Comments on: Bryce Harper wants to play in the 2017 World Baseball Classic

By: jwbiii

jwbiii — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:36:52 +0000

Those listed attendances were probably for tickets sold. If you bought tickets to all six games you got a discount and I’m assuming better tickets within the pricing tier. So for those people, the Japanese tickets were must see games and 3,037 people with tickets decided to go hang out in karaoke bars rather then watch Cuba/China. Quite frankly, I’d prefer to see Cuba. With the number of Japanese baseball blogs in English that are out there, I can get more NPB information than I can really process.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:41:49 +0000

I guess we will see after this WBC if it went up again. (Of course, paper will argue that the official attendance figures are inflated — which they apparently were in some places.)

By: jwbiii

jwbiii — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 04:57:11 +0000

2009 and 2006 average first round attendance by venue.
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2009/03/Issue-122/Events-Attractions/World-Baseball-Classic-Attendance-Ratings-Up-From-Debut-Event.aspx

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:46:35 +0000

Thanks. I’m low maintenance. lol

Don’t you want to see players from other countries? How do you expect to do that then?

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:44:37 +0000

Here ya go then.

/.passes 3 olives on a martini pick

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:42:12 +0000

Yep, I don’t need fancy trimmings…just an olive soaked in vodka.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:41:40 +0000

Lucky for you, you did not trash the biathalon.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:40:42 +0000

You have to be more specific…..just any old olive?

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:40:20 +0000

Yes, but at least MLB and other leagues pay the talent people go to see.

….and baseball in the Olympics was stupid…..not as stupid as golf or tennis or the Modern Pentathalon…but stupid.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:38:15 +0000

Firstly, the WBC wasn’t created by MLB alone. Secondly, don’t watch if you don’t care, but let those of us who want to follow it enjoy it. We don’t have baseball in the Olympics anymore.

FYI, MLB is a money-making gambit. It wasn’t organized for altruistic purposes.

You owe me an olive.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:33:51 +0000

Of course not, why would I?

I know you know this….but the WBC is a PR money making gambit, that is all it is, that is what it was designed to be, that is why MLB came up with it….no one was clamoring for a international tournament. I’m not going to reward MLB for their money grab by giving them money to watch something I could do without.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:30:55 +0000

Wait, selling less tickets in a location with a smaller population proves what? Overall, the attendance was higher for all the games in PR than in Phoenix. Why do you insist that they sell out to be a success? And, I included Japan with the US there.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:26:57 +0000

I had to check, didn’t realize the park in PR was so small….they still averaged fewer fans than in the US, failing to sell out. So, your contention that people in the US are a problem seems inaccurate…as more people attended games in AZ than PR (where only home-team games sold out) or Japan or Taiwan.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:21:23 +0000

Hmmm, paper is exceedingly law-abiding. Noted.

USA is up 2-0. You can buy the games via MLB. And, yes, I know you won’t.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:19:27 +0000

No! That game in Puerto Rico was between Spain and Venezuela. Even more fans there showed up to watch games involving the DR (and, of course, Puerto Rico). The problem is more likely the resistance of fans like you in the US and Japan.

By: jwbiii

jwbiii — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:16:15 +0000

Attendance for San Juan (18,200 capacity):
14,974 Puerto Rico/Spain (82%)
18,800 Puerto Rico/Venezuela (103%)
19,413 Dominican Republic/Puerto Rico (107%)
15,055 Dominican Republic/Venezuela (83%)
13,412 Dominican Republic/Spain (74%)
13,395 Spain/Venezuela (74%)

Attendance for Taichung (20,000 capacity):
20,035 Australia/Taiwan (100%)
22,689 Netherlands/Taiwan (113%)
23,431 Taiwan/South Korea (117%)
1,085 Netherlands/South Korea (5%)
1,481 South Korea/Australia (7%)
1,113 Netherlands/Australia (6%)

Attendance for Fukuoka (38,651 capacity):
28,181 Japan/Brazil (73%)
13,891 Japan/China (36%)
26,860 Japan/Cuba (69%)
4,003 Cuba/Brazil (10%)
3,123 Cuba/China (8%) (This is the game which Badler said had 86 people in attendance)
3,110 Brazil/China (8%)

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:13:37 +0000

For whatever reason, they can’t even get the games on a decent TV channel, if I want to watch a game I have to do so via not-so-legal internet feeds.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:11:17 +0000

Maybe….but so far….no matter where they hold games, fans only show up for the home team games (as you pointed out, even Puerto Ricans and Japanese only show up to home team games)….not exactly a great outcome….but I guess they could hold games in more places so that people care about at least one team in each game.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:08:48 +0000

They have held the tournament in places besides where the US has ST. And the lowest attendance in Puerto Rico (for the lowest ranking teams playing each other) was still 13,395, fyi. They could’ve skipped the US altogether, I’m sure, but they are trying to attract Staters since we have baseball fans her. You have no proof that they couldn’t have gotten better attendance in Toronto. You are assuming that. They may have picked the US/Phoenix as a concession to MLB.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:00:44 +0000

I don’t think that “point” is accurate. If they held the US part of the WBC in a place that wasn’t already full of baseball fans going to spring training, they would probably draw even fewer people than they did. Why do you think they didn’t hold group D in Canada, Mexico, or Italy? If those countries would draw more fans, don’t you think they would hold it there?

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:58:25 +0000

You missed my point. Italy doesn’t have an established following here and they still pulled in as many as a respectable ST game — for a first round match.

Maybe if people/teams here weren’t so negative about it, there might be even more who went.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:55:53 +0000

….and there is never going to be….is there a “cure” for the fact that fans will only show up for home team games….and really only kind of show up for them?

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:54:36 +0000

But, there is an established following for those teams. Can you say that about Italy in the US?

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:46:27 +0000

That’s one take on it…..or…you could say that 33% more people were interesting in watching practice than a WBC game….because let’s face it, ST games are just scrimmages.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 23:29:20 +0000

BTW, I checked. At the same time that Italy and Mexico played with nearly 4,500 in attendance, the Rangers played the Dodgers in front of not quite 6,000. If the difference is only about 1500 for a game not involving the home nation, I think that’s okay for a first round turn out. Especially since there is so much apparent hostility to the tournament here. And, a hell of a lot more people turned out for USA games than these spring training ones. I’d bet you could find some regular season games from last year with attendance similar to the WBC’s too.

By: uberdepressedbrownsredsfan

uberdepressedbrownsredsfan — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 22:17:08 +0000

If Cuba played in the United States they would have no players left once they all defected…..kinda joking….

By: brewcrewfan54

brewcrewfan54 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:28:10 +0000

I don’t know that you can compare the WBC and wNBA yet. WNBA has a 20 year footprint right now and people have become attached to their teams. The WBC has only been played 3 times so its only been around 8 years and some change. And its not that I don’t like facts its that I’m open minded and willing to give the thing a chance. And todays game with Italy and Domicican Republic had 14,000 people at Marlins Park so there’s some progress there also. Maybe this thing wont ever get any better than it is but I’m not willing to dismiss it as a failure yet.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 18:55:32 +0000

The WNBA averaged over 7700 fans/game last year. If games that don’t involve the home team can’t draw like an average WNBA game, you aren’t really in the same universe as the greatest thing ever.

I’m not being a hater. If you only draw 5000 fans to games held in the same city that is already inundated by fans attending spring training (giving Phoenix a much greater fan base to draw from than most places), you have problems. The Japanese are baseball crazy and about 100 people showed up for each game that Japan wasn’t involved in….those are just facts. Sorry you don’t like them.

By: brewcrewfan54

brewcrewfan54 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 18:41:29 +0000

No its not the most popular thing yet but what event does start off as the greatest thing ever?

By: brewcrewfan54

brewcrewfan54 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 18:38:32 +0000

Well the U.S game against Mexico drew 44,000 and then the games against Italy and Canada drew 19,000 and 22,000 so I would say they could certainly do worse.