Small crowds, rebuilding tied
Boras: Teams that tear down are a ‘cancer’
The agent for free agent Bryce Harper and many of baseball’s top players claims rebuilding teams have become a “competitive cancer” that caused this season’s 4 percent attendance drop.
As the sport’s officials start to consider possible rules changes to spark offense and speed up play, Scott Boras acidly critiqued several clubs that were among the 17 to draw fewer fans this year than last.
Boras pointed out Louisiana State’s baseball team had a higher average attendance for its 37 home games than the Miami Marlins did for their 81 — 10,786 to 10,014.
“The fans of Florida have certainly brought the MIA to Miami,” he said Wednesday in a courtyard outside the general managers’ meetings.
He claimed when “the divisional clubs come to Minnesota, it’s gotten so bad that only one of the Twins shows up.”
And he criticized the Toronto Blue Jays, who had the biggest decrease in the major leagues this year, falling by 878,000 fans to 2.33 million.
“They’ve lost near a third of their fan base due to the blue flu of not bringing attractive players the fans find interesting to their market,” he said.
Boras has self interest in encouraging spending, wanting fewer clubs jettisoning veterans in favor of youth and more handing out lucrative contracts — especially to his clients.
Major League Baseball’s average attendance dropped to 28,830, its lowest since 2003 after 14 consecutive seasons topping 30,000, and six ballparks set record lows. Boras connected the drop to non-competitive clubs: There were three 100-loss teams for the second time since 1985 and the first since a record four in 2002. And there were eight 95-loss teams for the first time in big league history.
Sanchez has surgery: Catcher Gary Sanchez had surgery on his left shoulder Thursday, which could slow him during spring training but is not likely to keep him out of the lineup on opening day.
“His shoulder has bothered him off and on since `17,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Wednesday. “He’s been treated conservatively with it. He had an injection towards the end of17`. He had two in18`. He just resumed workouts and still felt a little bit lingering from it.”