From today's Sentinel:

 

SARNI: Wild-card race draws crowd

Published September 16, 2005

 

Marlins viewers have gone wild.

 

Game 1 of the Marlins-Astros series Monday drew the highest rating of the season in the Fort Lauderdale-Miami market despite Monday Night Football, a 7.5 on FSN Florida. That was the highest since September 2003, when three Phillies-Marlins telecasts tied with an 8.6.

 

Game 2 on Tuesday did even better -- an 8.1 on Pax.

 

Game 3 on Wednesday slipped to a 5.9 on Sun Sports but that's because viewers turned off the Astros' rout in the late innings. The telecast did an 8.3 in the 9:45-10 p.m. quarter-hour then tanked.

 

The Houston series has been must-see baseball, and Game 4 on Thursday was expected to be another ratings hit.

 

Now the Marlins come home tonight to play the Phillies, another rival in the white-hot, wild-card race. FSN should get another big number.

 

All I can say is...wow. Those are some big numbers.

From today's Sentinel:

 

SARNI: Wild-card race draws crowd

Published September 16, 2005

 

Marlins viewers have gone wild.

 

Game 1 of the Marlins-Astros series Monday drew the highest rating of the season in the Fort Lauderdale-Miami market despite Monday Night Football, a 7.5 on FSN Florida. That was the highest since September 2003, when three Phillies-Marlins telecasts tied with an 8.6.

 

Game 2 on Tuesday did even better -- an 8.1 on Pax.

 

Game 3 on Wednesday slipped to a 5.9 on Sun Sports but that's because viewers turned off the Astros' rout in the late innings. The telecast did an 8.3 in the 9:45-10 p.m. quarter-hour then tanked.

 

The Houston series has been must-see baseball, and Game 4 on Thursday was expected to be another ratings hit.

 

Now the Marlins come home tonight to play the Phillies, another rival in the white-hot, wild-card race. FSN should get another big number.

 

All I can say is...wow. Those are some big numbers.

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Thats good, lets see if it translates to attendance this weekend

they usually have solid tv ratings

I work in the ad/media business and I can tell you the Marlins do have a lot of fans. One of the problems in sports attendance is that people have a free substitute for going to the ballpark when 150+ games are broadcast on TV. 2/3 of an MLB teams games are played weeknights. Add any small inconvenience to attending the game (like distance, rain, or heat) and its easy for people to say "I'll stay home and watch it on the tube". When people say Marlins fans are front runners that's not eexactly true. A lot of fans are emotionally attached to the team and follow them closely without attending many games in person. As the games become more important and magnified the sense of urgency to be at the park begins to take over. Obviously most people in the country have never attended a World Series game. When you get that opportunity you take it and thus the big crowds. But that doesn't mean that those 65,000 people are casual fans. My wifes grandfather (R.I.P.) was a die hard Marlins fan, He saw every game on the tube while listening to the Spanish broadcast on the radio. He never attended an MLB game in his life until I took him.

Thats awesome! Hopefully we will have big crowds for this weekend :thumbup

Nice to see....

My wifes grandfather (R.I.P.) was a die hard Marlins fan, He saw every game on the tube while listening to the Spanish broadcast on the radio. He never attended an MLB game in his life until I took him.

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You gave me goosebumps.

 

I remember the first time I took my grandfather to a baseball game. It was one of those moments you remember for the rest of your life.

 

I also took my step-grandfather to his first baseball game since 1956 (Polo Grounds).

It adds a lot of credence to the comments that many fans don't attend more often because of the heat and potential for rain. Fan interest is high and a domed stadium would translate into larger attendance.

I won't be watching tonight, I'll be at the game. I go reluctantly since I was just outbid on e-bay for last minute McCartney tickets.

I won't be watching tonight, I'll be at the game. I go reluctantly since I was just outbid on e-bay for last minute McCartney tickets.

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:lol My parents have one extra ticket to the concert :plain We were looking for someone to buy them... maybe even go for free :lol

Another thing to keep in mind with regards to Marlins attendance is something that recently read on baseball prospectus, namely that a playoff appearance can result in a windfall of up to $30 Million for a team based on increased interest and attendance. The interesting thing is that they claim a playoff appearance can positively affect a team for up to 10 years.

 

The fact that attendance is slightly higher this year than last year (the year we defended the WS championship) speaks to that momentum building. And this is despit the fact that tickets are more expensive this year than last.

 

The problem with the Marlins is that Huizenga killed all of the momentum created by the 97 WS win. And prior to 97 the Marlins were trying to regain momentum (as were other teams) lost with the 94 work stoppage. In short, the 94 work stoppage and the dismantling of the 97 team both retarded the growth of baseball popularity in SoFla.

 

People attended Marlins games in above average numbers before and they will again if we can finally put the stadium issue to bed. Right now there is a cloud over the franchise because people feel if the new stadium doesn't happen that we lose the club. Although there may be another answer which would be a new deal with Dolphins Stadium. Perhaps H Wayne could sell a portion of the stadium to the Marlins and the revenue from the sale could be used to improve the stadium for both football and baseball. One of the things Huizenga wants to do is put some sort of retractable roof on the stadium.

 

Let's hope.

You gave me goosebumps.

 

I remember the first time I took my grandfather to a baseball game. It was one of those moments you remember for the rest of your life.

 

I also took my step-grandfather to his first baseball game since 1956 (Polo Grounds).

 

 

 

 

My wifes grandfather was a hell of a man. His job until he retired was selling trophies. He used to call on the youth centers and high schools and stuff and sell trophies for their sports leagues. In his spare time he was a sports writer for the Spanish language newspapers. He wrote a recap column in the Diario Las Americas where he would give the scores of the baseball and softball games played by the country club teams like the Big Five and The Cuidamar Yacht Club. In Cuba and here in the states he also coached basketball. Basketball was his first love. He was tall by cuban standards 6-1 or 6-2. He was a huge Heat fan and did the same walkman deal with the Heat games listening to the play by play in Spanish.

 

My grandfather on my mom's side stayed in Cuba and I never got to meet him because he died over there. My other grandfather died when I was too young to appreciate him. But I must have gotten my love of baseball from him (although he was a Yankee fan, and I abhor the Yankees).

 

So my wife's grandfather was like the grandfather I never had. I loved his company and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed mine.

 

Here's to Antonio "Bebo" Estrada.

you're reminding me of when i took my friend's grandfater, in his 80's, to his first ever major league baseball fan. he had just come from cuba, and he went to the park there everyday, so we took him to watch the marlins. you should have seen the joy on that man's face.

Last season a guy sat next to me. He was from Australia. He grw up playing ball down under and even played semi-pro down there. He was a third baseman. He was living in London at the time and was in the states on business. But he had never been to a MLB ballpark before. I talked with the guy the whole game and he was so jazzed to see the defending world champs play. I explained that the stadium isn't up to snuff and he couldn't believe it. At the end of the night I gave him my World Series Champ Locker room cap. He didn't want to take it, but I told him I had several at home. Man it just feels good to share baseball with others. What a game!