: 851
  • Starting Pitcher: Luis Heredia
  • Opponent: Charlotte Stone Crabs
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Greg Harris
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,512
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 2,101
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 937
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,095
  • Promotions (if any): Thirsty Thursday

No other games scheduled

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 12, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Wednesday, August 12, 2015:

Total Attendance: 17,958

Tampa Bay Rays:
  • Team Home Game #: 59
  • Attendance: 16,337
  • Starting Pitcher: Jake Odorizzi
  • Opponent: Atlanta Braves
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Matt Wisler
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 15,903
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 15,922
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 14,771
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 16,382
  • Promotions (if any): None
  • Other local events: None

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 60
  • Attendance: 583
  • Starting Pitcher: Sean Reid-Foley
  • Opponent: Daytona Tortugas
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Jackson Stephens
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 829
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 559
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 712
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 865
  • Promotions (if any): None

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 59
  • Attendance: 1,038
  • Starting Pitcher: Chaz Hebert
  • Opponent: Brevard County Manatees
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Brandon Woodruff
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,515
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,095
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,960
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,603
  • Promotions (if any): Kids Eat Free Wednesday

No other games scheduled

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 11, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Tuesday, August 11, 2015:

Total Attendance: 16,497

Tampa Bay Rays:
  • Team Home Game #: 58
  • Attendance: 15,506
  • Starting Pitcher: Erasmo Ramirez
  • Opponent: Atlanta Braves
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Williams Perez
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 15,896
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 15,506
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 12,511
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 15,016
  • Promotions (if any): None
  • Other local events: None

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 59
  • Attendance: 443
  • Starting Pitcher: Conor Fisk
  • Opponent: Daytona Tortugas
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Nick Travieso
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 834
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 556
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,076
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 443
  • Promotions (if any): None

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 58
  • Attendance: 548
  • Starting Pitcher: Vincente Campos
  • Opponent: Brevard County Manatees
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Johnny Hellweg
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,524
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,103
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 981
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 777
  • Promotions (if any): 2-for-1 Tuesday

No other games scheduled

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Quoted in the Tampa Tribune on Rays attendance

In today's Tampa Tribune, writer Chris O'Donnell again penned a piece on the Rays attendance. O'Donnell explored the effect of the Rays Honor Pass. According to O'Donnell:
In the nine games since the Honor Pass was introduced, crowds have averaged more than 22,000, up more than 7,000 per game compared to earlier in the season.
Also,
The Rays have issued about 12,000 passes to active military and veterans, with about 2,000 people per game taking advantage of the free tickets, said Brian Richeson, Rays vice president of sales and service

I was able to opine a bit and contribute some of the other factors leading to the recent rise in attendance.
Attendance also has risen since the end of the Lightning’s playoff run to the Stanley Cup, and the team typically sees bigger crowds during July and August when school is out, said Michael Lortz, a freelance market analyst and author of the Tampa Bay Baseball Market blog.
Check out the article in today's Tampa Tribune.

Attendance surges after Rays give free tickets to veterans - Tampa Tribune

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 10, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Monday, August 10, 2015:

Total Attendance: 1,250

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 58
  • Attendance: 593
  • Starting Pitcher: Shane Dawson
  • Opponent: Daytona Tortugas
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Keury Mella
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 841
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 572
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 537
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 593
  • Promotions (if any): None
  • Other local events: None

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 57
  • Attendance: 657
  • Starting Pitcher: Jordan Montgomery
  • Opponent: Brevard County Manatees
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Jorge Ortega
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,544
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,196
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 822
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,269
  • Promotions (if any): Military Monday

No other games scheduled

Monday, August 10, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 9, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Sunday, August 9, 2015:

Total Attendance: 27,956

Tampa Bay Rays:
  • Team Home Game #: 57
  • Attendance: 26,681
  • Starting Pitcher: Chris Archer
  • Opponent: New York Mets
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Bartolo Colon
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 15,903
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 26,956
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 19,421
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 18,041
  • Promotions (if any): Raymond Soap Dispenser / Raymond Mascot Party
  • Other local events: None

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 57
  • Attendance: 444
  • Starting Pitcher: Jeremy Gabryszewski
  • Opponent: Brevard County Manatees
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Javier Salas
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 845
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,253
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 494
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 799
  • Promotions (if any): None

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 57
  • Attendance: 831
  • Starting Pitcher: Gabriel Encinas
  • Opponent: Clearwater Threshers
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: David Whitehead
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,561
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,470
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,424
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,176
  • Promotions (if any): Family Sunday

No other games scheduled

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 8, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Saturday, August 8, 2015:

Total Attendance: 34,049

Tampa Bay Rays:
  • Team Home Game #: 56
  • Attendance: 31,042 (sell-out)
  • Starting Pitcher: Nathan Karns
  • Opponent: New York Mets
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Noah Syndergaard
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 15,710
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 27,094
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 21,635
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 15,456
  • Promotions (if any): UF Night / Rays fedora giveaway
  • Other local events:
    • Tampa Bay Rowdies home game (Al Lang Stadium) Attendance: 5,493
    • FSU Block Party (Ybor City) Attendance: 3,000

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 56
  • Attendance: 760
  • Starting Pitcher: Alonzo Gonzalez
  • Opponent: Brevard County Manatees
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Cy Sneed
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 853
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,354
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 916
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 646
  • Promotions (if any): 90s Night

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 55 / 56
  • Attendance: 2,247
  • Starting Pitcher: Dietrich Enns / Jonathan Holder
  • Opponent: Clearwater Threshers
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Yacksel Rios / Mark Leiter
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,576
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,560
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 2,534
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,517 / 2,733
  • Promotions (if any): Star Wars Night

No other games scheduled

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Rays give insight into Honor Pass usage

On Wednesday, Rays President Brian Auld spoke with the Hillsborough County Commissioners. Along with political matters (which are better covered by Shadow of the Stadium), Auld commented on the impact of the Rays Honor Pass program, which allows military and former military members two free tickets to every Rays game for the rest of the season.

(By the way, they really need to stop saying an Honor Pass ticket for the service member and "their partner or loved one". They can bring a friend as well.)

According to Tampa Bay Times writer Steve Contorno,
During his presentation about the veterans programs, Auld said more than 10,000 current and former servicemen and women have already taken advantage of the free tickets in just six home games since the program started July 24.

Let's explore the impact:

During the games mentioned, Rays attendance was as follows:
  • 17,838
  • 24,327
  • 18,613
  • 13,348
  • 16,326
  • 28,057
  • Total: 118,509
  • Average: 19,751

According to Auld, there were an average of 1,666 Honor Passes per game and 10,000 total. That is 8.4% of the total attendance during the six game span.

The Rays currently have 27 home games remaining. Using the average thus far, we can predict 42,982 more Honor Passes will be used, bring the total to 52,982.

However, two things may happen. The novelty may wear off and less Honor Passes may be used OR following average month attendance trends in the last two years, August attendance will exceed July attendance and more Honor Passes will be used.

September attendance will probably hinge on whether or not the Rays are in the playoff hunt. Although the Rays are not at home for Labor Day, there is a home game on September 11th, which may mean additional military attendees.

It will be interesting to see how many military and veterans use the Honor Pass in the coming months. Their usage may drive the future of the promotion.

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 7, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Friday, August 7, 2015:

Total Attendance: 24,377

Tampa Bay Rays:
  • Team Home Game #: 55
  • Attendance: 23,145
  • Starting Pitcher: Jake Odorizzi
  • Opponent: New York Mets
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Jacob DeGrom
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 15,432
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 23,145
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 15,639
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 16,387
  • Promotions (if any): Girls Night Out / DJ Kitty Bag
  • Other local events: None

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 55
  • Attendance: 1,232
  • Starting Pitcher: Sean Reid-Foley
  • Opponent: Brevard County Manatees
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Wei-Chung Wang
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 855
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,439
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,374
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 959
  • Promotions (if any): Beer, Bacon, and Fireworks Night

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 55
  • Attendance: POSTPONED (Distracting Circus)
  • Opponent: Clearwater Threshers

No other games scheduled

Friday, August 7, 2015

How to market baseball to women ... if you must

Tonight, the Rays host "Girls Night Out" at Tropicana Field. While great in idea and not their first "Girls Night" of the year, this current effort comes after a day of local missteps and organizational bad comments regarding women and sports. And the Rays effort is not without it's own miscalculation.

Kicking things off yesterday was the Bucs RED campaign, designed to attract female fans. While some cheered the effort and saw nothing wrong with the Bucs courting the female demographic, others said the team fumbled the ball and leaned too hard on "stereotypical" female marketing tropes, such as fashion tips and "football 101 for women" efforts. They accused the Bucs of "mansplaining" football.

A few hours after the Bucs bungle, Rays minor leaguer Carter Burgess caused a minor uproar when he tweeted his objection to the presence of a female analyst on ESPN's Baseball Tonight.




While twitter is often the land of stream of consciousness, there are somethings better left unsaid, even if you believe in them with 100% of your being. Insulting the intelligence of women by saying they have no business breaking down a baseball swing is on that list. Especially if you work in professional baseball. Of course, Burgess since deleted his account. I'm sure he got a stern talking to by the Rays organization.

Back to the Rays "Girls Night Out" promotion. Look at the picture. Looks great, right?




Women of different ages having fun, wearing Rays merch, and enjoying themselves at the game. The giveaways aren't offensive by any means. But look a bit deeper. Click the link for more information.




Presented by Hooters? That's not delightfully tacky, that's just dumb.

Nothing against Hooters. They are a locally-started business that has done very well and provided many young women with positive opportunities and their wings aren't bad either. But there is a stereotype surrounding Hooters. They were the first "breastaurant", where skimpily clad attractive young women serve food to tables of men old enough to be their dad. Women who don't fit the mold need not apply.

Hooters should not should be presenting "Girls Night Out". If anything, Hooters would be better off sponsoring "Guys Night Out".

I don't understand how difficult it is to market to women. Why do sports teams continuously drop the ball?

In an effort to help, here are a few ideas how local baseball teams can market to women, if they must.

1) Have a prominent woman in baseball throw out the first pitch. Chelsea Baker would be a good start. Kim Ng, Senior Vice-President for Baseball Operations with Major League Baseball, would be even better. The Rays, for example, could celebrate all women working in baseball in the area, from their own front office personnel to women at Minor League Baseball headquarters to women working for the local Minor League teams, such as Rachelle Madrigal, general manager of the Bradenton Marauders.

2) Copy the Mets. In 2014, the Mets hosted a Women's Baseball Clinic that included tutorials from coaches and players as well as invited women to take the field and practice drills with the team.

3) Have a seminar on Women in Baseball with Kim Ng, Madrigal, or perhaps Jessica Quiroli, author of Farm Life: Covering Minor League Baseball in the Digital Age and writer at many Minor League websites.

4) Have SunSports reporter Emily Austen provide color commentary for the game. Preferably with Kirsten Karbach, play-by-play announcer for the Clearwater Threshers and only woman doing play-by-play in professional baseball.

The goal should be to celebrate what women are doing in baseball. Raise their visibility. That is how you create and keep fans. By having people relate to others, inspire them, and want to follow in their footsteps.

Sure, some women only want to admire Kevin Kiermaier's dreamy features, but some do want to work in baseball. And there are many in between. Some might even think a player is cute, but still don't think he should be in the lineup versus lefties.

Any or all of the above options can be used to balance a full-spectrum marketing effort towards attracting women to baseball. Teams can do the above and still have a seminar or webpage or two for what designer shoes go best with a jersey. Because some women care about that.

That's ok. And let's not forget, there are without a doubt some men among the Rays fanbase who also think certain players are cute but shouldn't be in the lineup versus lefties. Or guys who want to look fashionable in their Rays jerseys and designer shoes.

The bottom line is baseball fans come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and sexual orientations and preferences.

Pigeonholing a demographic or their knowledge of the sport based on gender or creating promotions for them with sponsors who are not known for positive stereotypes is a horrible business practice.

A few weeks ago, the Rays proudly promoted that Rays Radio was being listened to by 50% more women. That's great news. But if they bungle marketing to these women, how soon until these fans turn the radio off?

(Disclaimer: I've met Jessica and other women referenced in this post. As well, a few years ago, I wrote a post ripping the Fox Sports Girls marketing effort. Glad that program is no longer a thing.)

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 6, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Thursday, August 6, 2015:

Total Attendance: 2,828

Clearwater Threshers:
  • Team Home Game #: 56
  • Attendance: 1,673
  • Starting Pitcher: Matt Imhof
  • Opponent: Lakeland Flying Tigers
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Brennan Smith
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 2,795
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 2,860
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 2,166
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 3,942
  • Promotions (if any): Thirsty Thursday
  • Other local events: None

Bradenton Marauders:
  • Team Home Game #: 58
  • Attendance: 1,155
  • Starting Pitcher: Felipe Gonzalez
  • Opponent: Jupiter Hammerheads
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Jose Adames
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,524
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,739
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 946
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,956
  • Promotions (if any): Thirsty Thursday

No other games scheduled

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Tampa Bay Rays Attendance Review: July 2015

Welcome to our fourth monthly review of the Tampa Rays 2015 attendance. This post will look at attendance in games played from July 1, 2015 to July 29, 2015.
  • Total July 2015 Tampa Bay Rays home attendance: 198,322
  • July 2015 Home Games: 11
  • Average attendance per game: 18,029
  • Highest attendance: 28,057 on July 29th
  • Lowest attendance: 11,394 on July 1st
  • Average July game time (9 inning games only): 2 hours, 45 minutes
  • Highest attended series: 20,259 per game vs Orioles, July 24-26
  • Lowest attended series: 13,874 per game vs Indians, July 1-2
  • Competing events:
    • Tampa Bay Storm home game: July 11
    • Tampa Bay Rowdies home game: July 4, 18, 25
  • Total Tampa Bay Minor League Baseball July attendance: 94,659
  • Tampa Bay Minor League attendance per game: 1,786 (53 games)

From 2007 to 2014, average July attendance has been nearly 12% above the annual average (22,494 vs 20,145). By average, July is the Rays best drawing month.

Comparing July 2015 with previous years

The following chart compares July 2015 average attendance to average July attendance in recent years.




July 2015 per game average attendance was 3.7% worse (681 fans per game) than the July 2014 per game average. July 2015 was the second worst July per game average since 2007, topping only 2013 by 284 fans per game.

The following chart depicts games played in July, wins and losses, and the average July attendance.




Weekdays vs Weekends

Let's now look at the Rays July attendance on weekdays (Mon-Thurs) and weekends (Fri-Sun). As I have pointed out before, the Rays usually have one of the biggest differences in Major League Baseball in regards to weekday versus weekend attendance.

This chart shows the Rays average weekday attendance in July since 2007.




The following graph depicts the above chart.




This chart nearly mirrors the Rays overall attendance trend, with a steady decrease from 2011 to the present. It is interesting that 2012 and 2011 both topped 2010, however. We can also see that July weekdays in 2015 drew over 1,700 more fans per game than 2014 July weekdays. This could be promotion-driven, as there were two Park and Recreation days in July 2015 and only one in July 2014. Former Rays pitcher David Price also pitched at Tropicana Field on a July weekday in 2015, so perhaps his start drew some fans to the park.

Perhaps because of the promotions, opposing pitchers, or other reasons, the Rays had an increase in average weekday attendance between June and July 2015 of 5,426 fans per game, or 46%.
  • June 2015 weekday average attendance: 11,670
  • July 2015 weekday average attendance: 17,096

The following chart shows Rays average weekend attendance in July since 2007.




The following graph depicts the chart:




This chart above is definitely interesting as it shows that often there is little difference in attendance between July weekdays and July weekends. In five of the nine years surveyed, the difference is less than 10% and in 2015 the difference was exactly 10%. Only in 2007, 2010, and 2014 was there a considerable difference

Conclusion:

As I predicted, July attendance was better than June attendance. That happens every year.

Looking ahead, in 2013 and 2014, August outdrew July and was the Rays most highly attended month of the year. With the hot New York Mets, regional favorite Atlanta Braves, and the former AL Champion Kansas City Royals coming to town, August may again be a well-attended month.

Another factor worth watching is the steady impact of free military tickets. After initiating the Honor Pass program, Rays average attendance was 19,752, far above the 15,962 during July before the Honor Pass was started. While there were other promotions in play, there is no doubt there were some military members taking advantage of the new program.

August will also bring the end of the Florida State League. In our previous analysis of area Minor League teams attendance, we saw that August is the Tampa Yankees worst drawing month and the second worst for the Clearwater Threshers. This could be because of the near-daily thundershowers in the Tampa area in August, which plays to the Rays advantage in the domed wonder of Tropicana Field.

We will of course keep tracking attendance throughout August and the rest of the season and keep aware of any interesting trends, patterns, and anomalies.

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 5, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Wednesday, August 5, 2015:

Total Attendance: 2,318

Clearwater Threshers:
  • Team Home Game #: 55
  • Attendance: 1,492
  • Starting Pitcher: Ricardo Pinto
  • Opponent: Lakeland Flying Tigers
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Kyle Lobstein
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 2,817
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 3,008
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 2,104
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 2,275
  • Promotions (if any): Silver Sharks Night
  • Other local events: None

Bradenton Marauders:
  • Team Home Game #: 57
  • Attendance: 826
  • Starting Pitcher: Tyler Eppler
  • Opponent: Jupiter Hammerheads
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Jeff Brigham
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,531
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,812
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 941
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,047
  • Promotions (if any): Marauders Fan Appreciation Day

No other games scheduled

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 4, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Tuesday, August 4, 2015:

Total Attendance: 5,303

Clearwater Threshers:
  • Team Home Game #: 54
  • Attendance: 4,234
  • Starting Pitcher: Brandon Leibrant
  • Opponent: Lakeland Flying Tigers
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Kevin Ziomek
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 2,843
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 3,225
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 3,330
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 3,374
  • Promotions (if any): $1 Tuesdays
  • Other local events: None

Bradenton Marauders:
  • Team Home Game #: 56
  • Attendance: 1,069
  • Starting Pitcher: Frank Duncan
  • Opponent: Jupiter Hammerheads
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Ben Holmes
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,544
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 1,953
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 985
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,435
  • Promotions (if any): 2-for-1 ticket Tuesday

No other games scheduled

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 3, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Monday, August 3, 2015:

Total Attendance: 0

No other games scheduled

Monday, August 3, 2015

Effect of Rain on Tampa Bay Baseball



Inspired by the 30 continuous days of rain the Tampa Bay area has received recently, I wanted to explore the amount of rain outs, cancellations, and moved games that have affected area teams since 2007.

This post looks at the Tampa Yankees, Clearwater Threshers, Dunedin Blue Jays, and Bradenton Marauders. Despite the flaws and drawbacks of Tropicana Field, the Rays have not been forced to play a doubleheader at the Trop in at least the last 8 years.

From 2007 to August 2, 2015, rain has caused 106 doubleheaders, cancelled 28 games, and forced 5 Tampa Bay area Minor League games to be relocated. That is an average of 3 doubleheaders and 1 cancellation per team per year.

Total area doubleheaders per year since 2007:
  • 2007: 11
  • 2008: 13
  • 2009: 13
  • 2010: 16
  • 2011: 9
  • 2012: 10
  • 2013: 10
  • 2014: 10
  • 2015 (to date): 14

With most of the month of August remaining, 2015 has a chance to catch the 2010 season for the most doubleheaders since 2007.

Total cancellations per year since 2007:
  • 2007: 1
  • 2008: 1
  • 2009: 8
  • 2010: 3
  • 2011: 0
  • 2012: 6
  • 2013: 8
  • 2014: 0
  • 2015 (to date): 1

I would be very surprised if 7 games were cancelled in August 2015. Unless that happens, there is no way 2015 will catch 2009 and 2013 as the season when the most local games were cancelled.

By team, the Tampa Yankees have played the most doubleheaders and had the most games cancelled by rain since 2007:

Doubleheaders by team since 2007:
  • Tampa Yankees: 41
  • Dunedin Blue Jays: 28
  • Clearwater Threshers: 19
  • Bradenton Marauders: 18 (since 2010)

Most doubleheaders per year since 2007:
  • 2008 Tampa Yankees: 9
  • 2009 Tampa Yankees: 8
  • 2010 Dunedin Blue Jays: 6
  • 2015 Tampa Yankees: 6
  • Three other teams tied with 5

Cancellations by team since 2007:
  • Tampa Yankees: 10
  • Dunedin Blue Jays: 9
  • Bradenton Marauders: 6 (since 2010)
  • Clearwater Threshers: 3

Most games cancelled per year since 2007:
  • 2009 Dunedin Blue Jays: 6
  • 2012 Tampa Yankees: 3
  • 2013 Bradenton Marauders: 3
  • Four other teams tied with 2

Games relocated since 2007:
  • Bradenton Marauders: 4
  • Clearwater Threshers: 1

Rain is accepted part of living in Florida. Whether the occasional evening storm, rare hurricane, or stationary front, the people and teams of the Tampa Bay area have learned to live with the natural phenomenon. After exploring the effect rain has on baseball, there should be no doubt the Tampa Bay Rays should always look to playing under either a permanent or retractable roof, no matter where they end up in the Tampa Bay area. The low-profit Florida State League can afford the rescheduled games or cancellations. Major League Baseball cannot.

(Picture of Bright House Field in 2012 during Tropical Storm Debby.)

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 2, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Sunday, August 2, 2015:

Total Attendance: 1,363

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 53 / 54
  • Attendance: 832
  • Starting Pitcher: Rookie Davis / Jonathan Holder
  • Opponent: Bradenton Marauders
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Luis Heredia / Cody Dickson
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,562
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 809
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,509
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 1,353 / 2,814
  • Promotions (if any): Family Sunday
  • Other local events: Tampa Comic Con

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 53 / 54
  • Attendance: 531
  • Starting Pitcher: Sean Reid-Foley / Alonzo Gonzalez
  • Opponent: Palm Beach Cardinals
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Daniel Poncedeleon / Cory Littrell
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 847
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 565
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 500
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 725 / 531
  • Promotions (if any): None

No other games scheduled

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - August 1, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Saturday, August 1, 2015:

Total Attendance: 0

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 53
  • Attendance: 0 (POSTPONED - Rain)

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 53
  • Attendance: 0 (POSTPONED - Rain)

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance Report - July 31, 2015

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Friday, July 31, 2015:

Total Attendance: 1,384

Tampa Yankees:
  • Team Home Game #: 51 / 52
  • Attendance: 786
  • Starting Pitcher: Vincente Campos / Dietrich Enns
  • Opponent: Bradenton Marauders
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Tyler Eppler / Felipe Gonzalez
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 1,578
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 786
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,542
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 896 / 786
  • Promotions (if any): None
  • Other local events: Tampa Comic Con

Dunedin Blue Jays:
  • Team Home Game #: 51 / 52
  • Attendance: 598
  • Starting Pitcher: Conner Greene / Matt Dermody
  • Opponent: Palm Beach Cardinals
  • Opponent Starting Pitcher: Luke Weaver / Tyler Melling
  • Avg Attendance to Date: 854
  • Avg Attendance vs Opponent: 598
  • Avg Attendance per Day of the Week: 1,392
  • Avg Attendance for Starting Pitcher: 536 / 598
  • Promotions (if any): None

No other games scheduled