The Tampa Bay Rays American League Wild Card Series opener against the Texas Rangers had a near-record low crowd of only 19,704 at Tropicana Field on Tuesday.
That number made for the lowest of a postseason game since the 1919 World Series other than during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The game in 1919 between the Reds and White Sox drew only 13,923 fans and part of the reason for the low attendance was attributed to the Reds mishandling the availability of tickets.
Tampa Bay went on to lose 4-0 Tuesday night in front of a crowd that was roughly 5,300 below the listed capacity of Tropicana Field.
The game began at 3.07pm and the start time was not scheduled by Major League Baseball until Sunday evening, which likely had a negative impact on the attendance numbers.
The Tampa Bay Rays had the lowest playoff game attendance of any game since 1919
A picture posted by a fan who attended the game shows the massive amount of empty seats
The Rays would go on to loss the game 4-0 at the hands of the Texas Rangers in Game 1
The Rays routinely rank among baseball´s lowest in home attendance and drew just 1.44 million this season.
Tampa averaged 17,781 for 81 home dates this season, 27th among 30 major league teams.
Tampa Bay announced plans last month to build a 30,000-seat ballpark to replace Tropicana Field, the domed stadium where they’ve played since the club’s inaugural season in 1998.
There are hopes that the new ballpark will be able to increase the poor attendance numbers going forward.
The Rays will also host Game 2 of the series on Wednesday and it is also scheduled to have a 3pm start time, and the team will certainly be hoping for a stronger turnout from the home crowd.
