Rays of Hope for the Future of Baseball in Tampa Bay : Baseball Reflections

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Rays of Hope for the Future of Baseball in Tampa Bay

Peter Schiller | Sep 01, 2008 | Comments 0

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Some things in baseball are just flat out wrong! When an exciting team with as great of a story as the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays have going, it’s just a crying shame to know that they only play in front of a home crowd of under 22K fans per game in the same year they are having their best record in franchise history. Not only is it their best season, but they are on top of the monstrous American League East; a few games above Boston and more than 10 games better than the Yankees! The good news it that it’s the best average they’ve had since their freshman year back in 1998 when they averaged just under 31K fans per game. These attendance statistics can be found at the baseball blogger’s friends at Baseball-Reference.com and more specifically, by clicking HERE.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that the dome that is Tropicana Field is a horrible place for a baseball game with the catwalk that creates havoc with high pop ups and fly balls, making for some interesting ground rules. Here’s some detail of those catwalks from the Ray’s official webpage:

There are four catwalks located above the playing surface at Tropicana Field. They are labeled the “A”, “B”, “C” and “D” rings with the lowest ring the “D” ring. The “D” ring ranges from 59 feet above the playing surface in CF to 121 feet behind home plate. The “C” ring ranges from 99 feet in CF to 146 behind home plate. The “B” ring ranges from 142 feet in CF to 173 feet behind home plate. And, the “A” ring ranges from 181 feet in CF to 194 feet behind home plate. If a ball strikes the A or the B ring in fair territory, the ball is in play. If a ball strikes the C or the D ring in fair territory it is a home run.

They do; however, try to make up for the Trop’s lackluster seating arrangement by adding some fan-friendly amenities which can be found by going to the Ray’s official website and visiting their Tropicana Field page or simply by clicking HERE.

What do you all think of these attendance figures?

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