Pretty Much No One Attended Today’s Phillies Game
Phillies right fielder Jeff Francoeur hits a double during the fourth inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on October 1, 2015.
In advance of heavy rain predicted ahead of Hurricane Joaquin, the Phillies game was moved to noon today. Since the Phillies have 97 losses and the game was moved just last night, attendance today was small. Very small. It was the smallest attendance in the history of Citizens Bank Park: 13,238.
Of course, that number is not real. Your own eyes can look at photographs and see that literally no one was at this game.
A few security people I bumped into on a walk around the park in the 5th threw the number of "just over 1,200" as the actual turnstile count
— Kevin Cooney (@KevinCooney) October 1, 2015
Or you can ask Phillies beat writer Kevin Cooney, who noted that slightly more than a thousand people attended this game. And to those fans we say: You are true Philadelphia sports fans. You also must work nights.
Fans who attended today’s game actually saw a gem: It ended in a 3-0 Phillies victory that finished a series sweep of the Mets. (They still finished 5-14 against them for the year.) Jerad Eickhoff struck out 10, with just 1 walk in 7 scoreless innings. Eickhoff, acquired in the Cole Hamels trade, went 3-3 with a 2.65 ERA in eight starts for the Phillies this year. He’s only 25!
The Phillies are 62-97 with three games left. If they can win just one game against the Marlins this weekend, they’ll avoid 100 losses. It’s just enough to get you excited about next season a little.
