Will the fans show?

[eddie83]

That I'm not sure. The team could have done more like you said. Until today, I wasn't aware they raised prices to give away games. Or atleast they do for bobble head games. Not much of a give away, if it costs more to go.

The thing that gets me is the price to these games. If Orioles fans are so worried about seeing Boston and NYY they why aren't there more fans at these games?

That lower LF box isn't selling at all. You can see where the fans are sitting and where they aren't. Some sections are overpriced by a mile.

[Ripken]

For me personally, 2015 took a lot of wind out of my sails. 2014 season was probably the highest I've been on this team since the mid 90's. I was pumped that we were on the cusp on the World Series and looking forward to 2015 being our year.

Then we get the disaster of 2015 off-season with the Duq to Toronto drama, Cruz walks, Miller walks, our big off-season acquisition is Travis Snider. We hover around contention long enough to make bad trades for guys like Perra and fall out of contention.

They decide to go all in for 2016, but it felt like a year too late. Lots of money spent on what look like bad contracts, no real upgrades to the rotation, farm system looking barren.

They've been competitive mainly because of the hot start and the home runs, but it has been hard to really get excited about our playoff chances given the state of our starting pitching.

But that's just me.

It's not just you. They aren't that good and I see little reason for optimism. Tough place to say that though.

[Spakman]

I'm tired of the "where are the fans?" rhetoric too. What other business places the blame of poor sales at the feet of the customer? That is seriously insane. It's the entire Orioles organization's primary responsibility to figure out why they can't sell tickets to a team that's somehow, by the grace of God, 12 games above .500.

There's this perception in the media right now that Oriole fans should be at the park supporting their team, as though we are a different breed of "fan". Baltimore fans are the same people that make up fans of any sports team. We aren't special. We aren't ungrateful. If anything, we've endured more crap than most baseball fans have. Fifteen years of garbage then three seasons of a team who, all three seasons, backed into the playoffs and the bats died down the stretch.

I'm tired of reading about how it's the fans fault attendance is down.

Ownership cant make you show up. You have a team in a playoff spot what exactly would you like them to do to make games more enjoyable for you? A competitive team is on field not every team can say that.

[Enjoy Terror]

Ownership cant make you show up. You have a team in a playoff spot what exactly would you like them to do to make games more enjoyable for you? A competitive team is on field not every team can say that.

Ownership can make you show up, that's ridiculous to say they can't. That's, again, like saying McDonalds can't get any person in to buy a hamburger. Of course they can; but just because a cheeseburger is $.39 doesn't mean that cost is the only motivating factor for people to show up. The Orioles can't just throw their hands up and say "they're a winning team; that should be enough for you". It is apparently not, the Orioles have the onus to find out why.

[tntoriole]

Prices, decline in season ticket renewals, and continued loss of regional fan attendance due to the Nats all contribute. Memorial Stadium was not Camden Yards is one reason as to why attendance was much lower then. And baseball was not marketed near as aggressively to corporate season ticket holders back then.

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[Why_Knott?]

People here are actually making excuses for ****ty attendance at OPACY? No excuse. This board is becoming a PC safe space that defends everything. Anything controversial is modded anything interesting is combined and missed in a megathread.

The attendance and support of this team sucks. The new nature of this board sucks as well.

[PaOsFan]

Adam outlines 6 possible reasons, and yet somehow neglects to mention that the Orioles are playing the second half at 30W-34L clip

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17606075/baltimore-orioles-outfielder-adam-jones-calls-home-attendance-sad

1. Ticket prices being higher, although you can bring in food and beverages.
2. Marketing and promotions, I'm sure they're not the best.
3. I don't if know if they've gotten complacent already on us winning.
4. "It's due to school starting;
5. weather, which is understandable;
6. danger, which I don't see

I'd drive down but not with a better than 50/50 chance they will lose. too much time and money involvedand they didn't spend their money wisely. another slugger/dh instead of getting more pitching...

[Satyr3206]

I live in SC and I support the O's. I've gotten Extra Innings for years now. My kids and I all have Oriole gear. I haven't been to a game for years because I'm getting older and really don't want to drive 16 to 18 hours round trip, and spend a boatload of money when I can sit on my couch with a cold one. It's not the 70's anymore. With Extra Innings, MLB.tv and all the streaming options, fewer fans will go to the park unless it's made more attractive. And despite what some have said there is perception that downtown isn't safe. I have a lot of friends still in Baltimore and talk to people from there that are vacationing here all the time.

I also think the Orioles do a terrible job of marketing. I've owned and worked for a lot of businesses and they are simply behind the curve. They have a good product but don't promote it properly in this day and age. If you want more customers, identify the problem and fix it.

As for what AJ said it's his right to voice his opinion, just as it's the fans right to spend their time and money as they see fit.

[Norfolk orioles]

Jones should spend less time talking down to the fans and more time trying to lay off sliders in the dirt.

He must have one of the wider swinging strike percentages in all of baseball, he swings at absolute garbage.

Then he wonders why people aren't showing up?

Play above .500 baseball, how about that?

Below .500 since the all star break doesn't exactly get people excited

It is what it is.

[Sessh]

There's a lot of great points made in this thread in the various angles it has taken. I will only add that I don't know how some people don't consider what is going on now as being a choke job. The Orioles were in first place

in the division for the entire first half of the season and at one point had a four game lead (I think) and are now in third place six games back being embarrassed at home by the Red Sox who are now 5-0 at Camden Yards

since the all-star break and will go for the four game sweep tomorrow. The turning point of the Orioles season was the four game sweep in Seattle that started on the last day of June. The team has not been the same team

since then. This has been a slow, massive choke job and it is sadly coming close to fruition with two teams within striking distance of the wild card tomorrow and Seattle two games back. The Yankees are only 2.5 back

STILL.

It is absurd to say attendance has anything to do with this. If these guys can't get up for games like these, something is seriously wrong in that clubhouse. I'm sure Boston's players are tired and banged up too, but they

don't seem to be having any trouble playing like they actually want it. I am beginning to think maybe Buck has begun to lose the clubhouse here just as he did in Texas. If the Orioles don't make the postseason, it will be

a truly epic choke. Buck can't get his guys to play harder than this for him in a playoff race in September? Something is seriously wrong with this picture.

[LookitsPuck]

Ownership cant make you show up. You have a team in a playoff spot what exactly would you like them to do to make games more enjoyable for you? A competitive team is on field not every team can say that.

How about not going 31-34 after the ASB as a starting point?

People don't want to see losing, one dimensional teams with a rotation that most of the time doesn't give you a chance to win.

Yes, the riots are a part of it.

Yes, the Orioles terrible handling of the offseason invoices is another part of it.

But it all comes down to a lackluster team that is playing down to what everyone thought they'd be prior to the season.

A 31-34 record over a course of 162 is a 77-85 win team.

Let that settle in.

[atomic]

I like how Adam doesn't see the danger. Does he not remember playing in empty stadium? Anyway baseball is just entertainment. No one has to go to games. The Orioles are competing against the movies, theater, concerts, the zoo, amusement parks, tv, Facebook, parks , the aquarium, museums etc.

No one owes the team anything. If Adam wants more fans to come to games do what other people do to try and get people to come to games. Get on the radio at 7 in the morning. Do appearances around town.

The team got a free stadium from the State I think paying players so much money that they had to raise prices was a mistake. Watching Chris Davis strike out 200 times a year is not entertaining to me. I would rather have seen what Mancini could do.

Perhaps doing thing to improve safety downtown would help. To me the city doesn't care about crime. Work on making downtown more family friendly.

[atomic]

People here are actually making excuses for ****ty attendance at OPACY? No excuse. This board is becoming a PC safe space that defends everything. Anything controversial is modded anything interesting is combined and missed in a megathread.

The attendance and support of this team sucks. The new nature of this board sucks as well.

No one has to support the team by going to games. I don't understand your point. If people don't want to attend games you can't make them. All you can do is attend every game.

[stillofan]

I think there are couple things impacting the attendance. One you have the Nats who are putting up a

another good regular season. They are more exciting to watch and the club seems to put more effort into

being a perennial winner. Sometimes you feel like 2014 was a flash in the pan and the O's front office doesn't

have or know what it takes to get to the next level.

Also I think there is a growing apathy with the regular Joe who has to pay a fortune to

watch millionaires play pro sports. Similar trend in attendance with NASCAR. Everyone is so

busy today too and you can watch every game on TV.

[Mayor McCheese]

I live in SC and I support the O's. I've gotten Extra Innings for years now. My kids and I all have Oriole gear. I haven't been to a game for years because I'm getting older and really don't want to drive 16 to 18 hours round trip, and spend a boatload of money when I can sit on my couch with a cold one. It's not the 70's anymore. With Extra Innings, MLB.tv and all the streaming options, fewer fans will go to the park unless it's made more attractive. And despite what some have said there is perception that downtown isn't safe. I have a lot of friends still in Baltimore and talk to people from there that are vacationing here all the time.

I also think the Orioles do a terrible job of marketing. I've owned and worked for a lot of businesses and they are simply behind the curve. They have a good product but don't promote it properly in this day and age. If you want more customers, identify the problem and fix it.

As for what AJ said it's his right to voice his opinion, just as it's the fans right to spend their time and money as they see fit.

How many times has AJ bi*tched about this issue......Why does he need to keep questioning the fan base? There is no excitement for this team. It's been very lackluster over the past 6-8 weeks.