The Miami Marlins are having one of their best seasons in years, battling for a playoff spot as the final week approaches.
Yet fans have met the team’s resurgence with lukewarm enthusiasm. The Marlins rank next-to-last in MLB attendance this season, drawing just more than 14,000 fans per game.
That lack of enthusiasm became readily apparent to New York Mets SNY announcers Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez as the team played a three-game series in Miami this week. Early in Wednesday night’s game, the pair delivered a pointed observation of the situation.
“Another sparse crowd,” Cohen said, as the SNY camera panned around the LoanDepot Park grandstands. “They had just over 10,000 last night. With the Marlins competing for a postseason berth, it is ever thus here in Miami.”
As the broadcast director cut to a shot of a fan talking on a cell phone, Hernandez continued.
“The same ol’ here … you’ve got a team that’s fighting for a Wild Card and there doesn’t seem to be any excitement,” Hernandez observed.
"Another sparse crowd. They had just over 10,000 last night. With the Marlins competing for a postseason berth, it is ever thus here in Miami."- Gary Cohen
"The same ol' here… a team that's fighting for a Wild Card and there doesn't seem to be any excitement."- Keith Hernandez pic.twitter.com/1Etmw6Zxn8
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 20, 2023
Cohen and Hernandez have never been shy about stating the facts, no matter how painful, and their Marlins fans critique was right on brand.
“As a player, I guess you come to terms with it … what else can you do?” Hernandez said.
Cohen pointed out the Marlins in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays, face the same situation.
“Tampa Bay deals with that every year,” Cohen said. “They’re in the race virtually every season, and their crowds are terrible and they use that to their advantage.”
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.