Last night, David Price tweeted about the lack of fan support in Tampa Bay, noting that the fact that he was pitching a potentially division-clinching game in front of 10,000 fans was “embarrassing”.
The backlash from Rays fans was inevitable. Less than two hours later, Price apologized on Twitter if he offended anyone.
Price had nothing to apologize for. Drawing 10,000 fans for a team thick in the playoff race, and one that could win the World Series, is nothing short of a joke.
The excuses are many. Fans complain that Tropicana Field is too far, that the economy is poor, etc. I’m not a Rays fan, nor do I know the Tampa Bay area at all, but is there no public transportation? Are the tickets so expensive that fans can’t make it? What about the cost of living and the tourism market?
Maybe Price shouldn’t have made the comments on Twitter. They were right on, though.
For Rays fans, the truth hurts. But the same problem exists in other cities. Atlanta can’t sell games out. Cincinnati and San Diego are having the same problem.
Things are different in those ballparks. For the Reds and Padres, the team was awful the past few years, so you’d expect it. Atlanta, with Bobby Cox on the way out, wasn’t expected to do much either.
But what about Tampa? They have a strong nucleus of young players that will keep the team near the top for years. Meanwhile, the Bucs have been poor the past few seasons and the Lightning have been an afterthought. Shouldn’t the fans, who have been expecting a winner for years, come out and support their baseball team?
I understand. Not everyone can make it out and some people legitimately simply can’t afford it. But a lack of support on this scale is, in fact, embarrassing.
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