If you don’t build it, they won’t come.
The Oakland A’s are a prime example of this, as fans held a ‘Reverse Boycott’ on Tuesday night in an effort to prove that poor ownership is the reason for their abysmal attendance over recent years. Commissioner Rob Manfred responded to this occurrence today with a number of comments, including the projection of a positive 6-8% increase in attendance league-wide.
Unfortunately, the White Sox are not contributing to this attendance boost. In fact, the club’s numbers are alarmingly bad as the team has seen the largest decrease in attendance compared to 2022 out of all 30 teams thus far.
According to stats provided by Baseball Reference, the South Siders have drawn total 638,475 fans in 2023. While this number might not mean much at first glance, it averages out to 18,779 fans per game across 34 games. That’s a decrease of 156,734 fans overall and 4,610 fans per game, which means there’s a negative 19.7% difference. This should give the front office a clear indication of how this fanbase views the current state of the team.
When looking at these numbers, it’s only fair to look at the other end of the spectrum. Teams that have seen a large total increase include Philadelphia (+346,200), Toronto (+200,131), Cleveland (+199,480), and Pittsburgh (+177,254). The Cubs, despite a similar 30-37 record, have seen 26,399 more total fans on the North Side of town.
If you’re curious about the full list, here’s how the attendance shakes out for each team sorted from the largest positive to negative.
The White Sox enter Thursday night’s game against the Dodgers with a 30-39 record, sitting 5.5 games behind the Twins for first place in the AL Central. The next few weeks will likely be crucial in determining the short-term and long-term future of the team as the July trade deadline looms.
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Featured Photo: © Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
A J Pollock declining 2023 option says it all; he couldn’t wait to get far away as possible from the White Sox. The WS saved $8 million, but when an aging over-the-hill player walks away from a guaranteed $13 million speaks volumes about what he thinks of the organization.
What else would anyone expect? Bad baseball alone drives down attendance but Sox fans have now seen basically what equates to 2 seasons of underperformance and disappointment after enduring 3+ years of a rebuild. Now pile on top of all that the rising cost of going to a game, inflation and traffic and parking being worse than ever.
I’d be shocked if attendance wasn’t down.
White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf doesn’t really care. He has an attendance clause in the contract for renting Gaurenteed Rate field. This will drop attendance below that clause and increase his revenue. That is his number one concern, how much goes into his pocket. Remember, this is same man who broke up the Bulls after their second 3peat due to salaries being too high. Kudos to the Oakland fans that voiced thier disapproval.
Sox fans aren’t stupid
Given the attitude of the owner, who thinks all fans are suckers, they are staying away because they know the product is poor. Sell the team, Jerry.
People aren’t going to come and spend big money to see a team that is turd quality! Their pitchers rack of tons of strikeouts, but lose due to lack of offense and offensive defense! Should the team be renamed the Smelly Sox since they are so bad? No one in the organization is blameless for this mess!
Fans are finally telling Jerry and company where they can go shove it! They have had it with being lied to and played for complete idiots! Ownership and management have taken a very condescending attitude toward fans who have loyally and patiently supported the team throughout the latest “rebuild!” I have a coworker who says you can’t blame fans because of Chicago’s high crime. I pointed out to him that there are several cities with higher crime rates than Chicago, but that their teams haven’t experienced nearly as steep a decline in attendance! Fans are saying “fooled me once shame on you, fooled me twice shame on me!”