Per Roch: Orioles STILL interested in Fielder, but don't get up hopes...

[MrOrange82]

Texas without ARod: 2.59 mm in 2000

Texas with ARod: 2.83 mm in 2001, 2.35 mm in 2002, 2.09 mm in 2003

Texas without ARod: 2.51 mm in 2004

So there you have it, the most ballyhooed free agent in baseball history barely made a dent in the Rangers' attendance, or in their W/L record. If you don't win, you don't draw significantly more fans.

I agree in principle, but the comparison may be misleading. Baltimore only drew 1.755 million fans in 2011. They have much more room to go "up."

[Mr Snuffleupagus]

Amen Roy. It is about entertainment and show business. With the average Orioles fan able to watch the team from the comfort of their home in HD, the Orioles need to give people a reason to come watch the O's at OPACY. They've got to make the on-field product watchable and exciting.

And winning will do that, but to win the Orioles have to acquire talent like Fielder now, while their core is still in its prime.

Put em in speedos!

[ccbird]

Texas without ARod: 2.59 mm in 2000

Texas with ARod: 2.83 mm in 2001, 2.35 mm in 2002, 2.09 mm in 2003

Texas without ARod: 2.51 mm in 2004

So there you have it, the most ballyhooed free agent in baseball history barely made a dent in the Rangers' attendance, or in their W/L record. If you don't win, you don't draw significantly more fans.

To be fair, 99% of the OH realize this. You're preaching to the same couple of people.

[Frobby]

I agree in principle, but the comparison may be misleading. Baltimore only drew 1.755 million fans in 2011. They have much more room to go "up."

Fair point, but I still don't think it will make any big difference. Just win, and the fans will come. Lose, and they won't. It really is that simple.

[Mr Snuffleupagus]

Texas without ARod: 2.59 mm in 2000

Texas with ARod: 2.83 mm in 2001, 2.35 mm in 2002, 2.09 mm in 2003

Texas without ARod: 2.51 mm in 2004

So there you have it, the most ballyhooed free agent in baseball history barely made a dent in the Rangers' attendance, or in their W/L record. If you don't win, you don't draw significantly more fans.

You want to add some W-L records to support that argument?

Fair point, but I still don't think it will make any big difference. Just win, and the fans will come. Lose, and they won't. It really is that simple.

Unless your team is in the Florida area, then they won't come regardless

[MrOrange82]

You have to factor in TV attraction..road gate...merchandise and the very hard to quantify brand recognition.If he drew an extra 200-300,000 fans yearly he would be worth it. Plus, Prince Fielder will HELP make the Orioles alot better on the field.And theres no one like him coming the FA way for years to come.

Get him now...or regret it later.Chris Davis or Mark Reynolds is NOT the answer at first base...

So...Tejada comparison not doing it for you?

[Hank Scorpio]

You have to factor in TV attraction..road gate...merchandise and the very hard to quantify brand recognition.If he drew an extra 200-300,000 fans yearly he would be worth it. Plus, Prince Fielder will HELP make the Orioles alot better on the field.And theres no one like him coming the FA way for years to come.

Get him now...or regret it later.Chris Davis or Mark Reynolds is NOT the answer at first base...

Go get some pitching...

[DrungoHazewood]

I agree in principle, but the comparison may be misleading. Baltimore only drew 1.755 million fans in 2011. They have much more room to go "up."

The 2004 O's signed Miguel Tejada a year removed from an MVP award and he had 150 (!!!) RBI, also signed Javy Lopez coming off one of the great offensive seasons by a catcher in history, and the attendance bumped up 300,000 fans.

Winning and new stadiums are the only things correlated to substantial attendance gains. Prince Fielder, by himself, will sell about 1000 season ticket packages.

[Frobby]

You have to factor in TV attraction..road gate...merchandise and the very hard to quantify brand recognition.If he drew an extra 200-300,000 fans yearly he would be worth it. Plus, Prince Fielder will HELP make the Orioles alot better on the field.And theres no one like him coming the FA way for years to come.

Get him now...or regret it later.Chris Davis or Mark Reynolds is NOT the answer at first base...

Understand me, Roy....if he helps the team to win signficantly more games, then fine. If he doesn't, he's not going to help attendance for any appreciable amount of time. And I don't believe in any of that other stuff you mention. The Brewers have finished between 12th and 21st in road attendance every year Fielder has been there. They finished 12th the year they traded for Sabathia and made the playoffs on the final day. They were 14th last year as a division winner. I don't see the road fans flocking to see Fielder (or just about any other individual player).

[DrungoHazewood]

You have to factor in TV attraction..road gate...merchandise and the very hard to quantify brand recognition.If he drew an extra 200-300,000 fans yearly he would be worth it. Plus, Prince Fielder will HELP make the Orioles alot better on the field.And theres no one like him coming the FA way for years to come.

Get him now...or regret it later.Chris Davis or Mark Reynolds is NOT the answer at first base...

Prince Fielder will require an annual $25M+ contract to sign with the Orioles. If the O's attendance goes up 250k that's what, 40% of the revenues required to break even? So MASN revenues and (equally shared across MLB) merchandising is going to make up the other ~60%? That's a stretch.

Almost all claims of individuals driving attendance are wildly exaggerated.

[Sports Guy]

Where does it say the Orioles cant go get BOTH? Right now, the Oriole payroll is at about 80 million...go to 100-110 like most high quality teams in the AL EAST(believe me, the Rays and Jays would

LOVE to spend that money..but neither do) and the Orioles would be a much more compelling AND competitive team...

Let's say the Orioles will go to 110M...They give 23 to Fielder and make the payroll 103...What pitching are you getting for 7M that is any good?

[Hank Scorpio]

Where does it say the Orioles cant go get BOTH? Right now, the Oriole payroll is at about 80 million...go to 100-110 like most high quality teams in the AL EAST(believe me, the Rays and Jays would

LOVE to spend that money..but neither do) and the Orioles would be a much more compelling AND competitive team...

Man, that'd be sweet.

You're gonna give PGA heart palpitations!!!!!

[JTrea81]

Go get some pitching...

Our pitching will never be elite with what we have. We need either either elite pitching and defense or elite hitting and defense to compete in the AL East. And we are much closer to having the makeup of the latter.

And the demand for pitching outweighs the supply this offseason, while the demand for elite hitting is not as high.

Next offseason the FA class of hitters will stink yet there will likely be plenty of pitching.

[TonySoprano]

Where does it say the Orioles cant go get BOTH? Right now, the Oriole payroll is at about 80 million...go to 100-110 like most high quality teams in the AL EAST(believe me, the Rays and Jays would

LOVE to spend that money..but neither do) and the Orioles would be a much more compelling AND competitive team...

Duke has already said they're not going to go there with payroll next year. They're waiting for attendance to pick up before making a larger investment.

[Mr Snuffleupagus]

Let's say the Orioles will go to 110M...They give 23 to Fielder and make the payroll 103...What pitching are you getting for 7M that is any good?

Isn't the Orioles payroll closer to $60M at the moment? Given, there are quite a few holes to fill