For a paper in one of my classes back in my freshman year of
college, I sat down with the General Manager of the Trenton Thunder (NY Yankees
Double-A affiliate), Will Smith, to talk about what it is like to be a GM at
the minor league level. Of course, one
of the major points that I wanted to touch on was how to consistently put butts
in the seats, which is the goal of any GM in sports but especially minor league
baseball. He went through the laundry
list of business promotions, the focus on selling to groups, the whole nine
yards. But minor league baseball has a
unique attendance draw that nobody else has.
Rehab assignments.
Now, he was clear that they do not ever root for a player
to get hurt just so that there will be the inevitable rehab assignment. But these assignments are such a huge
draw. Where else can you see major
league stars play while sitting in a $10 seat in the first row?
Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees third baseman
recovering from hip surgery, recently began a 20-day rehab assignment through
the Yankees’ minor league system. A-Rod’s
presence was certainly felt, drawing huge crowds (Single-A speaking) out to the ballpark.
 |
| usatoday.com |
The assignment began in Charleston, N.C. with the Riverdogs,
the Yankees’ low-A affiliate. According
to Bleeding
Yankee Blue, last year the Riverdogs averaged just under 3,800 fans per
game. Their stadium seating capacity is
about 6,000. On July 2nd, the
first game that A-Rod played in Charleston, an impressive 8,255 fans came out
to Joseph P. Riley Park. It was the
second largest crowd on head at the park, just behind its opening
day in 2007.
After another night with the Single-A Riverdogs and another
night above capacity, A-Rod made his way down I-95 (Hey, that’s us!) to play
for the high-A Tampa Yankees. The night prior to A-Rod’s arrival, Tample had a
crowd of about 1,500 fans. The very next
night with A-Rod in the lineup, the Tampa Yanks more than doubled the
attendance with
3,148 fans in attendance.
As A-Rod moves his way up through the system, more of the
Yankees’ farm system will feel the power of having a superstar major-leaguer on
their field. With likely stops in
Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, A-Rod’s name will be a
huge draw. Eduardo Nunez recently
finished a rehab game with Trenton on the Fourth of July and Derek Jeter has been
in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for a few days.
Although Thunder GM Will Smith said that they certainly do
not root for players to get hurt, he certainly does not mind the extra faces in
the stands. The Thunder are one of the more successful minor league franchises
and even after a couple of days of fireworks and a retirement
party for their long-time bat-dog, Chase, A-Rod’s presence will surely
bring the best crowds of the season.
Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.
No comments:
Post a Comment