The leaders in attendance are the Phillies, with nearly 45,000 butts in the seats for every game. Cleveland is within a hair of slipping below 17,000.
In 2011, Cleveland was in 25th place, out of the 30 major league teams, with 22,726 fans/game.
In 2010, Cleveland was last, with 17,435/game (the Yankees were first with 46,491).
In 2009, Cleveland was in 25th place.
In 2008, Cleveland was in 22nd place.
In 2007, Cleveland was in 21st place.
It would be nice if it were possible for someone to make a connection between the name/logo and low attendance, and could show the ball club's owners that the inherent racism associated with the team was costing them revenue. Or at least convince them that a name change and an associated marketing campaign, highlighting the high road they were taking, might be to their benefit.
As regards that high road, it would be typical corporate bullshit, but we'd just have to let them get by with it and, actually, hope it were successful, and their attendance increased. I mean it would be hard for them to stake a claim to high mindedness on this issue, since the club as been in existence since forever. But we could collectively hold our noses and let them project their illusion.
A curious aside: Cleveland's ballpark is named "Progressive Field."
I was fascinated to go to the team website and find a video of their Neanderthal-appearing owner awkwardly reading a statement about the club's commitment to diversity. They also have the following statement on their website.
The Cleveland Indians are committed to developing and maintaining an environment that embraces diversity. We seek to attract, develop, and retain a diverse workforce that brings a broad range of perspectives and experiences to our company. Through supporting an inclusive work environment, we strive to recognize and value the distinctiveness of each employee and to take full advantage of those differences to encourage creativity and innovation, to improve our productivity, while cultivating our acceptance and respect for each other and our communities.
To further this commitment, in the Spirit of Larry Doby, the first African American in American League history and who later was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a Cleveland Indian, we are dedicated to the process that diverse job candidates are considered for every position we post. We are committed to finding and hiring the best qualified candidates for each and every position...in the Spirit of Larry Doby.
Talk about corporate bullshit.
If anyone were interested in letting the Cleveland Baseball Club know that this seems mildly hypocritical, the site to go is here.
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