How Bad Would MLB Be Without Fans?
Gail Burton/AP
At this point I don’t think anyone knows what to believe as to when we may be able to see Major League Baseball back on our tv’s or what it may be like when it does return. All kinds of possible scenarios have been tossed around from playing games in Japan to playing them in Spring Training facilities, instituting the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues all season long. But one thing almost seems certain, at least for the rest of the 2020 season. And that is baseball games being played in front of no fans.
As big of a baseball fan as I am, I would ALMOST rather the season be canceled than to watch games played in front of no fans. Now, the key word is “almost” because at the end of the day, baseball is better than no baseball. But I couldn’t imagine watching games on tv with no fans present. It would instantly make it feel like a meaningless exhibition game. Or even less than that, because meaningless Spring Training games have plenty of fans, leading to plenty of excitement in the air.
The fans are the aspect of sports that bring the energy to the games. Why do you think games played at Fenway Park or Wrigley Field are way more exciting than games played at Tropicana or at the Marlins new, state of the art stadium? Why is a game at Busch Stadium more exciting to watch on tv than a game at the beautiful PNC Park? It’s because those places draw great attendance. The fans bring the energy and you can certainly feel that energy just from watching the game on tv. And you’ve heard it a thousand times from players of every sport: they feed off the energy from the fans. It mentally gives players an edge which they otherwise wouldn’t have.
ESPN.com
Imagine big in-game situations such as a pitcher in a jam with the bases loaded, two outs, with a one run lead late in the game. It’s a 2-2 count when the pitcher paints a 96 mph fastball on the black and the umpire rings the batter up looking. The pitcher gives a huge fist pump as he storms back to the dugout and the crowd is going crazy as the entire stadium is rocking…wait, the stadium is totally silent because there’s nobody there. How weird and unsatisfying would that be? And it would affect everything else before it as well. The pitcher wouldn’t be nearly as fired up and may not even do the powerful fist pump. The situation, although it was a game-changing situation to begin with, wouldn’t seem as huge as it should be. That would make for a dull baseball game if big situations all game long had no emotional effect.
Lastly, think about all the times the tv camera shows the fans at a baseball game. It’s way more than any other sport. When foul balls are hit into the stands, there will be no one there to make an amazing grab or a humorous attempt at catching it. When a home run is hit, no one will catch it and we won’t be able to see the crowd in the stands celebrate with each other. During big moments such as the one described in the last paragraph, we won’t get the camera shots of nervous and excited fans on their feet, anxiously awaiting the next pitch. And a lot of times, the players with big personalities interact with fans in very entertaining ways. We wouldn’t get any of that.
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Like everyone else, I’m ready for things to get back to normal. I’m ready for sports again and especially baseball. But man, I won’t be nearly as excited about it’s return if there aren’t any fans. Hopefully the warm weather will slow the spread of this thing drastically and let sporting events return the way they are meant to be played, in front of fans. After all, the fans are exactly why sports are played in the first place.
Garett