Sorts of Sports

Florida... They Play Baseball?

This is stunning. Another conspiracy in MLB has hit. This one may go by the wayside though, because no one cares about the Florida Marlins. Unbeknownst to me, or anyone, the Florida Marlins played a day baseball game today against the Cincinnati Reds. It was a double-header and the Marlins won 6-5. An exciting game, actually. But what just took place here?

Only 300-something people were there to witness it. It wasn't that hot out in the Miami area, so what gives? Well, to be honest, that number isn't true. It certainly looked like it though, based on the pictures, but what gives? Why can't that be confirmed? Every MLB boxscore lists the paid attendance, every boxscore except the one from this game. The number was reported on twitter by someone in the press box.

I don't get what is going on here. Why would MLB withhold this information? This seems like a bad time to withhold when the team is getting a new stadium built. Fortunately, Miami Ballpark, the name of the new stadium, will actually be a downsize for the team. SunLife Stadium, as it is called today, holds upwards of 47,000. The Marlins have elected to close off most of those seats so it's more like 38,000, which is still 37,000 too many.

Is MLB trying to prevent the sale of the team to another city that can attract more than 300 fans? With the new stadium being built and the paid for by Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami, it would be bad for the team to report such financial losses that they need to sell. It would be nothing more than an elaborate Little League park if that took place.

Keep an eye on this. I think the next step would be to cancel all day games for the Marlins in order to ensure more than 1,000 fans show up.