PHILS HAVE REAL SHOT AT PLAYOFFS 1ST TIME SINCE 2011 — WHY AREN’T THEY SELLING OUT?
By Sally Fahey
Jimmy Rollins hit the nail on the head the other day when he complained that the crowds at Citizens Bank Park are not reflective of an exciting Phils team that has made an incredible run in the pennant race.
The Phillies announced a crowd of 25,444 for yesterday afternoon’s game a day after franchise great and 2007 NL MVP Rollins tweeted there were too many “empty seats” at Citizens Bank Park.
“Where are the sellouts that get the bank rocking and make Philadelphia the best sports town in the world?!!!” he wrote.
Rollins remembers the heyday when the Phillies set an NL-record sellout streak of 257 straight games from 2009 to 2012. But the Phillies haven’t made the playoffs since 2011 — now the longest drought in the NL — played bad baseball for most of the last decade, and must compete against soaring ticket and concession prices.
The Phillies entered 15th in MLB in attendance with 28,703 fans per game.
And they open a three-game series tonight against the Mets at Citi Field in New York.
