Cleveland Indians: The Fans Apparently Feel the Wild Card Chase is Over

Tiny house movement is popular. Maybe tiny stadium is next?

In all reality, the Cleveland Indians were a longshot to steal away the second Wild Card spot. But the play had been encouraging as of late and with several games against the Minnesota Twins–a team they’re right behind–it wasn’t out of the question that they had a chance. But Corey Kluber has been a shell of his former self since returning from the hamstring injury (0-4, 5.13 ERA in his last six starts). Jason Kipnis hasn’t been much better since returning from injury either.

Kipnis also ruffled some feathers when he made the comment about “low energy in the crowd and in the dugout”. Some fans were upset that Kipnis implied that they should have the energy regardless of the crowd. But no more than 10,000 fans would be upset because that’s about all that attended.

This could easily become a what came first, the “chicken or the egg” conversation. The following hasn’t been strong, but as the play began to deteriorate (just two runs in their last two games), and the teams in front of them pull away attention seems to be swinging towards football and basketball.

Playing in front of a stadium that’s only a quarter full can’t feel good as a player, but this is their job. No one watches me work, I still have to do it. (Okay, not the same thing, but this is how life works–you still have to do your job.)

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I often see fans talk about the cost of going to a game being the biggest reason. I get that. I only get to a few baseball games a year. But while the Indians are one of the worst-drawing teams, they aren’t the most expensive–not even close. They have the seventh-lowest average ticket price. Now, that doesn’t include everything else that costs money at a game. Food, beer, souvenirs, etc. I mean, you can go crazy at a ballgame. But even then, the Indians are still one of the cheapest. For a beer? Second cheapest. Four bucks average. I can only wish.

The teams that draw well and have the highest prices also tend to have the most revenue. Stunner, right? But for the Indians, low prices and low attendance equal very little money to do anything in the offseason. So things have to change. If you live in Cleveland, support your team. Get out to the games. It’s cheap by comparison to the rest of the league. Your attendance provides the revenue that will help to improve the team.

As attendance goes up, of course so will the prices. At this point, the Indians just want to get people through the gate. With more people will come price hikes. Want to see a better product on the field? This is how it’s done. Take advantage of “cheap” while you can.