Read the opposing argument from Bleacher Fan and Loyal Homer.
I do not think that ESPN should air anymore highlights of Florida Marlins home runs… it’s just too depressing.
Watching the Florida Marlins hit homeruns into the vast emptiness of the Sun Life Stadium stands is one of the saddest scenes in all of baseball. The stadium consistently seems to be deserted, especially the outfield, and is strangely reminiscent of a Scooby Doo ghost town. (I fully expect someone to yank the head off of the Marlins mascot only to find crotchety old Bud Selig say, “And I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for you kids!)
In fact, the situation reminds me of the Zen question, “If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one there to hear it does it make a sound?” Except, for the Marlins, it goes something like, “If Hanley Ramirez hits a home run and there is no one there to see it does anyone care?” The Marlins attendance is absolutely deplorable. They have ranked among the bottom five teams in all of Major League Baseball in terms of total home attendance since 2001, coming in dead last throughout baseball during the 2006, 2007, and 2008 seasons. Seriously, I bet there are teams with bigger sections reserved for the players’ mistresses than the Marlins could fill with fans. And what has this abysmal fan turnout earned them? Why a new stadium of course.
Don’t worry, you aren’t having a stroke, you actually read that last statement correctly. The Florida Marlins, who can barely get fans to come to the games they have now, are getting rewarded for their failures with a brand new state of the art stadium that will cost approximately $515M. Considering that nearly $360M of the cost will be shouldered by taxpayers, I do not exactly think the Marlins are making great strides toward endearing themselves to the public. There is a thought, while not a guarantee, that building a new stadium will fix the Marlins poor attendance problems. That is like going to the doctor because you are constipated, and the doctor prescribing a fancy new toilet to cure what ails you. That type of logic does not make sense? In the end you are stuck with the same problem and now have a huge expense to afford as well.
I am not buying the Marlin’s lame excuse that frequent rain in Miami hurts their attendance. There are plenty of open air stadiums in poor climate conditions that draw just fine. In fact, the Minnesota Twins just built a $412M open air stadium in snowy Minneapolis, Minnesota. Target Field will no doubt face inclement weather, but the Twins are not using it as an excuse for ticket sales. I think the PR spin doctors trying to sell the Marlins excuse must assume that the public forgets another pro sports team plays in the same town. Over the course of the last several years, the Miami Dolphins have ranked in the middle of the pack in home attendance in the NFL, and they play in the same stadium as the Florida Marlins. Two of those years (2007 and 2008) were the same two years the Marlins ranked dead last in baseball. So, to those of you who say, “Well Miami just isn’t a baseball town,” that only proves why Miami no longer deserves an MLB franchise.
In general, baseball just does not belong in Miami. It seems right within the culture, considering the large Cuban presence in the city and Cuba’s love for baseball, but the franchise struggles nevertheless. The Marlins are a franchise with not one, but two, World Series championships in their 18 year history, and still they have an apathetic fan base. Sure they can fill up the stadium when the pomp and circumstance is rolled out for major events like Opening Day or the postseason, but in majority of the season there seems to be a malaise that overshadows the team.
You cannot really blame Miami for rejecting the Florida National League franchise because it seems every Marlin who dons a black and teal uniform heads for open waters sooner or later. After Florida won its first World Series in 1997, then-owner Wayne Huizenga immediately dismantled the team in a fire sale of epic proportions. The next season their record dropped to an MLB worst 54-108. Not exactly what a burgeoning team’s fan base wants to see. The policy of letting the club’s best players leave via trade and free agency has reeked havoc on fan morale. Watching players like Josh Beckett, Miguel Cabrera, Carl Pavano, Gary Sheffield, and Mike Lowell get reeled in by big market teams seems to only make that much harder to pull for the Marlins.
Its’ time for MLB to cut bait. Just on general principle alone, Selig should strip Miami of the team. Now I am well aware that will never happen what with the billions of dollars that will change hands after interest is figured into the building of the $515M stadium, but it should. Watching the Marlins struggle is as sad as well… like watching a fish out of water. Let the team move to place where they will be appreciated. Previous suitors once lined up to make a pitch for the relocation of the Marlins, topping the list were Las Vegas, Nevada and Charlotte, North Carolina. Maybe the Marlins can come to Charlotte, North Carolina and be the Carolina Catfish, or maybe they can travel to Southern California and be the Baja Barracuda, but for now, anywhere but Miami would be better for baseball.
