I was worried that the low number of comments on my Nationals posts spoke to their quality. Fortunately, the problem is that no one cares about the team or chooses to watch them on television. The Nationals are last in the league in television viewership with an average of 9,000 households per game. The next lowest team, Kansas City, has an average television audience of 28,000 households. It is really a staggering statistic. It is a testament to the stadium that the team is as high as 16th in the Major Leagues in average attendance, with 29,557 people per game.
Actually, it is amazing that anyone can watch this team at all. The Nationals are 2-8 in their last 10 games and, with a record of 35-58, are officially the worst team in all of baseball. Also, their batting average, OPS, OBP, and Slugging are all the worst in all of baseball. The only bright spot is that with a 4.45 ERA, the Nats’ starting pitching is decidedly mediocre. The reality is that this is a really bad baseball team, and there is no indication that they are going to get better. Any optimism one can muster is killed every time Wily Mo Pena steps on the field.
The only real solution for the suffering baseball fan is to head down and catch the Potomac Nationals. They have a winning record and better promotions. For example, on Friday, July 18, ladies get in for free, the first 1,000 fans get free hats, the kids can run the bases, and NoVA students get $1 tickets. If that isn’t your thing, there is also Belly Buster night and Second Chance nights. It is all pretty great. What’s better, there isn’t even a drop in the quality of play.
The Lerners Refuse to Pay Rent
As it was pointed out in the morning roundup, besides not paying to field a watchable baseball team, the Lerners are also not paying to use the stadium that the team uses to defame the sport. As Thomas Boswell pointed out last month, despite not getting a very big bump in attendance, the Nationals will probably double their revenue this year. This increase in revenue is the result of the “incomplete” stadium. It is also important to remember that the Nationals get a guaranteed payment from MASN, so they are making money despite having only 9,000 households tune in every night. That’s OK, because the owners are “taking no money out of the team for ten years.” One wonders where all this money is going. They aren’t using it to sign their draft picks.
Photo by Flickr user erin m.
