I read Jacob Calvin Meyer’s recent article regarding attendance at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and I have some observations I’d like to share (“Orioles end season with best attendance since 2015, but only 19th in MLB,” Sept. 24).
Meyer attempts to compare the O’s attendance numbers with markets of similar size — San Diego and St. Louis. San Diego’s nearest competition lies in Anaheim (95 miles away) and Los Angeles (127 miles away). The Angels and Dodgers franchises have a fan base of at least 25 million people. The distance between St. Louis and Kansas City is 248 miles, and Chicago is 282 miles away. Those are the two cities with Major League Baseball teams closest to St. Louis. The distance from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore is 50 miles. Comparing Baltimore’s attendance with teams in St. Louis and San Diego is definitely skewed.
For starters, the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals have drawn an average of 3 to 4 million fans combined each year over the last eight years from this region. Meyer should compare the Dodgers’ leading attendance at 3.8 million in 2023 from a fan base of about 25 million people with the Orioles and Nationals combined attendance with a fan base of roughly one-fourth of L.A.’s size. He would find those numbers to be eerily similar. Then, according to the actual population numbers, he’d discover that the Washington-Baltimore area has at least double the ravenous fans than those who are contained in L.A.
Finally, St. Louis and San Diego have one thing in common. Both cities have lost NFL franchises (St. Louis has lost the Cardinals and the Rams). San Diego has also lost the Chargers. Both cities have lost NBA franchises (St. Louis lost the Hawks, and San Diego lost the Clippers). San Diego has only the Padres left to satisfy that population’s hunger for major league sports. Plus, San Diego is only a few miles from the Mexican border, which is densely inhabited by rabid baseball fans. In that regard, there is no competition there for the major league sports dollar. St. Louis does have the NHL, but the city’s fans truly support the Cardinals. The Blues are only a wintertime diversion in St. Louis.
If the Orioles want better attendance, they should have free shuttle buses running to and from all parking areas. On July 9, I had to walk almost a mile in each direction in oppressive heat at age 76 to watch the O’s. Since all games are televised and streamed, the O’s will have to do something for their fans other than charge them $17 to park a mile away from the gates and have them trudge through the streets of Baltimore.
I believe Orioles fans are as good as any team’s fans! It’s time for the new ownership group to step up!
— George Hammerbacher, Baltimore
Add your voice: Respond to this piece or other Sun content by submitting your own letter.