All season, teams work so hard to reach the postseason and have a chance to compete for a championship. No matter the sport, the goal is to bring a title home to the city and the fans you represent. With that said, the Tampa Bay Rays must be disappointed with the turnout at Tropicana Field during their two Wild Card games against the Texans Rangers at Tropicana Field.
"Some boos starting to come down from the group. I'm not sure we can call it a crowd. The group here at the Trop."- Sean McDonough ⚾️☠️🎙️ pic.twitter.com/xsg0CWFwxP
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 4, 2023
ESPN Broadcaster Sean McDonough didn’t mince words during the game. He acknowledged that when the Rangers extended their lead in Game 2 there were “Some boos starting to come down from the group.” But, he was “not sure we can call it a crowd,” based on how empty the stadium looked.
It took the Rays two home games to host as many fans as teams like the Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of their respective Wild Card series. Per Front Office Sports, the attendance at Tropicana Field for Game 1 of the Rays series against the Texas Rangers was 19,704. That marks the lowest attendance for an MLB playoff game in a non-COVID season since 1919.
Interestingly enough, Tropicana Field had one of the largest attendance increases in the MLB this past season. So, it is hard to believe that all the new and existing fans the Rays were able to attract didn’t want to attend a playoff game.
After finishing the regular season with a 99-63 record and finishing second in the American League East divisional standings, the Rays were matched up against the Texas Rangers in a best-of-three series to determine who advances to the American League Divisional Series. The Rangers swept the Rays in two games, allowing the Rays to only score one run in two games.
Now, the Rangers head to Baltimore on Oct. 7 to begin a best-of-five series against the Baltimore Orioles with the Rays season coming to an end.
