Chicago White Sox fans react to having MLB’s largest attendance drop-off this season: "They’ve earned it" "Sick of this franchise"
It's been another disappointing season for the Chicago White Sox thus far, but the team is leading the league in one statistic.
The White Sox are tops in MLB for declining attendance. Chicago is down 134,477 fans from this point last season, a difference of 5,379 fewer fans per game through 25 home dates.
Neither team in the Windy City is putting up results to be desired. The White Sox are 21-30, while the Chicago Cubs are 21-26. In a city long known for underachieving baseball, the southsiders are driving their fans away in droves.
These things fluctuate, of course, but after the Sox's homestand they're showing the biggest year-over-year per-game attendance decline in baseball at -5,379. baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors…
In 2022, the Chicago White Sox were a fashionable pick to win the usually awful American League Central. However, with geriatric manager Tony LaRussa taking in-game naps in the dugout, the team had to rally just to finish .500 and were never a part of the division-winning discussion.
Things were possibly going to be different this year with new manager Pedro Grifol. However, the team tumbled out of the starting gate and have been thankful for the appalling Kansas City Royals for keeping them out of the AL Central cellar.
@jon_greenberg They’ve earned it
Bring back $1 hot dog Wednesdays and we can fix this @whitesox twitter.com/jon_greenberg/…
@jon_greenberg Can’t speak to most fans but I live 2 miles away and I’m not going until they’re over .500. Sick of this franchise. Maybe next season.
However, things seem to be coming around for the Chicago White Sox. After an atrocious start, the White Sox are starting to put things together. The team has won seven of its last 10 games. Even though they are nine games under .500, the White Sox are just 5.5 games out of first place.
Thankfully for Chicago, the team plays in arguably the worst division in baseball – it's a tight race with the National League Central – and the division-leading Minnesota Twins are themselves struggling to stay over .500.
Poor performance, exorbitant dynamic pricing for Hou series, poor weather for TB and Balt Sunday, but back on par for KC series at 20, 24, 24. Will get closer to 27 for Detroit and Miami, should surpass 30 for Boston, but dynamic pricing in lower bowl will keep people out twitter.com/jon_greenberg/…
@jon_greenberg Can't believe standing pat and doing nothing after one of the most disappointing seasons in memory didn't light up the sales lines
Wait you mean people aren't jumping the turnstiles to watch an abuser pitch on a massively underperforming team with a stale management seemingly in no danger of losing their jobs? Wild. twitter.com/jon_greenberg/…
While the White Sox are leading the league in declining attendance, they aren't the only ones to see the turnstiles turning less in 2023. The Cubs are down 3,096 fans over 23 home games, which one could claim was more about the awful April weather in Chicago.
The Colorado Rockies lead the NL in declining attendance. The team's ever-ongoing rebuild is taking its toll on the fan base, who are showing up at a rate of 4,152 fewer fans per home game — a total of 99,651 over 24 games.
@jon_greenberg Bad last season, fan-angering offseason, bad start to this season, you couldn't put together a more attendance-killing combo without threatening to move to another city.
Good! Let’s keep it up!!! twitter.com/jon_greenberg/…
#SellTheTeam twitter.com/jon_greenberg/…
There are certain Chicago White Sox fans wh0 will go no matter what. Some people are just caught in a bad romance.
@jon_greenberg I still go 🤦🏼♀️ I still bought the 20-game package. I still root them on. I’ll continue to be one of the lone fans. I shake my head as I leave after a loss, but I…love…them. They’re like that boyfriend I know is bad for me, but I keep going back only to be disappointed again 🤍🖤
Chicago White Sox have reasons for optimism
White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech believes better days are ahead. He told The Athletic:
"We know that we can win this division. Last year, we didn’t live up to our potential. To say the least, we know the kind of team we are. With the stretch that we’re about to finish off, I think we can put ourselves in a good position."
With the AL Central as bad as it is, Kopech might just be right.