Giants fail to sell out at home for first time in seven years
Looks like the San Francisco Giants’ even/odd year magic is now impacting the team off the field. For the first time in seven seasons, AT&T Park failed to sell out.
The streak lasted 530 games … well … depending on how you define a true sellout.
The sellout streak officially died tonight after 530 games and nearly seven years. (Unofficially, it died in 2013.)
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) July 18, 2017
Yeah, there might have been some number manipulation in there. That’s not really a surprise, of course, many teams find a way to boost their attendance figures. The only reason it’s a story here is because the Giants had such a long streak.
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The streak started at the end of 2010, according to Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area.
The Giants announced a crowd of 39,538 for their first home game of the second half, ending their sellout streak at 530 regular season games. The streak, which started with the final three games of the 2010 season, was a National League record. The Giants also sold out all 25 postseason games during the run, giving them the second-longest streak in MLB history to Boston’s 820.
As Pavlovic points out, the Giants now have the second-longest sellout streak in baseball history. They had a long way to go to catch the Boston Red Sox. They own the record with 820 sellouts at home. Those numbers may have also been fudged, but we’re not here to judge.
Following Monday’s game, the Giants decided to thank the “best fans in baseball” for their dedication over the past seven seasons.
530 consecutive sellouts: the longest streak in NL history. An incredible accomplishment thanks to the best fans in baseball.#SFGiants pic.twitter.com/KKnWrTYprK
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) July 18, 2017
It’s not hard to figure out why the streak ended this season. At 35-58, the Giants have the second-worst record in baseball. Madison Bumgarner missed a lot of time after a dirt bike accident, which may have turned fans away initially. The team’s performance after that hasn’t exactly lured them back.
That continued Monday, as the team lost 5-3 to the Cleveland Indians.
The end of the streak is nothing to be ashamed of, though. The Giants currently rank third in the majors in attendance, behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals, according to Pavlovic. They are averaging over 41,000 fans per game this year, which is impressive.
With that type of performance, we would normally say they can start a new streak tomorrow. But given how poorly the team has played this season, they may want to wait to start fresh in 2018. Both on the field and in the stands.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
