At 4:08 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, the first pitch of the seventh home playoff game at Camden Yards since the turn of the century crossed home plate. It was a temperate, muggy afternoon, but the ballpark stands looked more like an unfinished puzzle.
Kate Masters, 54, leaned forward in her seat. She lifted her pointer finger, revealing the bright orange painted nails of a lifelong Orioles fan. “It’s embarrassing,” she said.
There were 10 or so empty seats in front of her at the time. Masters and her husband, John Cecil, season-ticket holders from Catonsville, were befuddled surveying Camden Yards for Game 1 of the American League wild-card series seeing pockets of empty seats.
The ballpark eventually filled in to an announced attendance of 41,506 but didn’t quite feel so full in the 1-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals, which dropped Baltimore a game behind in the best-of-three series.
“We were ready for a super crowd,” Cecil said. “We’d been here for the playoffs before like in [2014] when it was — you couldn’t sit the entire game. You had to stand. It should be like that.”
Camden Yards sold out eight times this season, including opening day, a three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies infiltrated by opposing fans and the regular-season home finale against the Tigers on Sept. 22. The Orioles still rank in the bottom half of Major League Baseball teams in terms of attendance, finishing with 2.28 million regular-season fans. That is, however, a 17.8% uptick from 2023 (third-highest in MLB), a season that — based on energy alone — peaked come playoff time.
Excitement and anticipation burst from the seams at last year’s American League Division Series, which boasted a combined 92,925 fans on a Saturday (46,450) and Sunday (46,475) — both sellouts against the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers. “Last year was a little bit more electric,” said Kim Torres, who watched both losses from the third-base side.
Torres came to Tuesday’s game with her son. They’re both Nationals fans living in Washington with a soft spot for the Orioles. He’s 19 and watched from the flag court. She’s 62 and, looking to get off her feet, escaped to the very top row of Section 382 in left field, where she had nearly an entire section to herself.
Tickets as cheap as $15 on SeatGeek for a playoff game at Camden Yards pic.twitter.com/JXWDPzp9ow
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) October 1, 2024
Ticket complications didn’t help. Fans took to social media to voice their frustration, many having bought high on the Orioles website before seeing prices plummet on the secondary market the morning of. Secondary sellers StubHub and SeatGeek offered seats as cheap as $10 or $20 on Tuesday, which is out of the team’s control but no less of a point of frustration.
“I’m someone who is invested in the franchise and I effectively bought tickets at the highest price,” said Mike Hoyle, a season-ticket holder of the last 12 years from Essex.
When Orioles ace Corbin Burnes delivered the game’s opening pitch, Torres’ initial thought wasn’t one of dissatisfaction or ire. She offered a more glass-half-full vantage point.
Orioles vs. Royals in Game 1 of AL wild-card series | PHOTOS
“I think with the weather, this is more than we anticipated,” she said, having seen the tarp laid down twice before the game started. “We’ve been here since 1:30. It’s packed compared to 1:30. A lot of people showed up. The weather’s nasty, it’s chilly and it’s a Tuesday.”
The Orioles officially clinched a playoff berth on the evening of Sept. 24. They weren’t completely certain to host this series until Friday. And Sunday night, MLB announced official start times for Tuesday, Wednesday and, if-needed, Thursday’s win or go home.
That’s a quick turnaround time for many to adjust their schedules before a day game. It’s a stark contrast to last year’s mid-September clinch and weeklong planning for a weekend evening series.
Ron Legler was fortunate enough to leave work early to get to the ballpark. Not every fan has that luxury. Which is why Legler, 54, pointed over to the entry way as a small contingent of fans bustled through the gates in the second inning.
“A lot of people will maybe come in the fourth or fifth inning after they get off work,” Legler said.
He was right, to an extent. The lower bowl filled in as the pitchers’ duel wore on. Camden Yards rumbled with fans twirling bright orange towels before right fielder Anthony Santander’s at-bat in the eighth inning with two outs and two runners on base. They settled once he grounded out. They futilely reignited with a runner on in the ninth.
But the upper level remained the missing puzzle piece. As long as Torres stayed in her seat, no fans filled in near her. That all could change by Wednesday — an extra day’s notice and a dryer forecast.
“And if they run deep into these playoffs,” Cecil said, “that’s gonna pull people back in.”
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