Duquette on Re-signing Davis and Offseason Priorities

[Ohfan67]

Some of them sure.

Not all of them.

And not a lot of the businesses and Government types that buy boxes and blocks of seats.

The overall pool from which tickets are purchased has been diminished.

Yeah, I think when Camden Yards first opened a lot of DC law firms and the like had season tickets. Plus it was the retro new stadium-place to be. I think winning is very important, but it may not be possible to sell out the stadium on a very regular basis with the Nationals in DC.

[Going Underground]

Some of them sure.

Not all of them.

And not a lot of the businesses and Government types that buy boxes and blocks of seats.

The overall pool from which tickets are purchased has been diminished.

No doubt. Also some businesses in Baltimore stopped buying season tickets or club boxes.Go on the club level and most suites do not have corporate names on them. They are only rentals.

[Luper2207]

What makes you think they can get an additional 10K a game? Doesn't that seem a bit ambitious of a goal?

Yeah of course. It wouldnt happen all at once but with continued winning the attendance should continue to increase. Here are the averages since 2010:

2010: 21,395

2011: 21,672

2012: 26,610

2013: 29,106

2014: 30,426

2015: 29,374

I think continued winning would be able to drive attendance. The kansas city royals experienced a huge increase in attendance this year.

[Can_of_corn]

Yeah of course. It wouldnt happen all at once but with continued winning the attendance should continue to increase. Here are the averages since 2010:

2010: 21,395

2011: 21,672

2012: 26,610

2013: 29,106

2014: 30,426

2015: 29,374

I think continued winning would be able to drive attendance. The kansas city royals experienced a huge increase in attendance this year.

I look at the same numbers and see a leveling off after a nice bump.

I could see it getting to 33K or so but I don't think 40K is a realistic goal these days.

[Luper2207]

I could argue that fans were not pleased about last years off season. Also the team fading at the end of the season and the big zero because of the protests didnt help the average. 40k might not be easy but with a team in contention the last month of the season generates big crowds.

[birdsofprey02]

These are his salient if not sentient points, I take it you agree with them:

1) I really don't care about the price of a dang hot dog, I care about winning.(Wasn't talking about hot dogs I was talking about affordable ticket prices

2) Affordable family entertainment? It's all a joke. If you're counting pennies, then taking family to an OS game is already out of your budget.(In other word only wealthy people who don't have to concern themselves with a budget should take their kids to a ballgame?)

3) Relatively speaking, MLB games are already NOT affordable fam entertainment,( Seems like it a lot cheaper to take your kids to OPACY than Disney World.)

4) And referencing Papelbon and arod as making the game unwatchable by children... Did you just move to Baltimore? Try explaining to your kids why we played a game in an empty stadium because the city was rioting and it's not safe to be at the park.( I would like to know what this has to do with the team having suitable role models for your kids. Talk about hyberbole.:rolleyestf:

1). Concession prices are also part of the experience.

2). The fact is, taking a family to an Oriole game is expensive, I already admitted to that. It has nothing to do with being wealthy or not, its EXPENSIVE as is.

3). It may be cheaper than going to Disney, but its more expensive than renting a redbox movie and some ice cream. I mean you're comparing apples and oranges here.

4). Thanks for taking this out of context: You said that players like Papelbon and Arod are not suitable to watch for women and children, you never mentioned role models. I said Baltimore has had its own problems, including Raffy on the stand for roids testimony, Almoar spitting on umpires, and this year, the stadium wasn't even safe enough for fans to go to the park making it not suitable for women and children.

You can disagree with me, but I don't see why you have to bully every point I make. All this because I was disappointed that DD blamed fielding a mediocre team on making the Orioles experience more affordable for families.

[Redskins Rick]

1). Concession prices are also part of the experience.

2). The fact is, taking a family to an Oriole game is expensive, I already admitted to that. It has nothing to do with being wealthy or not, its EXPENSIVE as is.

3). It may be cheaper than going to Disney, but its more expensive than renting a redbox movie and some ice cream. I mean you're comparing apples and oranges here.

4). Thanks for taking this out of context: You said that players like Papelbon and Arod are not suitable to watch for women and children, you never mentioned role models. I said Baltimore has had its own problems, including Raffy on the stand for roids testimony, Almoar spitting on umpires, and this year, the stadium wasn't even safe enough for fans to go to the park making it not suitable for women and children.

You can disagree with me, but I don't see why you have to bully every point I make. All this because I was disappointed that DD blamed fielding a mediocre team on making the Orioles experience more affordable for families.

Where did he say this quote?

[Babypowder]

Why should ticket prices have to be raised in order to bring in more revenue? The orioles attendance bottomed out in 2010 and because of winning has risen steadily. This season the average attendance was just shy of 30k per game. 10k more fans per game at current ticket prices/food costs would be a great increase in revenue.

The frustration with the orioles brass is that they always seem to make excuses about why it isnt the right time to spend money on long term vets. Angelos/Duquette are so risk adverse they end up wasting money on longshots rather than investing in the more expensive but safer players.

For example: The orioles wasted (of the top of my head so not exact) 5+ million on de aza, 2+ million on everth cabrera, brian matusz 3+ million, travis sniders salary, etc

I would like the team to invest in free agency and build around machado, jones, schoop. Wieters and Chen get QOs and are gone. Davis should be signed longterm. Machado should be extended. I like jason Heyward but I have no idea how he will be valued. I think the orioles could offer him a big contract but back load it. Then offer him an opt out after 3 or 4 years. He would most likely take the opt out and the orioles would have then paid him less than market value for his best seasons.

Long term, expensive free agent contracts are the opposite of safe.

[birdsofprey02]

Where did he say this quote?

It was during a radio interview on 105.7. You can find more of the context here: http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/10/06/duquette-previews-2016-orioles-pitching-pleasing-the-fans/

The exact statement was:

The No 1. beef with Orioles fans is they don’t think the organization is willing to spend the money to bulk up the team, to which Duquette responds,”Our job is to find the sweet spot between a competitive team and affordable family entertainment for our fans.

His statement is certainly up for interpretation. It upset me personally, but I understand points that others have made about keeping prices reasonable. Though, I think baseball is already past the point of reasonable prices. Its a luxury.

Either way, I linked you the direct statement, that way its not misunderstood.

[El Gordo]

1). Concession prices are also part of the experience.

2). The fact is, taking a family to an Oriole game is expensive, I already admitted to that. It has nothing to do with being wealthy or not, its EXPENSIVE as is.

3). It may be cheaper than going to Disney, but its more expensive than renting a redbox movie and some ice cream. I mean you're comparing apples and oranges here.

4). Thanks for taking this out of context: You said that players like Papelbon and Arod are not suitable to watch for women and children, you never mentioned role models. I said Baltimore has had its own problems, including Raffy on the stand for roids testimony, Almoar spitting on umpires, and this year, the stadium wasn't even safe enough for fans to go to the park making it not suitable for women and children.

You can disagree with me, but I don't see why you have to bully every point I make. All this because I was disappointed that DD blamed fielding a mediocre team on making the Orioles experience more affordable for families.

This is a bunch a of specious baloney. How about answering a simple question. Do you have even a family?

[El Gordo]

It was during a radio interview on 105.7. You can find more of the context here: http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/10/06/duquette-previews-2016-orioles-pitching-pleasing-the-fans/

The exact statement was:

His statement is certainly up for interpretation. It upset me personally, but I understand points that others have made about keeping prices reasonable. Though, I think baseball is already past the point of reasonable prices. Its a luxury.

Either way, I linked you the direct statement, that way its not misunderstood.

How does competitive become mediocre?

[Nevermore]

These are his salient if not sentient points, I take it you agree with them:

1) I really don't care about the price of a dang hot dog, I care about winning.(Wasn't talking about hot dogs I was talking about affordable ticket prices

2) Affordable family entertainment? It's all a joke. If you're counting pennies, then taking family to an OS game is already out of your budget.(In other word only wealthy people who don't have to concern themselves with a budget should take their kids to a ballgame?)

3) Relatively speaking, MLB games are already NOT affordable fam entertainment,( Seems like it a lot cheaper to take your kids to OPACY than Disney World.)

4) And referencing Papelbon and arod as making the game unwatchable by children... Did you just move to Baltimore? Try explaining to your kids why we played a game in an empty stadium because the city was rioting and it's not safe to be at the park.( I would like to know what this has to do with the team having suitable role models for your kids. Talk about hyberbole.:rolleyestf:

And what does any of this have to do with being a Yankee fan?

[El Gordo]

And what does any of this have to do with being a Yankee fan?

Some one who doesn't care about expensive ticket prices, obnoxious players, un family friendly environment, and wants a win at any cost big spending team, should probably be a Yankee fan rather than an O's fan.

[Nevermore]

1). Concession prices are also part of the experience.

2). The fact is, taking a family to an Oriole game is expensive, I already admitted to that. It has nothing to do with being wealthy or not, its EXPENSIVE as is.

3). It may be cheaper than going to Disney, but its more expensive than renting a redbox movie and some ice cream. I mean you're comparing apples and oranges here.

4). Thanks for taking this out of context: You said that players like Papelbon and Arod are not suitable to watch for women and children, you never mentioned role models. I said Baltimore has had its own problems, including Raffy on the stand for roids testimony, Almoar spitting on umpires, and this year, the stadium wasn't even safe enough for fans to go to the park making it not suitable for women and children.

You can disagree with me, but I don't see why you have to bully every point I make. All this because I was disappointed that DD blamed fielding a mediocre team on making the Orioles experience more affordable for families.

This is a bunch a of specious baloney. How about answering a simple question. Do you have even a family?

El Gordo, are you capable of delivering a civil response, without getting personal, when disagreeing with someone? What does Birdsofprey02's family status have to do with anything?

[Nevermore]

Some one who doesn't care about expensive ticket prices, obnoxious players, un family friendly environment, and wants a win and any cost big spending team, should probably be a Yankee fan rather than an O's fan.

So you're the almighty judge of who gets to be an Orioles fan? Can't you simply disagree with him and argue the points?