Teeter: If you build it …: The Blue Jays’ huge attendance boost

From Chris Teeter at Beyond the Box Score on September 24, 2015:

On July 28th, the Toronto Blue Jays were in fourth place in the American League East with a 50-51 record, eight games behind the New York Yankees. According to FanGraphs their odds of making the playoffs were 35.9 percent (37.3 at Baseball Prospectus). Good, but not great.

All told it looked like another season of promise was heading down the same track that Jays fans have seen season-in and season-out for years. Attendance numbers demonstrated fans reluctance to buy into the 2015 version. To that point the Jays were averaging 28,938 (20th in baseball) fans per game at home, down from their 2014 and 2013 averages. Then, the Troy Tulowitzki trade was announced and three days later, on Trade Deadline day, the David Price and Ben Revere moves were made.

The addition of the new players made the Jays first playoff berth in 22 years seem possible. Playoff simulations agreed, as the combination of a refined roster and three wins (between the 28th and 31st) increased the Jays playoff odds by 18.9 percent. Since then they have gone 33-14, outscoring their opponents by 109 runs, and pushing their playoff odds to 100 percent. That 45.2 increase in playoff odds is the fourth highest increase over that time-frame (July 31 to September 23), trailing only the Rangers, Mets, and Cubs.

With the increased likelihood of postseason play happening in Toronto came an increase in attendance. For instance, the games in the Jays’ series with the Yankees this week the Rogers Centre hosted 47,648, 47,992, and 48,056 fans.

Read the full article here: http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2015/9/24/9389641/blue-jays-huge-attendance-boost-winning-trade-deadline-tulowitzki-david-price-yankees



Originally published: September 25, 2015. Last Updated: September 25, 2015.