When Loria became the owner of the Florida Marlins we had no season tickets sold for the 2002 season, all the employees did not have contracts, we had no Free TV or Radio contracts and the media was spewing venom at him and his crew.

 

The Marlins drew under a million people in 2002, near 850,000 to be exact. We finished the year in 4th place, 3 games under .500.

 

In his second season he raised the Marlins payroll and advertising budget. We have drawn 1.3 million people not counting the playoffs and made the playoffs. We have seen baseball in South Florida go from "on life support" to "front and center."

 

The Marlins, for the first time in their history, beat the Dolphins in the TV Ratings! That's right, the NLDS Game 3 and 4 on WSVN both beat out the Dolphins vs. NY Giants on WFOR. There is interest in this team and it is due to Mr. Loria and his "evil" crew. If this guy is evil, then I want to see what "nice" is to the fans of Montreal and the press, it certainly isn't Wayne Huizenga.

 

There are many teams (Houston, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Seattle, Milwaukee, etc.) who wished they had an owner willing to spend his own money and go in the red to bring a winning product to thier new ballparks. Just think of that next time you hear him get slammed, he brought us something other teams dream of and no one in the media has given him much though and gratitude. I hope next season we can get season ticket holders up the wazoo to thank him and help him keep the team together.

 

Season Ticket Holders = Payroll $$$$

There was no game 5(which would have been on a Sunday). So how could the Marlins beat the Dolphins ratings during the NLDS?

There was no game 5(which would have been on a Sunday). So how could the Marlins beat the Dolphins ratings during the NLDS?

Ecuse me, I meant games 3 and 4. The ratings numbers (number of people watching saturday and friday) beat out the dolphins on sunday.

Oh thats ok, Cape. I was kinda wondering about that.

 

 

 

I agree with you that Loria and co. have done everything humanly possible to get the fans back and this season they have accomplished it. I hope Loria and mini-me see how to attract the crowds and find ways to keep most of these players.

 

 

I also hope that Jeff is seriously bidding for a new stadium or a new deal or something. Because currently, there is no way they are going survive if they keep playing at Pro Player Stadium.

Here is the article from the Herald article.

 

RATINGS RISING

 

The Marlins-Giants division series averaged a strong 16.0 local television rating, factoring in the broadcasts on Channel 7 and ESPN/ESPN2. One local ratings point equals nearly 15,500 homes.

 

Games 3 and 4 each produced an 18.1 rating in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market, topping Channel 4's 17.7 local rating for Sunday's Dolphins-Giants game. Game 1 of the Marlins-Giants series generated a 13.7 rating, and Game 2 finished with a 14.2.