OT: Toronto Blue Jays

[VanillaCoke]

Didn't take a genius to guess but I was right.

 

[beenhereandthere]

The # of Jays fans that come down from the Lower Mainland, for Mariner games, should show MLB that Vancouver is a clear candidate for the next round of MLB expansion, especially if it's an NL Team.

 

[MS]

The # of Jays fans that come down from the Lower Mainland, for Mariner games, should show MLB that Vancouver is a clear candidate for the next round of MLB expansion, especially if it's an NL Team.

I really, really have my doubts that this market could sell 30 000 tickets for a baseball game 81 times in a summer. Doubly so given the stadium situation. If you had an 'event' trendy new waterfront stadium, maybe (but I'd still be really dubious), but no way in hell with BC Place.

 

[nameless1]

The # of Jays fans that come down from the Lower Mainland, for Mariner games, should show MLB that Vancouver is a clear candidate for the next round of MLB expansion, especially if it's an NL Team.

Vancouver...
With about 660,000 people...
Is just way too small to sustain a ball club.
You cannot base the argument on one series...
Where Canada's lone team plays another team that has a strong Canadian fanbase mainly due to proximity.
I think this current fan interest is really due to the Jays' marketing department...
Because before the team emphasized that it is Canada's lone team...
And called itself Canada's team...
People here cared a lot less about the Jays.
I got a buddy who absolutely hates the Jays.


I checked past records to verify my point.
In 2011...
The attendance for a Jays-M's game ranged was approximately 27000, 23000, and 26500 for a three-game series...
While in 2013...
It jumped to about 32000, 28000 and 34800.
Both series also happened during the week...
So they are fair comparisons.

Sure...
The hypothetical Vancouver team will get big crowds if the M's or Blue Jays come into town...
But will people here do the same for other teams?
I highly doubt it.
It is the same problem that plagues other teams...
But they have larger populations to cover the loss of interest.

Take Montreal for example.
Sure...
Ultimately...
They got screwed out of a team...
But the city has a far larger population...
And it too can barely sustain a ball club.
Attendance dropped to about 7000 at one point in its late history.

Plus...
If the league does put the team in the NL...
Like you suggested...
Then you can basically say goodbye to frequent visits from these AL teams...
Who will be the biggest draws.

I would love a baseball team in Vancouver...
But I have to be realistic about it.
The team will fold or relocate in less than 5 years if the city somehow got a team.
It just would not work unfortunately.

 

[BobbyJazzLegs]

I knew Seattle would pump us

 

[beenhereandthere]

Vancouver...
With about 660,000 people...
Is just way too small to sustain a ball club.
You cannot base the argument on one series...
Where Canada's lone team plays another team that has a strong Canadian fanbase mainly due to proximity.
I think this current fan interest is really due to the Jays' marketing department...
Because before the team emphasized that it is Canada's lone team...
And called itself Canada's team...
People here cared a lot less about the Jays.
I got a buddy who absolutely hates the Jays.


I checked past records to verify my point.
In 2011...
The attendance for a Jays-M's game ranged was approximately 27000, 23000, and 26500 for a three-game series...
While in 2013...
It jumped to about 32000, 28000 and 34800.
Both series also happened during the week...
So they are fair comparisons.

Sure...
The hypothetical Vancouver team will get big crowds if the M's or Blue Jays come into town...
But will people here do the same for other teams?
I highly doubt it.
It is the same problem that plagues other teams...
But they have larger populations to cover the loss of interest.

Take Montreal for example.
Sure...
Ultimately...
They got screwed out of a team...
But the city has a far larger population...
And it too can barely sustain a ball club.
Attendance dropped to about 7000 at one point in its late history.

Plus...
If the league does put the team in the NL...
Like you suggested...
Then you can basically say goodbye to frequent visits from these AL teams...
Who will be the biggest draws.

I would love a baseball team in Vancouver...
But I have to be realistic about it.
The team will fold or relocate in less than 5 years if the city somehow got a team.
It just would not work unfortunately.

Montreal and Vancouver are very different towns, with most US Western Towns being more like Vancouver than Montreal is.
I mentioned NL, since, you'd give reason for fans in the Seattle area, to come up to see teams, that the Mariners wouldn't face.
Yea, 30k per game, may be a little stretch, but, I don't think 25k is impossible, that's what the Mariners are doing now and they're not an unhealthy franchise at all.
The Blue Jays need to stop and realize that Montreal and Vancouver, have more people area wise (each, especially Montreal), than 35% of the current MLB towns and stop hogging up a whole country.
This sums up some more reasons.
http://sportsbusinesscanada.com/should-canada-get-another-mlb-team/

 

[nameless1]

Montreal and Vancouver are very different towns, with most US Western Towns being more like Vancouver than Montreal is.
I mentioned NL, since, you'd give reason for fans in the Seattle area, to come up to see teams, that the Mariners wouldn't face.
Yea, 30k per game, may be a little stretch, but, I don't think 25k is impossible, that's what the Mariners are doing now and they're not an unhealthy franchise at all.
The Blue Jays need to stop and realize that Montreal and Vancouver, have more people area wise (each, especially Montreal), than 35% of the current MLB towns and stop hogging up a whole country.
This sums up some more reasons.
http://sportsbusinesscanada.com/should-canada-get-another-mlb-team/

In all of Vancouver...
How many people are baseball fans?
Sure...
Many play softball...
And the Seattle attendance is encouraging...
But I find it really hard to talk about baseball here.
Most people just do not care that much about it.
If Vancouver does get a team...
I think the team would get about 15,000 people...
On a good day.
I think the average will be around 12,000 to 13,000...
But probably closer to 10,000.

Montreal had decent attendance before.
Then they started to lose...
And ultimately...
The 1994 strike did them in.
In the end...
Montrealers still stuck with the team for almost 25 years.
How long...
Do you think...
Vancouver fans will stay with the team...
Especially when it loses badly...
As often the case with expansion teams?
Based on the Vancouver Grizzlies experiment...
And the notorious fickle nature of the people here...
I would say that it will be less than 3 years.

I looked at the articles...
And I saw the baseball cities it listed with fewer population than Vancouver:
Cleveland, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Kansas City.
The thing is...
Each of them has a distinct advantage over Vancouver.
Cleveland loves their sports team...
And the people there will stick with them...
No matter how much they suck.
The Indians are basically an institution there.
The Cards has a storied history...
Great players in its past...
And sustained success...
Especially in the last 20 years.
The Pirates has its problems...
But it too has a storied history...
And the revenue sharing system saved the team.
The Reds has over 130 years of history...
No fan can forget The Big Red Machine in the late 60s and 70s...
And really...
It is the only viable sports entertainment in Cincinnati.
Finally...
The Royals had great success in the 70s and 80s...
And even when it fell on hard times...
Fans there truly appreciate the team.

Ultimately...
Baseball is called the American Pastime for a reason...
As it is deeply ingrained into the culture there...
And it will always has fans...
No matter how remote...
And small...
The city is.
That is not the case here in Vancouver...
Unfortunately.
The article listed the large Asian culture here...
But really...
Only the Japanese, Koreans and Taiwanese people are fans.
The majority of the Asian people here can care less about baseball.
The countries that are fans of the sport also only comes out in droves when there is a countryman on the field.

That article is too superficial.
It never really scratch beyond the surface.
Regardless...
I would not hold too much hope for a team.
Vancouver has way too many issues.

 

[DennisReynolds]

Cursed

 

[nameless1]

Cursed

Yep.
Still...
I much rather have all the bad omens out of the way before the season starts...
Because there is still ample time to get replacements in place.
It also gives potential replacement players extra playing time...
So they will be ready for the season.

Plus...
These injuries may be a blessing in disguise...
Because I feel that expectations are way too high this year...
Despite major holes in the roster...
And the team could have struggled...
Even before all the injuries hit.
I think it is best for the expectations to be low...
So that the fickle media...
And fans...
Will not turn on the team as fast...
And give the team extra pressure to perform.