What are we doing, Tampa? And I had your back too.
Kicking off the MLB postseason Tuesday afternoon, the Tampa Bay Rays hosted the Texas Rangers at their Tropicana Field, but it wasn’t your standard batcrap crazy playoff atmosphere that you normally expect.
For years now, the Rays attendance in St. Petersburg, Florida has been low compared to other teams in MLB, so this is nothing new … but the playoffs?!
Yeah, this became a big deal to many around the league, as “The Trop” put up historically low attendance numbers for the postseason game.
In the contest that saw the Rays lose 4-0 to the Rangers (a loss they deserve after this embarrassment), Tropicana Field only saw a measly attendance of 19,704, with the AL Wild Card Game 1 figure being the lowest tally for a playoff game since Game 7 of the 1919 World Series in Cincinnati, according to The Athletic.
1919!
Just check out these embarrassing views:
the Rays fanbase has to be the worst in baseball .…
19,000 showed up today … the lowest attendance in a postseason game since 1919
— 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐄 (@FrankiesTwoLoud) October 3, 2023
The Rays drew the lowest attendance of any postseason baseball game for Tuesday’s Wild Card game since the 1919 World Series (Black Sox scandal).
There were just 19,704 people at The Trop.
Pretty embarrassing, even for a 3pm local start time. pic.twitter.com/tTbR7E64rW
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) October 3, 2023
Embarrassing ! Rays see lowest playoff attendance since 1919 – via @ESPN App https://t.co/fErSJZMMKt
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) October 4, 2023
This is terrible, man.
As a proud Florida man, I’ve pushed for a new stadium for the Rays to stay in Tampa for quite some time now. Hell, I’ve even written a couple blogs (here and here) about the situation with the Rays. But after this?
Yeah, now I’m seeing why Gov. Ron DeSantis and other top figures in the Sunshine State were against the new stadium.
I mean, seriously, Tampa … this is absolutely shameful. You’ve got a playoff baseball team and they’re located just 25 minutes from the city being. And like we’ve already mentioned, you have a beautiful new stadium on the way. What’s the excuse at this point? (RELATED: New York Mets Manager Buck Showalter Fired After Dysfunctional Ass Season)
Honestly…
I love you, Tampa, but I’m not very happy with you right now. Just a horrible look for baseball in Florida.