The Tampa Bay Rays made history on Tuesday night when they hosted the Oakland Athletics in the American League Wild Card game. The game was the first ever postseason game to be hosted at Tropicana Field, and it was also the first time since the 1919 World Series that an MLB postseason game had an attendance of less than 20,000.
The Rays announced an attendance of 19,704 for the game, which was the lowest attendance for an MLB postseason game since the 1919 World Series. The previous low was set in the 2006 World Series when the Detroit Tigers hosted the St. Louis Cardinals with an attendance of 21,452.
The low attendance at the Rays’ Wild Card opener was due to a combination of factors. First, the Rays have struggled to draw fans to their games throughout the season, ranking 28th out of 30 teams in attendance. Second, the game was held on a Tuesday night, which is traditionally a slow night for baseball attendance. Finally, the game was held in Tampa, which is not a traditional baseball city and does not have the same level of fan support as some of the larger markets.
Despite the low attendance, the Rays put on a show for their fans. The team scored three runs in the first inning and held on for a 5-1 victory over the Athletics. The win marked the first time in franchise history that the Rays have won a postseason game.
The Rays will now move on to face the Houston Astros in the American League Division Series. While it is unlikely that the team will be able to draw more than 19,704 fans to their games, they will certainly be hoping to make some noise and make a deep run in the playoffs.
