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Those sites adjust prices as tickets are sold....they follow the trend starting the morning of the game. Profit is already made by the time they go on a fire sale.
Or how many of them are owned by businesses who are not going to be crazy about letting people go to a ball game on their dime in the middle of a workday. There are a huge number of season tickets owned by businesses, much more than any other sport, because very few people can afford a full 81 game season ticket package.
In all honesty, NBA and NHL arenas have small seating capacities. Plus many of the seats are corporate owned (especially the NHL.) And the NFL has a very limited number of post-season games, all on weekends.
@Rocif you want sold out day games you need cheap tickets for those available during the day. I can make my midnight shift for a 1pm game in detroit, but I'm not paying more than I make in a shift. kin_Ross
About 2 hours before the Baltimore game, I was offered tickets. The cost was $280 per seat plus parking. No way most fans would choose that over watching on TV.
For far cheaper, I'd rather watch the game at my favorite bar with other local fans. Could get a lot of nice beers and bar food plus my Uber rides to and from the bar. 😄
Come on Brodie, answer is simple: Way too expensive. As made by many commentors, tickets, beverages, souvenirs, parking; all damn near a mortgage payment. Better to sit at home in my comfy couch with my own bathroom.
@@brodiebrazil Actually the Wild Card tickets were pretty cheap when I looked on Seat Geek (for the Astros vs Tigers series that is) but with the fees it can get a bit pricey. As an Astros fan, I thought about going to a Wild Card game but decided that going to an ALDS game would've been more worth it. Sadly, this won't be the case due to the team losing the series but I'm curious as to how many people had the same idea as I did since it has been pretty routine seeing the Astros in the playoffs (I basically thought that a trip to the ALDS was a guarantee). Also this was a down year for the team compared to past years so I imagine that factored in as well for some people but being the 4th largest city in the U.S. and the tickets being cheap for the Wild Card you'd think that the stadium would be pretty close to being sold out.
Just looked at the MLB app for today’s O’s game. Cheapest ticket is $77.40. The ticket is $63.64 and $13.76 in FEES. For a ticket delivered to my phone. They have an order fee, a ticket fee and of course a Maryland admissions tax. The pizza and beer are cheaper at home and I know when the toilet was last cleaned.
Actually I was surprised that the tickets for the Blue Jays Wild Card series against the Mariners on a weekend at the Rogers Centre on the re-sell market for the third game (when the Jays infamously had that 8-0 lead in game two) were actually selling for $20. I just think the playoffs are seen as not really starting until the divisional/league championship rounds lol
I've said in the past that MLB's playoff TV schedule makes it difficult for fans to attend the game in person, because they don't make it clear what time a game will be, until literally hours before the game.
I love attending sporting events, but when it comes to playoffs, I would rather watch the same exact game from the house instead of spending tons of money to be there personally.
Most of us have jobs, family plans and most of all, a small bank account that doesn’t allow for the cost of attending one game, much less many. The cost of parking, tickets, concessions and other details is just far above the common man. Afternoon games is another issue. Most of us have jobs we just can’t leave to see a game.
There aren't sellouts because games are being played while people are at work/kids are in school. Given that more teams are in the playoffs, and that the games' starting times are designed to allow one game to not overlap into another, throw in the occasional rainy day--probably inevitable a game or two doesn't sell out.
@@dbrafferty100Houston would've sold out but at 1:30 p.m. on a Tuesday. literally in the middle of the workday. People aren't gonna be able to go out to a game or risk losing their job bc they went to see a ball game. If they put the game in the late afternoon at like 4 or 5, and I mean both AL games, then both games are garunteed sold out
Brodie mentioned March Madness games. One often sees empty seats in those first/second round games. This is especially true when the NCAA gets the bright idea of sending three Alabama teams to... Spokane (WA), and the fan bases of those teams can't get flights there no matter how they try.
Huh, so putting an early afternoon mid-week playoff game when schools are in, won't draw. Who would have ever foreseen that? It's not the fans it's MLB and their TV partners.
@@brodiebrazil Also NHL and NBA are only doing matinee playoff games on Saturday/Sunday/Holiday. Otherwise they are all evening games in their local time zone. NFL could do a wild card game in London or Tokyo and people would watch, as well as the game selling out.
And yet the Atlanta Braves were criticized in the early 2000s for being around 2000 shy of a sellout for an NLDS game that had been switched the day before from a night game to an early afternoon game all so the Yankees or Red Sox could get the primetime slot. This was a weekday when people were at work and school and in one in which people could not change plans on a dime. Turner Field also had over 50,000 seats, so their criticized game came in at about 48,000 fans. Yet the New York media and the New York based and controlled MLB commentators critized the Braves claiming Atlanta can't sell out a playoff game when it never was an issue before. The Braves were a top 5 attendance team for the decade prior, pretty much Anything to hate on Atlanta for some reason.
@@willp.8120 I thought there was some drop off for Atlanta fans towards the end of their run for early round day games. But that was just the perspective from across the country.
@@johngibson8636 no It was one game that only happened because of a change in schedule the night before. MLB media criticized Atlanta for it not being sold out and it took on a life of its own where people assumed Atlanta was a bad sports town and couldn't sell out playoff games.
I live in Georgia, and haven't attended a single Braves game this year because of that. Tickets, food, gas/parking/hotel(since i live 3 hours away), Im looking at spending what amounts to half of my rent. I love the team, but it is something I cannot easily do unlike preCovid.
True words bruh. I used to have 2-jobs (might need to do it again). Everyday was Monday. AND I'm supposed to fork out $15 for a watery beer at the ballpark where I have the privilege to pay $35 for a seat that's not right next to the field? Nah, I'm so not cool with that. Piss off MLB
I started following baseball in the early 90s when there were just 4 teams in the playoffs. The playoff games felt huge, because there weren't very many.
162 game seasons with only 4 postseason spots meant each game meant more too. Opening up more playoff spots might have been a double edged sword. It made regular season games a little more meaningless, but upped the engagement of pennant races. I don't know how I feel about it anymore.
Be realistic though, that’s not enough teams and especially not a good way to keep the fan bases of most teams engaged throughout the year. Think about the expanded playoff format the last few years; the majority of MLB teams were actually in the running for the post season and competing for a spot. 12 teams made the playoffs but about 16 were in the running until the last week or so and even more were in it until a month before. That’s good for attendance and views lol.
You can dance around the issue all day if you want, but the reality is that baseball isn’t nearly as popular as it was 20-30 years ago. It’s sad but it’s true. I remember growing up, so many kids wore MLB caps at school. Not even just Giants and A’s, but random teams from around the league. Now I can’t even remember the last time I saw someone wearing a Giants hat. The new generations simply don’t have the patience for a sport like baseball.
I'd rather watch fly fishing than mlb. At least in fly fishing I'll see something happening. Baseball is just too boring. Most of the time it's watching two guys play catch.......and I used to play and watch Baseball. It's lost its luster........
@@coryhillman6536 Anyone who was around 20-30 years ago can attest to this though. Baseball was way more culturally relevant in the 2000’s compared to now. The baseball caps thing is just one example, but you could compare objective figures like attendance between the eras, which would prove my anecdotal observations correct.
@@breadstick8456 different beast , NFL is way more popular than baseball , games matter most , fans got to see their teams 7 sometimes 8 times at as home team during the regular season , of course playoffs games are even bigger .
A couple of questions... 1) When were those pictures taken of the stands in each venue? Inning 1 or inning 7? 2) Day games?? Not everyone can take off work, even half day, at a drop of a hat. 3) NBA only does evening games. Baseball does weekday day games. 90% capacity is good for a 1pm game.
I am in the U.K. It may interest you to know that the 1st October games were televised by the BBC on its free streaming platform. The local time it started was 19:30. The BBC doesn’t do adverts. This meant that the breaks had MLB presenters helping Brits understand the rules. The Astros game and the Orioles game was on. During what would be advert breaks, the coverage flipped between games. Melanie Newman did commentary on the Orioles. There was also interventions by MLB Europe ambassador Chase Utley. For us the early start in the USA was great because it meant an evening viewing here. I would expect the MLB got some cash from the BBC.
@@PortersPortfolio I have no idea whether showing games in the U.K. really influenced MLB. You would need to ask them. Utley is the MLB Europe ambassador. He was brought over this year when the Phillies played the Mets in London.
Yeah it’s all about TV deals. The expanded playoff format also helps more teams stay in the playoff race and draws more fans throughout the season (especially later in the season) which increases attendance. It’s not a big deal in my opinion as this mostly only affects the wild card games. The divisional series and beyond seems to have normal start times now and the attendance in these games already seems much better.
I'll tell you why from this fans perspective. #1 crappy day time start times. People can't make a 4:08 pm start time easily the fact that they had as many people as they did was very impressive. #2 significant increase in ticket prices for these games (seats that are normally 23 bucks were going for 70 from the team web site, then to be resold yesterday on seat geek for 33.. #3 crappy weather in Baltimore. #4. tickets were sold without knowing what time the games would be at. In our specific case, we opted not to use out playoff ticket option because of the increased cost.
@@brodiebrazil One more point: These are the wildcard games. Three years ago these games didn't exist and I'm sure there's a significant portion of the fanbase that don't consider them 'real' playoff games.
@@theplaintiff5450 For a fair comparison, MLB playoff is closer to NBA and NHL, not NFL, and cost is a serious factor for a series game. Also average capacity of basketball, hockey stadiums is 20k so I think it's impressive MLB could fill close to 40k on a random Tuesday afternoon. If they want full capacity they should either shrink back playoffs or make it night games like Monday Football with the same start.
Houston LIED about their attendance. I was AT THAT GAME, and there were at least 9,000 LESS in attendance than what they claim. About 31,000 were ACTUALLY THERE.
the number 1 reason for empty seats is not start time, ticket price, weekday afternoon. it's the sponsors buying 2,500-5000 tickets for the executives and vip's. half of them are not even baseball fans and don't show up.
I always enjoy the early round all day playoff games through the day as it’s a rare treat to get good baseball all day long. Being west coast would always get my now former A’s playoff games in the evening. Already moved on from my last coliseum game with my grandson last month and will still enjoy west coast prime time games with the Dodgers!
I’ll be honest, if NY, Boston or Philly had a playoff game at 1pm on a Tuesday, fans would just start tailgating at 7am. On the other hand, I doubt those teams would have 1pm playoff games during the week. I think MLB playoffs’ biggest problem is that the World Series is during NFL (no Sunday WS games this season), NBA, NHL, college football & crappy October weather on the east coast (it tends to rain in October.) MLB needs to start the playoffs in September.
Disposable incomes have plummeted for the middle class in the past 2-3 years. Going to a pro sports event or a concert is a luxury for a lot of folks right now.
Also, for Tampa, there are a ton of people there who are retirees on fixed incomes so it's not surprising that they have attenance issues. Has anyone ever met a Rays fan outside of Florida? I don't recall ever meeting one, have for every other team.
By not defining start times until Sunday evening, people have jobs and can't rearrange their schedules in that short of time. My daughter, a season ticket holder, had to back out due to a work meeting she had to attend. She bought tickets!!
You can't compare MLB to NBA or NHL as the arenas for those sports are much smaller. Just take the NHL. Hockey arenas range from 21,000 in Montreal to 15,000 in Winnipeg. Much easier to fill. Plus they are indoors. Don't have to be concerned with weather, whether it be the threat of rain, like they had in Baltimore or the blazing sun on a Tuesday afternoon.
The seats are empty because no one wants to see 85-90 win teams playing w a shot to win a world series after a 162 game full season. Baseball is killing itself w these meaningless seasons if so many mediocre clubs get in and 1 or 2 gets hot for 10 days and goes to the Series.
Depends, if the atmosphere is electric and the stakes are high I would. Although I’m a Yankee fan so of course it’s going to be a good atmosphere. I don’t go to games that often since it’s a bit hard to get to the Bronx, but I would go to any playoff game there.
@@Ryan-cb1ei exactly. I paid $70 each to attend one wild card and one divisional round game at petco park. 70 bucks was the cheapest option for the general admission park area behind center field so that’s an even farther view than the 300 level. Yet I was happy to go to both because the atmosphere for both games was something special you can’t get from watching on tv. Let alone listening to national broadcasters like bias jabroni, Joe Davis. There was a type of collective unity and effervescence in that ballpark that made the price of admission worth it. With that said… had I paid for one of those $150 tickets in the 300 level on one of the games they lost… I’d hate myself for it
Nobody wants to pay much for first round seats. If your team is in the playoffs, you have to hope they can make a run. I won't pay for the Wild Card series. Hell, I'm not even going to pay for the Divisional round. I know the Championship Series means more, and ultimate the World Series will be a small fortune. Lots of people carry that mentality.
well if you can get first pick on tickets, like upper deck I think are under 30. But the scalpers get them, despite all the hoops we have to jump through to get tickets and resell tickets are insane.
Braves used to have this problem in the 90's they didn't sell out their early playoff games because they made it every year , that could be the issue with Houston. Playoff tickets are expensive and then you have to take a day off from work on short notice because they don't announce the game times until a few days before the game is played.. Mets tickets are over $175 for the upper deck on a Tuesday and you don't know if it's going to be a day or night game, or even if the game will even be played.
First and foremost, I'm gutted by the A's relocation. Secondly, I'm saddened at your loss of job. Thirdly, I whole-heartedly agree with everything that you've pointed out in this video. Lastly, you've been my voice of choice for A's news. Happy to comment and help your algorithm. Just subbed because I realize I hadn't before. :)
@@volodymyrzablotsky5372the A’s left Philly for Kansas City (not Oakland). The Warriors left Philly for San Francisco (not Oakland). Google is easy and free.
@@volodymyrzablotsky5372the A’s left Philly for Kansas City (not Oakland). The Warriors left Philly for San Francisco (not Oakland). Those are the facts.
I would say changing demographics, the high costs of attending games, and decreasing attention spans are key reasons we’re seeing empty seats in playoff games.
Also, it happens in other sports to an extent. I remember Sharks-Nashville western conference semis at the Tank in 2016, was the only Game 7 going so they moved it to 5pm PT. Lot of empties and cheap seats on the resale market for a game 7 because it was just impossible for most people to get to the Tank for a 5pmer with little notice
I think people just don’t care about baseball like they used too. My Red Sox are not in the playoffs by any means but even if they are I never hear any talk about them. They usually move on to football once the season starts. I used to hear people talk about baseball all the time as a kid and that was only 20 -30 years ago
Red Sox fans don’t care like they used to…. Padres still pack the stadium every day. Padres have better fans. Check the attendance numbers. And Petco is a much nicer ballpark to go to.
@@dbrafferty100 Well, The Padres are winning and play in generally beautiful weather. If they were a 100+ loss team for 4 years straight I'm sure it would be a lot different.
Sounds like a Boston problem. At least the redsox were contending for most of the year… The patriots haven’t been good in 5 years and you’re telling me people still care about them over the Red Sox? Like another commenter said, the padres don’t have that issue, or dodgers, even my giants when we’re good and in the postseason or if the niners aren’t good and exciting, you won’t see people moving on to “nfl”.
I mean, nobody knows where/when most of these WC games will be until the last minute, and maybe lots of people can’t get off work to go, or need more advance notice to organize the outing. The Astros constantly get the worst start times until the CS or WS also. As long as they have this thing about making half the teams get to the playoffs, they won’t be able to put all the games in a good time slot.
From a Houston fan living in SF with a few thoughts: Astros ticket prices have gone up beyond a reasonable amount. A mid day start time just makes it that much more unrealistic MLB greed and playoff expansion might be over-saturating the market. There’s just too many games and not enough time
I totally agree with your last point! Over saturation through expansion has diluted the product down to almost "Coor's beer level"! The NFL is actually worse. All due to greed!
Maybe that’s fine though, it’s just the wild card series that have to worry about this. The DS already seems to have great attendance. It’s probably better that more markets have the opportunity to make the playoffs. It’s not just a few extra playoff games and TV deals though, more teams are in the running for a wild card/playoff spot which also helps attendance throughout the year, especially late season, for many more teams that have a chance. MLB will just have to live with it, the only possible reason they’d change the expanded format is if there’s a big enough sample size showing that teams with a bye struggle due to all that time off.
@@MichaelLabriola-f8s Dude I have cable and I was easily able to see most games this year. Thankfully Apple TV didn’t get many games in 2024. Literally just look up “MLB streams” on your phone or computer and watch an illegal stream.
Another thing to consider is that MLB stadiums are a lot larger than NHL/NBA arenas. It's much easier to fill a 15,000-20,000 seat venue than it is a 50,000 seat venue. The "sold out" optics are partly influenced by relativity in this case. Of course, most fans aren't going to care about why a stadium isn't sold out. It just looks bad to them. If anything, I see MLB doing a "4:30/8:00 EST window" setup for the wild card/divisional round with two games in each window and then adjusting the divisional round times as series end early. So if say KC beats Baltimore, plays the Yankees, and gets swept, that might mean one of the 4:30 games that was scheduled in another series moves to the 8:00 timeslot. Since most sports networks have multiple channels, they can still arrange coverage, and if that's still somehow an issue, we can have The MLB Playoffs on RUclips, Brought to You by Hankook Tires.
People used to complain about postseason games being on at night. Now with a lot of playoff games during the day, the complaint is that people are at work/school and can’t get to the games. What time do you want the games?!
The problem with night games isn’t that they’re night games. All year most teams play their games at 7pm local. Now that it’s a playoff game and it must be viable for Sacramento, Eugene, and Spokane to watch games in their entirety after work the east coast teams start at 8 if there’s no competing west coast option. This was especially annoying pre-pitch clock, as playoff games had a notoriously slow tempo and would regularly see the clock strike midnight during the 8th inning. Now those games are usually over around 11, which is a bit more viable for the 9 am workers.
Prices are way too much money and then you got to pay for parking And the outrageous prices of food a lot of people would just rather watch from home a lot cheaper...
The biggest issue for me would be the game times. For something last minute like playoff baseball, I would struggle to scamper out of work at 11am to watch postseason baseball. Weekday postseason games shouldn’t start earlier than maybe 3 or 4pm local time. They only need to overlap a little bit. There’s also the argument that we don’t need these wild card series, but that’s another discussion altogether…
@@Liggie55821 Possibility, but I fear there would be huge advantages or disadvantages for some teams that naturally have to travel a lot less or more due to the teams in their division and their distance to them. This would matter the most in baseball due to the sheer number of games. Unless you just barely play teams in your division and play everyone almost equally, but at that point the division serves little purpose if you’re not playing your divisional foes much.
I think the value proposition of upper deck seats at $200+ each (plus travel, parking, etc) is hard for some to swallow. Versus staying home for a better view on the broadcast.
When then-Safeco Field in Seattle opened, the day games started at 3:30, and those drew big crowds. That could be a sweet spot for both TV and fans. A 3:30 start gives you enough time for a half-day of work, and barring extra innings you'll be out of the stadium by 7. A 3:30 start in the East means the rest of the country can tune in during lunch or coffee breaks, and a 3:30 West start means the gane should be over by 10 in the East, early enough for a reasonable bed time.
It is laughable how every year people freak out about MLB attendance in colder March/April then the WC round. There are photos from 60+ years ago when baseball was truly America's pastime where you see someone breaking a record and empty seats are present as well as some non WS playoff games. In the end the revenue is only going up and by the time the final 2 rounds of the playoffs happen you will have more excitement and fans in seats. Not to mention with these games the team already has sold near sellout numbers regardless of if there are empty seats from fans who can't make it or brokers who couldn't sell all their upper level seats.
There are already a lot more fans in attendance for the DS. Philly, LA, and NY looked sold out to me. I didn’t really watch the Guardians game but heck even they looked to have a lot of fans if I recall correctly.
So after finally watching the video, I was working yesterday, I was wondering when were the pictures actually taken that showed the empty seats in the upper decks? Cuz if it's the start of the first. Yeah I'm sure people are going to be late on a weekday at early afternoon. Now it'd be interesting to see how it looked by halfway.
I hate the day games during the week. I don't get that much vacation, so I could maybe take a half day to go to one, but I'm not going to more than that.
Houston is a good sports town especially in football and baseball the Astros had the 8th highest attendance this year in baseball averaging over 35,000 in a 41,000 seat stadium the problem is the playoff start time 1:32 pm in Houston kids in school and people at work I was at the game yesterday I work security there I would say 35,00 were there it could have been 40,000 a lot of people showed up late to the game
Totally agree with this video. When the Giants were winning World Series in the 2010s, I was baffled by the game scheduling. I recall when they played the Reds in the 2012 NLDS. All of the games in Cincinnati were played early on a weekday, preventing any Giants fans from watching the game unless they skipped out from work. The deciding game 5 was played in Cincinnati at 1 pm CDT! Won't TV ratings and attendance be maximized if the schedule is optimized for the teams in both markets?
The NFL, NBA, and NHL playoff games are all spread apart (in terms of gaps between game 1 and 2 or a week between the NFL games) and so there's a gravity to them that the back to back to back days of baseball doesn't have. The Red Zone idea for even regular season baseball is great. I remember former tv sports channel The Score in Canada used to have Diamond Surfing where they'd swing to different games happening at the same time. If we had that today, you could see every Aaron Judge and Ohtani at bat.
@@georgelucas2571And there was no way that there was 40,000 in Houston for that game, perhaps sold tickets but probably about 34,000 in the seats? 🤷🏻♂️
When I was in elementary school in the Bay Area in the 1970's, they would set up a TV in the cafeteria so we could watch World Series games during lunch! (But only for the 20-30 minutes we were allowed to hang out in the cafeteria. Then we had to go outside to allow the next group of kids in. We had 3-4 shifts for lunch.)
As a Braves fan who has seen too many early playoff losses in the past, I would never go to a series before the NLCS if we ever make it again. It's much harder for me to get into early rounds/short series in general, even if I lived in one of the wild card cities. Much more likely to watch on TV though, even for the early games. Also.. NBA and NHL have much smaller arenas to fill and all the NFL playoff games are on the weekend.
@@dbrafferty100 how many playoff games have the padres played in during the last thirty years though? The first rounds just aren't as exciting or worth traveling to, especially to me as a Braves fan who lives outside of Atlanta.
@@dbrafferty100 ehh... yes they have, just like the braves. both the padres and braves played home games in the 2020 playoffs when no fans were allowed in the stadium
yeah, they glossed over that and Tampa Bay it seems to me have always had okay attendance. They averaged 16,000 a home game. Houston Astros avg was 35,000. So I guess if A's is leaving Oakland, then Rays should leave Tampa Bay. LOL
Since the Orioles have been slumping. I think some fans thought they were going to lose. So they saved their cash. Otherwise I do believe we would have squeezed 45K in Camden Yards like last year.
They averaged close to 19 000 fans per game in Tampa Bay last year. Their playoff attendance was barely better than their regular season average. It was like on a Tuesday at 2pm with like 3 or 4 days notice to buy tickets. MLB fucked up by trying to play too many games in one day.
Tickets for the Astros game today was around $20 ish for upper deck, but the game started around noon. Downtown during a work day, isn’t easy to go to in Houston.
Can only speak for Baltimore, since I live here: 1. The weather has SUCKED the past week and its been raining/mysting 2. It is a Tuesday afternoon, I would love have taken my kid, he does not get done with school until 4p. 3. There is a clear dillution of the value of a playoff games with the expanded playoffs. For the cost, people are waiting until the DS or World Series to spend disposable $$'s. Spent a long time working for an NBA team, we had a really really hard time selling first round games one and two if we were not playing a Lebron/Kobe etc. They are glorfied regular season games to many fans! 4. The O's have been average since June 1st, apathy has set in with the market which is not helping
@@brodiebraziltoday is going to be even worse. Weather is still miserable plus it’s the first night of Rosh Hashanah. If they get through this round and play the Yankees they might have the largest revenue gates in Camden yards history.
We took relatives visiting from Japan to go see Shohei and two 3B line, 2nd level loge, regular season tickets, parking and food costs over $600. So what does the postseason cost? A lot more than most people can afford even as a one time thing and if your team makes the Series? Good God. The Dodgers already made back the money they paid Ohtani in one season. And they say Disneyland is expensive. 🤨😵
I had to listen to the Tigers-Astros game on satellite radio. I heard the attendance announcement and the announcer saying the park was sold out. When I finally got to see the highlights, I was really shocked at number of empty seats. Especially big swaths. I expect maybe one or two seats scattered around. Not every season ticket holder can make every game. But when entire rows aren't filled, something is wrong. Oh and I have seen empty seats during the NHL playoffs. I remember Joe Lois Arena having seats available on a Sunday afternoon game back in the day. So it does happen. But nothing like what I saw yesterday. Fix this MLB!
Joe Louis arena? I've never heard of an American mention anything from Vachon. What's the point of paying for naming rights when your product isn't even sold in the States? Shit I don't even know if the rest of Canada even knows about them.
Padres didn’t have any issues selling seats. In fact prior to this week, our all-time attendance record at Petco Park was set on a Tuesday night a month ago.
The seated capacity at petco is 42,000. They are able to add more with Gallager square. The game times hurt for sure. But Padre fans are the type that show up an hour or two before first pitch and leave after the final out. We can thank Seidler and crew for giving drink discounts before first pitch and keeping the tailgate lot around.
You talked around the main point a lot- it’s ticket prices. Dodgers tickets were already grossly inflated this year whenever there was a Shohei giveaway, but your head would spin if you looked at the price of a PLAYOFF game at Dodger Stadium.
Honestly with the time of the year its at the baseball world should consider at least for the wildcard games starting them on Thursdays or Fridays and playing weekend series. At the end of the day baseball isnt the draw it once was. People arent as likely to go to take a Tuesday and Wednesday off just go see a game as they were 70 years ago. It wouldnt push the postseason that far either. If they're concerned about it going into November then push the season openers back or shorten the season by a series or two. Net win for all
@@brodiebrazil It may. But most football is played on Sundays. So if you start on a Thursday its all wound up for Saturday at the latest, avoiding this precise issue. College football is mostly watched in areas where baseball isnt popular anyway
Oh and of course it should be mentioned. A single picture at a single moment of a game isnt very telling. I went to a blue Jays game with a near capacity crowd yet the top deck seemed empty. Turns out alot of those people went to the bars and other areas on the lower decks to watch.
I was at the wildcard game yesterday, and it was sold out within minutes. I was in the 2nd level behind home plate. Everyone was grateful to be there. The only problem is that it was the KBO playoffs in Seoul, and my ticket cost only $20. I think the public would respond, and fill these stadiums if MLB was as smart as the KBO with its pricing structure. Baseball needs to be experienced live to be fully appreciated ⚾. The other thing that helps is that the stadium areas are much safer in Korea than MLB.
I grew up as and used to be a huge baseball fan. Over the course of decades, the sport and I have parted ways. I still watch highlights of my favorite team, when they win, but haven't sat down and watched or attended a nine inning game in five or six years. In my view, MLB has diluted its playoff product and spread itself too thin in the chase of the almighty dollar. I grew up in the 1970s watching the A's taking on whomever from the AL East (usually the Orioles) and the Yanks taking on the Royals for a spot in the World Series. Every single one of those games had a sort of electricity and immediacy coursing through it that's entirely missing from the current format. Personally, if baseball can't go back to that, then it should go back to just four playoff teams in each league. Ideally, all those games should either take place at night or in the late afternoon to make it easy for working people to attend or watch on television.
Excellent post! I agree 100% (I'm an old guy). It was easier to root and have favorite players when they all weren't multi-millionaires. I'm so old I remember when many players in the off season had JOBS!. People can't relate to a losing player when they know he just made a ton of money even in the loss. They aren't like us, worrying abut the things we worry about. MLB is doing what the NFL is doing in a bigger way, diluting the game down for every nickle. Expansion is just one example. The NFL went from 14 games to 17 game seasons, expanded it's play-off format AND added Thusday Night, Sunday Night, and 2 games on Monday night...why? $$$$$$$. In short money has ruined everything
@@ulical Yes, but that won't happen. There will always be die hard's and credit cards! Put those 2 together and the leagues will find a way to tap that $$!
@@ulical That will be long after we're gone. People are lemmings and as long as they can find the money, they will support their team. They are simple minded people who fall for that "my team" lie.
I'm a Tigers fan and I know that they are generally pushed to the earlier times because they are not a showcase team such as the Yankees or Dodgers. In 2012, the Tigers had a day playoff game against the A's and I had a hard time finding it on TV. It had been pushed to some small cable channel in the early afternoon.
I work three blocks from Minute Maid and there were watch parties AT WORK! No need to pay crazy ticket prices when the game was on in every break room!
You need an app to go to games now. And you can't even buy tickets at the box office on gameday without a phone. I wanted to see the stadium renovations in Toronto this past season but I don't do cellphone commerce so I was SOL. Too Orwellian for me.
Not gonna lie, Mets surprised me with being able to pack the stadium on Wednesday/Thursday in NYC for a 5pm game. Guess it depends on the market and how willing you are to make it there. If you have the resources to do so of course
playoff attendance in 1972 was embarrassing especially during the ALCS. Tiger stadium had 10,000+ empty seats for a playoff game. you can find some clips on here. i think the reason was the players strike that occurred that season.
The Rays should never have been created. The Marlins have been a failure their entire existence as far as fan support Putting two team sin Florida has been a complete disaster.
From an at home perspective, on the topic of "getting your fix and watching all day long": I recorded all 4 games the first two days, only to have the games in progress I hadn't watched yet spoiled by updates in the games I was still finishing. Which in turn makes watching those game less interesting and pretty pointless. Might as well start them all at the same time in primetime and I'll just watch the one I'm most interested in.
Extra two wild cards are a sham. Saying this as a Giants fan too. Giants were the fifth seed in 2014 and 2016 and advanced through the Wild Card Game both years (and won the World Series in 2014 of course).
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Well we are in the start of a depression and most people don't have extra cash to buy super expensive baseball tickets!
👵..ITS THE ECONOMY DUMMY....I'D rarther eat...then pay to watch JACKSON HOLIDAY go 0-4....again
👵 AND...when you make it expensive for fans to watch you on TV....fans find other things to do...like..ignore you.
@@sirjiggywitit7541 c'mon, I think he got his average up to .178.
Could not agree more
I wonder how many of those seats were bought by scalping sites that could not unload them at crazy prices in the secondary market.
Those sites adjust prices as tickets are sold....they follow the trend starting the morning of the game. Profit is already made by the time they go on a fire sale.
Agreed
Or how many of them are owned by businesses who are not going to be crazy about letting people go to a ball game on their dime in the middle of a workday. There are a huge number of season tickets owned by businesses, much more than any other sport, because very few people can afford a full 81 game season ticket package.
This is it exactly.
In all honesty, NBA and NHL arenas have small seating capacities. Plus many of the seats are corporate owned (especially the NHL.) And the NFL has a very limited number of post-season games, all on weekends.
MLB needs to stop having 11am playoff games on a Tuesday.
This. Right. Here.
Most of us have jobs that we can’t just leave to go see a game. What does MLB expect?
@Rocif you want sold out day games you need cheap tickets for those available during the day.
I can make my midnight shift for a 1pm game in detroit, but I'm not paying more than I make in a shift. kin_Ross
I agree play the games in the evening
With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, people are saving their PTO time
@@sdeepjand saving their cash too.
About 2 hours before the Baltimore game, I was offered tickets. The cost was $280 per seat plus parking. No way most fans would choose that over watching on TV.
Kinda crazy. I saw some data for regular season and the average ticket price is in the 30s for the Os.
dude box office tickets were going for 14 dollars before the game
@@justinarney3050 Man, I hope someone figures out how to blow up dynamic pricing where they eliminate it. It's ridiculous for all industries.
They were price gouging you. They were selling tickets in the lower deck for 50 dollars
For far cheaper, I'd rather watch the game at my favorite bar with other local fans.
Could get a lot of nice beers and bar food plus my Uber rides to and from the bar. 😄
Come on Brodie, answer is simple: Way too expensive. As made by many commentors, tickets, beverages, souvenirs, parking; all damn near a mortgage payment. Better to sit at home in my comfy couch with my own bathroom.
Yup, got your own food right there AND no fear of getting assaulted or stabbed. Real world issues in 2024, unfortunately!
agree with that too... besides timing.. just need to find a way to make your home field, you know, a home field advantage.
@@brodiebrazil Actually the Wild Card tickets were pretty cheap when I looked on Seat Geek (for the Astros vs Tigers series that is) but with the fees it can get a bit pricey. As an Astros fan, I thought about going to a Wild Card game but decided that going to an ALDS game would've been more worth it. Sadly, this won't be the case due to the team losing the series but I'm curious as to how many people had the same idea as I did since it has been pretty routine seeing the Astros in the playoffs (I basically thought that a trip to the ALDS was a guarantee). Also this was a down year for the team compared to past years so I imagine that factored in as well for some people but being the 4th largest city in the U.S. and the tickets being cheap for the Wild Card you'd think that the stadium would be pretty close to being sold out.
Aramark is ruining stadiums around the nation
@greglbennett it just hasn't happened to YOU, YET. when it does, you'll cry endlessly
Just looked at the MLB app for today’s O’s game. Cheapest ticket is $77.40. The ticket is $63.64 and $13.76 in FEES. For a ticket delivered to my phone. They have an order fee, a ticket fee and of course a Maryland admissions tax.
The pizza and beer are cheaper at home and I know when the toilet was last cleaned.
Use the urinal don't sit on the toilet and pee poop at home before you go to the game
Where were the seats at?
@@BrianThompson-dj8rh left field wall, near third base line. There were a bunch out there.
@@mikecumbo7531 not bad for a playoff game honestly
What do you mean there was seats for 20 dollars including fees
The consumer is tapped out. It's hard enough to buy food, gas, clothing, etc., to afford to attend a baseball game.
And that’s on our infrastructure problems too. At least in some stadiums you can manage to walk or take a subway/train or bus.
This exactly its just too expensive to attend
I would love to be able to afford to go to a game. They've absolutely priced themselves out of reach for me
Yeah I have a family now. Never wasting money on a sporting event again lol
Tickets are too damn expensive!
Everything at MLB games are too expensive.
Actually I was surprised that the tickets for the Blue Jays Wild Card series against the Mariners on a weekend at the Rogers Centre on the re-sell market for the third game (when the Jays infamously had that 8-0 lead in game two) were actually selling for $20. I just think the playoffs are seen as not really starting until the divisional/league championship rounds lol
And yet, people will pay significantly more for an NFL game …
also most americans are too broke right now and a ton of people remain unemployed. america is an absolute mess economically.
Go on game time 😂😂
People who afford tickets are working in the afternoon.
People who aren’t working in the afternoon can’t afford tickets.
You are aware not everybody works 9-5 right?
Blue collar workers can’t like construction who can afford to go, but like software engineers? They can just go whenever.
@@Bigbird_96and you are aware most people do?
I've said in the past that MLB's playoff TV schedule makes it difficult for fans to attend the game in person, because they don't make it clear what time a game will be, until literally hours before the game.
yeah, the TBA last minute thing is rough
NFL playoffs, next Sat/Sunday, divisional followers Sat/Sunday, weekend after, championship Sunday.
Super Bowl, two weeks after Championship Sunday.
Easy to understand.
@@guadalupev30 Don’t forget in last couple of years Monday Night for the first round as well.,
TV coverage is so good that your best seat is in front of your TV
that's also true
Yeah but it’s not the same.
I love attending sporting events, but when it comes to playoffs, I would rather watch the same exact game from the house instead of spending tons of money to be there personally.
Because it’s f’ing expensive.
Yup you get instant replay and coverage and everything at your convenience at home Bathrooms, drinks,food no traffic going home
Brodie, I would also add to your point, NBA, and NHL would not have a daytime playoff game Monday through Friday.
exactly! or at odd hours
They actually did during the Covid Bubble games in 2020. Playoff hockeys games on a Tuesday afternoon in August
@204trebor Covid bubble playoffs are the exception, not the rule 😂 People couldn't attend those games live and most kids aren't in school
They also wouldn't have 4 playoff games in one day
@@Flamquill The NHL had their games at 2 rinks. The NBA used a bunch of courts at Disney Complex
Most of us have jobs, family plans and most of all, a small bank account that doesn’t allow for the cost of attending one game, much less many. The cost of parking, tickets, concessions and other details is just far above the common man.
Afternoon games is another issue. Most of us have jobs we just can’t leave to see a game.
There aren't sellouts because games are being played while people are at work/kids are in school. Given that more teams are in the playoffs, and that the games' starting times are designed to allow one game to not overlap into another, throw in the occasional rainy day--probably inevitable a game or two doesn't sell out.
It’s because they don’t have the best fans. Padres stadium is always packed. San Diego has the best fans
Pittsburgh would sell out
@@dbrafferty100Houston would've sold out but at 1:30 p.m. on a Tuesday. literally in the middle of the workday. People aren't gonna be able to go out to a game or risk losing their job bc they went to see a ball game. If they put the game in the late afternoon at like 4 or 5, and I mean both AL games, then both games are garunteed sold out
Agreed, we’ll see what happens past the wild card round. The attendance already seems better in the DS.
This is the stubhub effect. When people buy the ticket for the explicit reason to resell secondhand this is what happens.
Brodie mentioned March Madness games. One often sees empty seats in those first/second round games. This is especially true when the NCAA gets the bright idea of sending three Alabama teams to... Spokane (WA), and the fan bases of those teams can't get flights there no matter how they try.
Huh, so putting an early afternoon mid-week playoff game when schools are in, won't draw. Who would have ever foreseen that? It's not the fans it's MLB and their TV partners.
hopefully i made that point
@@brodiebrazil Also NHL and NBA are only doing matinee playoff games on Saturday/Sunday/Holiday. Otherwise they are all evening games in their local time zone. NFL could do a wild card game in London or Tokyo and people would watch, as well as the game selling out.
And yet the Atlanta Braves were criticized in the early 2000s for being around 2000 shy of a sellout for an NLDS game that had been switched the day before from a night game to an early afternoon game all so the Yankees or Red Sox could get the primetime slot. This was a weekday when people were at work and school and in one in which people could not change plans on a dime. Turner Field also had over 50,000 seats, so their criticized game came in at about 48,000 fans. Yet the New York media and the New York based and controlled MLB commentators critized the Braves claiming Atlanta can't sell out a playoff game when it never was an issue before. The Braves were a top 5 attendance team for the decade prior, pretty much
Anything to hate on Atlanta for some reason.
@@willp.8120 I thought there was some drop off for Atlanta fans towards the end of their run for early round day games. But that was just the perspective from across the country.
@@johngibson8636 no
It was one game that only happened because of a change in schedule the night before. MLB media criticized Atlanta for it not being sold out and it took on a life of its own where people assumed Atlanta was a bad sports town and couldn't sell out playoff games.
Too expensive 20 dollar beers,and hotdogs parking 60$, ticket 200 ,gas ⛽ to get their tv better
And again there was probably about 35,000 in Baltimore for that game ? Don’t buy that there was 41,000 ! 🤷🏻♂️
Too expensive seats
Too expensive parking
Too expensive food
Too much time spent traveling compared to a shorter game time. Dump the clock.
Mediaball SLAVES !!
We're too busy trying to survive this horrible economy working multiple jobs. We're just trying to survive. No bandwidth left to go to a game
I live in Georgia, and haven't attended a single Braves game this year because of that. Tickets, food, gas/parking/hotel(since i live 3 hours away), Im looking at spending what amounts to half of my rent. I love the team, but it is something I cannot easily do unlike preCovid.
True words bruh. I used to have 2-jobs (might need to do it again). Everyday was Monday. AND I'm supposed to fork out $15 for a watery beer at the ballpark where I have the privilege to pay $35 for a seat that's not right next to the field? Nah, I'm so not cool with that. Piss off MLB
Really? Because NFL games are still selling out like crazy.
@georgelucas2571 Yes, I agree. But it's 8 games vs. tons of mbl games. Gotta pick and choose. Well, Sir, at least we can still see your movies... lol
But Kamala says the economy is great!
I started following baseball in the early 90s when there were just 4 teams in the playoffs. The playoff games felt huge, because there weren't very many.
162 game seasons with only 4 postseason spots meant each game meant more too. Opening up more playoff spots might have been a double edged sword. It made regular season games a little more meaningless, but upped the engagement of pennant races. I don't know how I feel about it anymore.
Be realistic though, that’s not enough teams and especially not a good way to keep the fan bases of most teams engaged throughout the year. Think about the expanded playoff format the last few years; the majority of MLB teams were actually in the running for the post season and competing for a spot. 12 teams made the playoffs but about 16 were in the running until the last week or so and even more were in it until a month before. That’s good for attendance and views lol.
They need to stop ticket brokers from reselling tickets, and lower prices in this economy
You can dance around the issue all day if you want, but the reality is that baseball isn’t nearly as popular as it was 20-30 years ago. It’s sad but it’s true.
I remember growing up, so many kids wore MLB caps at school. Not even just Giants and A’s, but random teams from around the league. Now I can’t even remember the last time I saw someone wearing a Giants hat. The new generations simply don’t have the patience for a sport like baseball.
Yes, their probably wearing NFL hats, watching NFL games on network tv. NFL games are easy to find.
I'd rather watch fly fishing than mlb. At least in fly fishing I'll see something happening. Baseball is just too boring. Most of the time it's watching two guys play catch.......and I used to play and watch Baseball. It's lost its luster........
MLB popularity is up, actually
No offense, but you are relying on anecdotal evidence (personal experience) which is the weakest form of evidence that one can use to prove a point.
@@coryhillman6536 Anyone who was around 20-30 years ago can attest to this though. Baseball was way more culturally relevant in the 2000’s compared to now. The baseball caps thing is just one example, but you could compare objective figures like attendance between the eras, which would prove my anecdotal observations correct.
The economy sucks. Attending sporting events is a luxury. Putting food on table and paying rent takes precedence.
And yet, NFL stadiums are as packed as ever.
@@breadstick8456 different beast , NFL is way more popular than baseball , games matter most , fans got to see their teams 7 sometimes 8 times at as home team during the regular season , of course playoffs games are even bigger .
@@breadstick8456 There's one game a week. They better be packed.
@@breadstick845617 days a year? Yeah it should be packed lol
People just can’t afford to go these days. The prices are high for the tickets, parking, etc. that doesn’t include taking the day off. 😢
A couple of questions...
1) When were those pictures taken of the stands in each venue? Inning 1 or inning 7?
2) Day games?? Not everyone can take off work, even half day, at a drop of a hat.
3) NBA only does evening games. Baseball does weekday day games.
90% capacity is good for a 1pm game.
It’s good for a weekday game, but this is the playoffs not the dog days of summer
90% of 40K is better than 100% 20K
don't blame the fans - A's fan
yep, i tried to state that at the very beginning.... and my tweet... either make it really enticing to come, or have the game at a regular time
I am in the U.K.
It may interest you to know that the 1st October games were televised by the BBC on its free streaming platform.
The local time it started was 19:30. The BBC doesn’t do adverts. This meant that the breaks had MLB presenters helping Brits understand the rules. The Astros game and the Orioles game was on.
During what would be advert breaks, the coverage flipped between games. Melanie Newman did commentary on the Orioles.
There was also interventions by MLB Europe ambassador Chase Utley.
For us the early start in the USA was great because it meant an evening viewing here.
I would expect the MLB got some cash from the BBC.
So that's why we couldn't watch 😂😂😂 and you had Chase Utley, a dirty player, how fitting!
Chase Utley!!! ❤️❤️
@@PortersPortfolio
I have no idea whether showing games in the U.K. really influenced MLB. You would need to ask them.
Utley is the MLB Europe ambassador. He was brought over this year when the Phillies played the Mets in London.
Yeah it’s all about TV deals. The expanded playoff format also helps more teams stay in the playoff race and draws more fans throughout the season (especially later in the season) which increases attendance. It’s not a big deal in my opinion as this mostly only affects the wild card games. The divisional series and beyond seems to have normal start times now and the attendance in these games already seems much better.
@@StephenTownsley Chase Utley being the MLB ambassador to Europe rubs me the wrong way 😂 Oh god
I'll tell you why from this fans perspective. #1 crappy day time start times. People can't make a 4:08 pm start time easily the fact that they had as many people as they did was very impressive. #2 significant increase in ticket prices for these games (seats that are normally 23 bucks were going for 70 from the team web site, then to be resold yesterday on seat geek for 33.. #3 crappy weather in Baltimore. #4. tickets were sold without knowing what time the games would be at. In our specific case, we opted not to use out playoff ticket option because of the increased cost.
good points
Gonna push back on the cost piece .. people will gladly shell out significantly more for an NFL game. Cost is hardly whats keeping people home here.
@@theplaintiff5450
One game vs a series can be a factor here
@@brodiebrazil One more point: These are the wildcard games. Three years ago these games didn't exist and I'm sure there's a significant portion of the fanbase that don't consider them 'real' playoff games.
@@theplaintiff5450 For a fair comparison, MLB playoff is closer to NBA and NHL, not NFL, and cost is a serious factor for a series game. Also average capacity of basketball, hockey stadiums is 20k so I think it's impressive MLB could fill close to 40k on a random Tuesday afternoon. If they want full capacity they should either shrink back playoffs or make it night games like Monday Football with the same start.
Way too expensive and a proportional amount of kids/parents don’t care about sports/baseball anymore…
IMAGINE an nfl playoff game kicking off at 2pm in the middle of a work week….. WTF mlb
right!!!
I've been hearing people calling for daytime Postseason MLB for years.
@@KaisasDad Probably those greatly shrinking baby boomers and greatest generation mlb fans.
@@KaisasDadyessir daytime baseball no matter if it’s postseason or regular season is far superior than night games
Houston LIED about their attendance. I was AT THAT GAME, and there were at least 9,000 LESS in attendance than what they claim. About 31,000 were ACTUALLY THERE.
The two Florida teams do not draw well
the number 1 reason for empty seats is not start time, ticket price, weekday afternoon. it's the sponsors buying 2,500-5000 tickets for the executives and vip's. half of them are not even baseball fans and don't show up.
I always enjoy the early round all day playoff games through the day as it’s a rare treat to get good baseball all day long. Being west coast would always get my now former A’s playoff games in the evening. Already moved on from my last coliseum game with my grandson last month and will still enjoy west coast prime time games with the Dodgers!
I’ll be honest, if NY, Boston or Philly had a playoff game at 1pm on a Tuesday, fans would just start tailgating at 7am. On the other hand, I doubt those teams would have 1pm playoff games during the week.
I think MLB playoffs’ biggest problem is that the World Series is during NFL (no Sunday WS games this season), NBA, NHL, college football & crappy October weather on the east coast (it tends to rain in October.) MLB needs to start the playoffs in September.
Disposable incomes have plummeted for the middle class in the past 2-3 years. Going to a pro sports event or a concert is a luxury for a lot of folks right now.
Also, for Tampa, there are a ton of people there who are retirees on fixed incomes so it's not surprising that they have attenance issues. Has anyone ever met a Rays fan outside of Florida? I don't recall ever meeting one, have for every other team.
By not defining start times until Sunday evening, people have jobs and can't rearrange their schedules in that short of time. My daughter, a season ticket holder, had to back out due to a work meeting she had to attend. She bought tickets!!
Ticket prices? Concession pricing? Cashless transactions? Parking pricing?
You can't compare MLB to NBA or NHL as the arenas for those sports are much smaller. Just take the NHL. Hockey arenas range from 21,000 in Montreal to 15,000 in Winnipeg. Much easier to fill. Plus they are indoors. Don't have to be concerned with weather, whether it be the threat of rain, like they had in Baltimore or the blazing sun on a Tuesday afternoon.
The seats are empty because no one wants to see 85-90 win teams playing w a shot to win a world series after a 162 game full season. Baseball is killing itself w these meaningless seasons if so many mediocre clubs get in and 1 or 2 gets hot for 10 days and goes to the Series.
I would never watch a game from the 300 level. Not worth it at all to fight traffic for that and pay $. Rather watch on an 80” TV
Depends, if the atmosphere is electric and the stakes are high I would. Although I’m a Yankee fan so of course it’s going to be a good atmosphere. I don’t go to games that often since it’s a bit hard to get to the Bronx, but I would go to any playoff game there.
@@Ryan-cb1ei exactly. I paid $70 each to attend one wild card and one divisional round game at petco park. 70 bucks was the cheapest option for the general admission park area behind center field so that’s an even farther view than the 300 level. Yet I was happy to go to both because the atmosphere for both games was something special you can’t get from watching on tv. Let alone listening to national broadcasters like bias jabroni, Joe Davis. There was a type of collective unity and effervescence in that ballpark that made the price of admission worth it.
With that said… had I paid for one of those $150 tickets in the 300 level on one of the games they lost… I’d hate myself for it
Nobody wants to pay much for first round seats. If your team is in the playoffs, you have to hope they can make a run. I won't pay for the Wild Card series. Hell, I'm not even going to pay for the Divisional round. I know the Championship Series means more, and ultimate the World Series will be a small fortune. Lots of people carry that mentality.
I wonder what tickets cost these days. I gotta imagine they’re higher than ever!
well if you can get first pick on tickets, like upper deck I think are under 30. But the scalpers get them, despite all the hoops we have to jump through to get tickets and resell tickets are insane.
It’s a workday , middle of the week. Game start time …that’s where the fans are
At work trying to make ends meet...
Braves used to have this problem in the 90's they didn't sell out their early playoff games because they made it every year , that could be the issue with Houston. Playoff tickets are expensive and then you have to take a day off from work on short notice because they don't announce the game times until a few days before the game is played.. Mets tickets are over $175 for the upper deck on a Tuesday and you don't know if it's going to be a day or night game, or even if the game will even be played.
I was looking a Mets tickets and I saw seats in the 500s for over $100. Gtfo here with that. Plus $40 parking and $10 hot dogs
First and foremost, I'm gutted by the A's relocation. Secondly, I'm saddened at your loss of job. Thirdly, I whole-heartedly agree with everything that you've pointed out in this video. Lastly, you've been my voice of choice for A's news. Happy to comment and help your algorithm. Just subbed because I realize I hadn't before. :)
A’s should never have left Philly. How do you think my father felt. Oakland also stole the Warriors from Philly
@@volodymyrzablotsky5372the A’s left Philly for Kansas City (not Oakland). The Warriors left Philly for San Francisco (not Oakland). Google is easy and free.
@@volodymyrzablotsky5372the A’s left Philly for Kansas City (not Oakland). The Warriors left Philly for San Francisco (not Oakland). Those are the facts.
I would say changing demographics, the high costs of attending games, and decreasing attention spans are key reasons we’re seeing empty seats in playoff games.
Also, it happens in other sports to an extent. I remember Sharks-Nashville western conference semis at the Tank in 2016, was the only Game 7 going so they moved it to 5pm PT. Lot of empties and cheap seats on the resale market for a game 7 because it was just impossible for most people to get to the Tank for a 5pmer with little notice
I think people just don’t care about baseball like they used too. My Red Sox are not in the playoffs by any means but even if they are I never hear any talk about them. They usually move on to football once the season starts. I used to hear people talk about baseball all the time as a kid and that was only 20 -30 years ago
That’s exactly what I’m saying. 20 years ago I’d see people wearing random baseball caps everywhere all the time. Never see that anywhere nowadays.
Red Sox fans don’t care like they used to…. Padres still pack the stadium every day. Padres have better fans. Check the attendance numbers. And Petco is a much nicer ballpark to go to.
@@dbrafferty100 Well, The Padres are winning and play in generally beautiful weather. If they were a 100+ loss team for 4 years straight I'm sure it would be a lot different.
20 years ago Boston was a baseball town, not anymore unfortunately.
Sounds like a Boston problem. At least the redsox were contending for most of the year… The patriots haven’t been good in 5 years and you’re telling me people still care about them over the Red Sox? Like another commenter said, the padres don’t have that issue, or dodgers, even my giants when we’re good and in the postseason or if the niners aren’t good and exciting, you won’t see people moving on to “nfl”.
I mean, nobody knows where/when most of these WC games will be until the last minute, and maybe lots of people can’t get off work to go, or need more advance notice to organize the outing. The Astros constantly get the worst start times until the CS or WS also. As long as they have this thing about making half the teams get to the playoffs, they won’t be able to put all the games in a good time slot.
From a Houston fan living in SF with a few thoughts:
Astros ticket prices have gone up beyond a reasonable amount. A mid day start time just makes it that much more unrealistic
MLB greed and playoff expansion might be over-saturating the market. There’s just too many games and not enough time
I totally agree with your last point! Over saturation through expansion has diluted the product down to almost "Coor's beer level"!
The NFL is actually worse.
All due to greed!
I followed Baseball from 1973 to 2023. Im not paying for steaming anything or chasing games all over crappy cable! The greed has gone too far!
Maybe that’s fine though, it’s just the wild card series that have to worry about this. The DS already seems to have great attendance. It’s probably better that more markets have the opportunity to make the playoffs. It’s not just a few extra playoff games and TV deals though, more teams are in the running for a wild card/playoff spot which also helps attendance throughout the year, especially late season, for many more teams that have a chance. MLB will just have to live with it, the only possible reason they’d change the expanded format is if there’s a big enough sample size showing that teams with a bye struggle due to all that time off.
@@MichaelLabriola-f8s Dude I have cable and I was easily able to see most games this year. Thankfully Apple TV didn’t get many games in 2024. Literally just look up “MLB streams” on your phone or computer and watch an illegal stream.
They look sold out in New York LA SD where people actually care about their teams and city
Another thing to consider is that MLB stadiums are a lot larger than NHL/NBA arenas. It's much easier to fill a 15,000-20,000 seat venue than it is a 50,000 seat venue. The "sold out" optics are partly influenced by relativity in this case. Of course, most fans aren't going to care about why a stadium isn't sold out. It just looks bad to them.
If anything, I see MLB doing a "4:30/8:00 EST window" setup for the wild card/divisional round with two games in each window and then adjusting the divisional round times as series end early. So if say KC beats Baltimore, plays the Yankees, and gets swept, that might mean one of the 4:30 games that was scheduled in another series moves to the 8:00 timeslot. Since most sports networks have multiple channels, they can still arrange coverage, and if that's still somehow an issue, we can have The MLB Playoffs on RUclips, Brought to You by Hankook Tires.
Average MLB stadium capacity is 42K. Average MLB capacity is 21K. 81 home games plus playoffs, that’s insane.
@@DuffyGabi : good point. I forgot about the number of home games. That exacerbates the problem.
People used to complain about postseason games being on at night. Now with a lot of playoff games during the day, the complaint is that people are at work/school and can’t get to the games. What time do you want the games?!
The problem with night games isn’t that they’re night games. All year most teams play their games at 7pm local. Now that it’s a playoff game and it must be viable for Sacramento, Eugene, and Spokane to watch games in their entirety after work the east coast teams start at 8 if there’s no competing west coast option. This was especially annoying pre-pitch clock, as playoff games had a notoriously slow tempo and would regularly see the clock strike midnight during the 8th inning. Now those games are usually over around 11, which is a bit more viable for the 9 am workers.
Not at 11:30 in the morning.
Prices are way too much money and then you got to pay for parking And the outrageous prices of food a lot of people would just rather watch from home a lot cheaper...
Prices aren’t stopping NFL fans.
@@breadstick8456; Yet.
The biggest issue for me would be the game times. For something last minute like playoff baseball, I would struggle to scamper out of work at 11am to watch postseason baseball. Weekday postseason games shouldn’t start earlier than maybe 3 or 4pm local time. They only need to overlap a little bit.
There’s also the argument that we don’t need these wild card series, but that’s another discussion altogether…
If they do expand to 32 teams, I'd like to see each league get four divisions NFL-style, and only the division champions advance.
@@Liggie55821 Possibility, but I fear there would be huge advantages or disadvantages for some teams that naturally have to travel a lot less or more due to the teams in their division and their distance to them. This would matter the most in baseball due to the sheer number of games. Unless you just barely play teams in your division and play everyone almost equally, but at that point the division serves little purpose if you’re not playing your divisional foes much.
I think the value proposition of upper deck seats at $200+ each (plus travel, parking, etc) is hard for some to swallow. Versus staying home for a better view on the broadcast.
When then-Safeco Field in Seattle opened, the day games started at 3:30, and those drew big crowds. That could be a sweet spot for both TV and fans. A 3:30 start gives you enough time for a half-day of work, and barring extra innings you'll be out of the stadium by 7. A 3:30 start in the East means the rest of the country can tune in during lunch or coffee breaks, and a 3:30 West start means the gane should be over by 10 in the East, early enough for a reasonable bed time.
It is laughable how every year people freak out about MLB attendance in colder March/April then the WC round. There are photos from 60+ years ago when baseball was truly America's pastime where you see someone breaking a record and empty seats are present as well as some non WS playoff games. In the end the revenue is only going up and by the time the final 2 rounds of the playoffs happen you will have more excitement and fans in seats. Not to mention with these games the team already has sold near sellout numbers regardless of if there are empty seats from fans who can't make it or brokers who couldn't sell all their upper level seats.
There are already a lot more fans in attendance for the DS. Philly, LA, and NY looked sold out to me. I didn’t really watch the Guardians game but heck even they looked to have a lot of fans if I recall correctly.
So after finally watching the video, I was working yesterday, I was wondering when were the pictures actually taken that showed the empty seats in the upper decks? Cuz if it's the start of the first. Yeah I'm sure people are going to be late on a weekday at early afternoon. Now it'd be interesting to see how it looked by halfway.
I hate the day games during the week. I don't get that much vacation, so I could maybe take a half day to go to one, but I'm not going to more than that.
Brodie, you seriously put out so much great content. I’m shocked you don’t have way more subscribers. Best of luck to you and your channel.
Houston is not a great sports town. 230pm starts are weird. Do you take the whole day off? Half day? Is there traffic? Too many variables.
Houston is a good sports town especially in football and baseball the Astros had the 8th highest attendance this year in baseball averaging over 35,000 in a 41,000 seat stadium the problem is the playoff start time 1:32 pm in Houston kids in school and people at work I was at the game yesterday I work security there I would say 35,00 were there it could have been 40,000 a lot of people showed up late to the game
Take a day off for a wild card round game?
Totally agree with this video. When the Giants were winning World Series in the 2010s, I was baffled by the game scheduling. I recall when they played the Reds in the 2012 NLDS. All of the games in Cincinnati were played early on a weekday, preventing any Giants fans from watching the game unless they skipped out from work. The deciding game 5 was played in Cincinnati at 1 pm CDT! Won't TV ratings and attendance be maximized if the schedule is optimized for the teams in both markets?
that's going to be my halloween costume, an empty seat at Globe Life
Aren't you a bit too old to wear a Halloween costume? Lol😆
😂😂
The NFL, NBA, and NHL playoff games are all spread apart (in terms of gaps between game 1 and 2 or a week between the NFL games) and so there's a gravity to them that the back to back to back days of baseball doesn't have. The Red Zone idea for even regular season baseball is great. I remember former tv sports channel The Score in Canada used to have Diamond Surfing where they'd swing to different games happening at the same time. If we had that today, you could see every Aaron Judge and Ohtani at bat.
Toooooooo expensive!!!!!!
Then why are NFL games still being sold out?
@@georgelucas2571And there was no way that there was 40,000 in Houston for that game, perhaps sold tickets but probably about 34,000 in the seats? 🤷🏻♂️
NFL is even more expensive, yet their fans always fill up their stadiums. Baseball fans just aren’t dedicated.
@@georgelucas2571 Those folks use a lot of credit. They will buy $5k seats then go bankrupt.
When I was in elementary school in the Bay Area in the 1970's, they would set up a TV in the cafeteria so we could watch World Series games during lunch! (But only for the 20-30 minutes we were allowed to hang out in the cafeteria. Then we had to go outside to allow the next group of kids in.
We had 3-4 shifts for lunch.)
As a Braves fan who has seen too many early playoff losses in the past, I would never go to a series before the NLCS if we ever make it again. It's much harder for me to get into early rounds/short series in general, even if I lived in one of the wild card cities. Much more likely to watch on TV though, even for the early games.
Also.. NBA and NHL have much smaller arenas to fill and all the NFL playoff games are on the weekend.
This is why Braves fan base is not as high quality as padres fan base. Padres will pack the stadium every round.
@@dbrafferty100 how many playoff games have the padres played in during the last thirty years though? The first rounds just aren't as exciting or worth traveling to, especially to me as a Braves fan who lives outside of Atlanta.
@@cscotz 0 in front of empty seats
@@dbrafferty100 ehh... yes they have, just like the braves. both the padres and braves played home games in the 2020 playoffs when no fans were allowed in the stadium
@@cscotz lol, true but doesnt count
10 dollar per seat popcorn is ten dollars
The Astros and Orioles were near capacity, both over 40,000. That doesn't seem like a failure.
yeah, they glossed over that and Tampa Bay it seems to me have always had okay attendance. They averaged 16,000 a home game. Houston Astros avg was 35,000. So I guess if A's is leaving Oakland, then Rays should leave Tampa Bay. LOL
Since the Orioles have been slumping. I think some fans thought they were going to lose. So they saved their cash. Otherwise I do believe we would have squeezed 45K in Camden Yards like last year.
They averaged close to 19 000 fans per game in Tampa Bay last year. Their playoff attendance was barely better than their regular season average. It was like on a Tuesday at 2pm with like 3 or 4 days notice to buy tickets. MLB fucked up by trying to play too many games in one day.
Tickets for the Astros game today was around $20 ish for upper deck, but the game started around noon. Downtown during a work day, isn’t easy to go to in Houston.
Can only speak for Baltimore, since I live here:
1. The weather has SUCKED the past week and its been raining/mysting
2. It is a Tuesday afternoon, I would love have taken my kid, he does not get done with school until 4p.
3. There is a clear dillution of the value of a playoff games with the expanded playoffs. For the cost, people are waiting until the DS or World Series to spend disposable $$'s. Spent a long time working for an NBA team, we had a really really hard time selling first round games one and two if we were not playing a Lebron/Kobe etc. They are glorfied regular season games to many fans!
4. The O's have been average since June 1st, apathy has set in with the market which is not helping
love the o's and fans and stadium, certainly not their fault, unfortunately they only help make the points
@@brodiebraziltoday is going to be even worse. Weather is still miserable plus it’s the first night of Rosh Hashanah. If they get through this round and play the Yankees they might have the largest revenue gates in Camden yards history.
Padres have better fans. They pack the stadium every night. Check the numbers
@@dbrafferty100congrats to the padres but we were only talking about the orioles
We took relatives visiting from Japan to go see Shohei and two 3B line, 2nd level loge, regular season tickets, parking and food costs over $600. So what does the postseason cost? A lot more than most people can afford even as a one time thing and if your team makes the Series? Good God. The Dodgers already made back the money they paid Ohtani in one season. And they say Disneyland is expensive. 🤨😵
I had to listen to the Tigers-Astros game on satellite radio. I heard the attendance announcement and the announcer saying the park was sold out. When I finally got to see the highlights, I was really shocked at number of empty seats. Especially big swaths. I expect maybe one or two seats scattered around. Not every season ticket holder can make every game. But when entire rows aren't filled, something is wrong.
Oh and I have seen empty seats during the NHL playoffs. I remember Joe Lois Arena having seats available on a Sunday afternoon game back in the day. So it does happen. But nothing like what I saw yesterday. Fix this MLB!
Joe Louis arena? I've never heard of an American mention anything from Vachon. What's the point of paying for naming rights when your product isn't even sold in the States? Shit I don't even know if the rest of Canada even knows about them.
@@somerandomguy5977 um, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit Michigan. Named after the famous boxer who was raised in Detroit.
When I read Joe Louis and hockey my brain immediately went Québec.
Petco Park in San Diego was at full capacity and loud asf.
Over capacity. 42,500 seats. 47,800 in attendance.
The Indians and redsox sold out more than 500 games in a row, the problem is baseball is lame now and fewer people are not paying attention...
Padres didn’t have any issues selling seats. In fact prior to this week, our all-time attendance record at Petco Park was set on a Tuesday night a month ago.
Petco was packed 47,500 in a 47,500 capacity stadium
Padres have the BEST fans.
Also at an optimal time where people are off work
@@SlapShotYT97 I took off work to go early. Padres have a better fan base. San Diego is the #1 baseball town now
Madre “fans” came out the woodworks I remember they bearly had any I wonder where they came from
The seated capacity at petco is 42,000. They are able to add more with Gallager square. The game times hurt for sure. But Padre fans are the type that show up an hour or two before first pitch and leave after the final out. We can thank Seidler and crew for giving drink discounts before first pitch and keeping the tailgate lot around.
Because pitching doesn’t sell. Baseball turning into soccer with no scoring
yep and it's duller than soccer, because at least with soccer you know its over in 90 minutes.
You talked around the main point a lot- it’s ticket prices. Dodgers tickets were already grossly inflated this year whenever there was a Shohei giveaway, but your head would spin if you looked at the price of a PLAYOFF game at Dodger Stadium.
Tickets are too expensive. Start with that.
Honestly with the time of the year its at the baseball world should consider at least for the wildcard games starting them on Thursdays or Fridays and playing weekend series. At the end of the day baseball isnt the draw it once was. People arent as likely to go to take a Tuesday and Wednesday off just go see a game as they were 70 years ago. It wouldnt push the postseason that far either. If they're concerned about it going into November then push the season openers back or shorten the season by a series or two. Net win for all
agree... wild card weekend is interesting. but would go up against football in october. i think baseball knows they'll lose that battle
@@brodiebrazil It may. But most football is played on Sundays. So if you start on a Thursday its all wound up for Saturday at the latest, avoiding this precise issue. College football is mostly watched in areas where baseball isnt popular anyway
Oh and of course it should be mentioned. A single picture at a single moment of a game isnt very telling. I went to a blue Jays game with a near capacity crowd yet the top deck seemed empty. Turns out alot of those people went to the bars and other areas on the lower decks to watch.
I was at the wildcard game yesterday, and it was sold out within minutes. I was in the 2nd level behind home plate. Everyone was grateful to be there. The only problem is that it was the KBO playoffs in Seoul, and my ticket cost only $20. I think the public would respond, and fill these stadiums if MLB was as smart as the KBO with its pricing structure. Baseball needs to be experienced live to be fully appreciated ⚾. The other thing that helps is that the stadium areas are much safer in Korea than MLB.
I grew up as and used to be a huge baseball fan. Over the course of decades, the sport and I have parted ways. I still watch highlights of my favorite team, when they win, but haven't sat down and watched or attended a nine inning game in five or six years. In my view, MLB has diluted its playoff product and spread itself too thin in the chase of the almighty dollar. I grew up in the 1970s watching the A's taking on whomever from the AL East (usually the Orioles) and the Yanks taking on the Royals for a spot in the World Series. Every single one of those games had a sort of electricity and immediacy coursing through it that's entirely missing from the current format. Personally, if baseball can't go back to that, then it should go back to just four playoff teams in each league. Ideally, all those games should either take place at night or in the late afternoon to make it easy for working people to attend or watch on television.
Excellent post! I agree 100% (I'm an old guy). It was easier to root and have favorite players when they all weren't multi-millionaires. I'm so old I remember when many players in the off season had JOBS!. People can't relate to a losing player when they know he just made a ton of money even in the loss. They aren't like us, worrying abut the things we worry about.
MLB is doing what the NFL is doing in a bigger way, diluting the game down for every nickle. Expansion is just one example. The NFL went from 14 games to 17 game seasons, expanded it's play-off format AND added Thusday Night, Sunday Night, and 2 games on Monday night...why? $$$$$$$.
In short money has ruined everything
@@kendallevans4079 The only way anything changes is if people refuse to watch the product on TV or attend games.
@@ulical Yes, but that won't happen. There will always be die hard's and credit cards! Put those 2 together and the leagues will find a way to tap that $$!
@@kendallevans4079 Maybe, but, as my dad always used to tell me, everything has an expiration date.
@@ulical That will be long after we're gone. People are lemmings and as long as they can find the money, they will support their team. They are simple minded people who fall for that "my team" lie.
I'm a Tigers fan and I know that they are generally pushed to the earlier times because they are not a showcase team such as the Yankees or Dodgers. In 2012, the Tigers had a day playoff game against the A's and I had a hard time finding it on TV. It had been pushed to some small cable channel in the early afternoon.
Petco Park had 47,000 people last night (5,000 over capacity)
Go padres!
because it was a typical night game where people COULD attend. proves my point
I predict that this will not be a problem in Philadelphia this weekend.
Playoff start times are awesome for European viewers
I work three blocks from Minute Maid and there were watch parties AT WORK! No need to pay crazy ticket prices when the game was on in every break room!
You need an app to go to games now. And you can't even buy tickets at the box office on gameday without a phone. I wanted to see the stadium renovations in Toronto this past season but I don't do cellphone commerce so I was SOL. Too Orwellian for me.
Orioles tickets started at $95+fees, Originally. Was lowered to $50+ fees, that morning.
Hockey is a bad comparison. The capacity in those arenas are under 20k. MLB stadiums are a lot bigger.
true that. but hockey series are also always best of 7, more games than this wild card round
Not gonna lie, Mets surprised me with being able to pack the stadium on Wednesday/Thursday in NYC for a 5pm game. Guess it depends on the market and how willing you are to make it there. If you have the resources to do so of course
Oh man a redzone type channel for mlb would be awesome
right?!? that idea just popped in my head during the video. would be perfect for wild card round
They have this in the regular season on MLB Network.
playoff attendance in 1972 was embarrassing especially during the ALCS. Tiger stadium had 10,000+ empty seats for a playoff game. you can find some clips on here. i think the reason was the players strike that occurred that season.
The Rays should never have been created. The Marlins have been a failure their entire existence as far as fan support Putting two team sin Florida has been a complete disaster.
From an at home perspective, on the topic of "getting your fix and watching all day long": I recorded all 4 games the first two days, only to have the games in progress I hadn't watched yet spoiled by updates in the games I was still finishing. Which in turn makes watching those game less interesting and pretty pointless. Might as well start them all at the same time in primetime and I'll just watch the one I'm most interested in.
Round 1 is fake playoffs. It feels like extended regular season
Extra two wild cards are a sham. Saying this as a Giants fan too. Giants were the fifth seed in 2014 and 2016 and advanced through the Wild Card Game both years (and won the World Series in 2014 of course).
Too many teams and inconvenient times. Hypothetically If nba had day games for first round of playoffs we'd see the same thing