Blue Jays #1 in attendance in American League

[Atothe]

Their*

[CrackerJack]

give Alex the Order of Canada for the excitement that he created for Blue Jays baseball from coast to coast to coast (and among Canadians abroad.)

[John_Havok]

This comment always makes me laugh, Rogers can do whatever they want with their money, if you get a $20k raise a year does that mean I am aloud to tell you to spend $19k of it every year on a higher mortgage or buy a new car asap? Ridiculous.

 

I think this gets brought up more so because any time over past 10 years when the media has posed questions about payroll to the Jays they've always received a stadard answer of " blah blah blah, attendance needs to go up first blah blah blah"

 

Now attendance is the best in the AL, so people want to see the money being reinvested.

 

Of course, people with any education on the business side of baseball know that attendance increases have very little to do with significant revenue increases due to the nature of how baseball teams actually make the majority of their money now, but it's the excuse they've been peddling for a decade, and now they don't have it anymore.

[Abomination]

I think this gets brought up more so because any time over past 10 years when the media has posed questions about payroll to the Jays they've always received a stadard answer of " blah blah blah, attendance needs to go up first blah blah blah"

 

Now attendance is the best in the AL, so people want to see the money being reinvested.

 

Of course, people with any education on the business side of baseball know that attendance increases have very little to do with significant revenue increases due to the nature of how baseball teams actually make the majority of their money now, but it's the excuse they've been peddling for a decade, and now they don't have it anymore.

 

As I mentioned earlier, apparently tv viewership is also up 50%. I don't know what percentage of ads, etc are locked in at fixed prices for the year though.

[Krylian]

Didn't Shapiro and Co just signed a ton of IFAs? I'm confused, that wasn't they're m.o in Cleveland. They're already doing stuff they never did in Cleveland. Please stop with the biases

 

Shapiro was not strong in the IFA market while in Cleveland. This has been documented.

 

Signing a bunch of under $100K guys is nothing to brag about. I'm talking about stepping up and courting the most prolific talent. Shapiro has not done that in his career. AA signed several 7-digit IFA players during his time...a couple of times the highest ranked (Barreto...and arguably Vladdy last year to name a couple). If Shapiro can be up there with the big boys, I'll be impressed.

[John_Havok]

Shapiro was not strong in the IFA market while in Cleveland. This has been documented.

 

Signing a bunch of under $100K guys is nothing to brag about. I'm talking about stepping up and courting the most prolific talent. Shapiro has not done that in his career. AA signed several 7-digit IFA players during his time...a couple of times the highest ranked (Barreto...and arguably Vladdy last year to name a couple). If Shapiro can be up there with the big boys, I'll be impressed.

 

Quite simply, ignoring the iFA market as a source of talent is short sighted and stupid. Any baseball GM worth his or her salt should have a robust international scouting staff and be ready to participate in this area in a meaningful way. Anything less than that and they shouldn't be employed as a GM

[Atothe]

Shapiro was not strong in the IFA market while in Cleveland. This has been documented.

 

Signing a bunch of under $100K guys is nothing to brag about. I'm talking about stepping up and courting the most prolific talent. Shapiro has not done that in his career. AA signed several 7-digit IFA players during his time...a couple of times the highest ranked (Barreto...and arguably Vladdy last year to name a couple). If Shapiro can be up there with the big boys, I'll be impressed.

 

Okay but they couldn't sign anyone over 300k so patience is needed

[MainChromosome]

Shapiro was not strong in the IFA market while in Cleveland. This has been documented.

 

Signing a bunch of under $100K guys is nothing to brag about. I'm talking about stepping up and courting the most prolific talent. Shapiro has not done that in his career. AA signed several 7-digit IFA players during his time...a couple of times the highest ranked (Barreto...and arguably Vladdy last year to name a couple). If Shapiro can be up there with the big boys, I'll be impressed.

 

That says more about the budget they had in Cleveland then anything else.

[John_Havok]

Okay but they couldn't sign anyone over 300k so patience is needed

 

Yes. We won't know for sure what Atkins will really look like in IFA until year...assuming of course an international draft isn't in place by then.

[glory]

A higher payroll would improve the team.... Saying the FO is smart and can win with a lower payroll is not a good reason to have the owners keeping all the fans $.

 

I want the Jays payroll to be as high as it can be, but that doesn't guarantee anything. A payroll increase and then putting the money into the right areas is more important. Payroll is only such a big deal here because the Jays have sucked/been mediocre for so long. A smart front office can work around $150mm.

[Melvin]

I want the Jays payroll to be as high as it can be, but that doesn't guarantee anything. A payroll increase and then putting the money into the right areas is more important. Payroll is only such a big deal here because the Jays have sucked/been mediocre for so long. A smart front office can work around $150mm.

 

I agree, a high payroll doesn't necessarily mean the best for the team. For example if Rogers said spend away do whatever it takes to keep Joey and Edwin on the team it could lead to two brutal long-term deals to go along with Martin and Tulo's anchors. That's not to say that I don't hope their payroll is higher because I think it should be, but it's important that it's spent in the right places and all logic isn't thrown out the door because the Jays are pulling huge crowds.

[Abomination]

I think the biggest thing salary wise is the capability to pay at the deadline with more money rather than better prospects. Put a $150M payroll on the team at the start of the year, but allow it to go to 160 or 170 at the deadline if necessary. Be willing to take on a (shorter term) bad contract paired with a desired player without giving up a stud prospect.

[STLJaysFan]

You know you're getting good attendance when you're getting 40,000+ fans for weeknight games against the San Diego Padres.

[ChrisS]

You know you're getting good attendance when you're getting 40,000+ fans for weeknight games against the San Diego Padres.

 

They averaged ~45000 for the 3 game series vs the Padres

[G-Snarls]

They averaged ~45000 for the 3 game series vs the Padres

 

f*** that's awesome

[Krylian]

Okay but they couldn't sign anyone over 300k so patience is needed

 

I understand and appreciate that. And I'm not judging him based on what he's done here because he was handcuffed. I'm just raising his past performance in the IFA market and am curious if his philosophy will be more in line with what I'm hoping to see, or will he generally discount that market and only be marginally active... Cause I think that would be a mistake

[MainChromosome]

Remember when Alex Rios said baseball is dead in Toronto....

[RealAccountant]

Remember when Alex Rios said baseball is dead in Toronto....

 

It was dead at that point

[RealAccountant]

How things were when AA first took over

 

https://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/2010/04/16/win_and_they_will_come_jays_say_about_dwindling_crowds.html

[MainChromosome]

It was dead at that point

 

No it wasn't.... they were always doing well with TV contracts, and put a decent product on the field fans will show up like most other cities.

 

How things were when AA first took over

 

https://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/2010/04/16/win_and_they_will_come_jays_say_about_dwindling_crowds.html

 

Pretty idiotic comments from Rios and Ozzie as shown buy how well the jays are doing now.

[Dick_Pole]

100% agree but people in this thread are saying 170 and what not. Not sure if they ment specifically for the reasons you mentioned.

 

I bet if Shapiro went to rogers and said that we need 10 mil for a trade at the deadline and would really benefit the team Rogers wouldn't say no. AA always said money was never an issue with Rogers and I really don't see that it was based on who we signed and traded for last year.

 

Rogers is a publicly traded company. With that comes guidance on revenue and net profit figures. That straps the team with respect to short-term cost increases as any miss on net profit is going to have to be explained. In the longer-term there should be a salary increase because revenue is definitely going up. I don't think the Jays are ever going to have a "loose" budget, unless payroll is secretly $160M and the team spends only $140M of it. Who knows, maybe that's what it was under AA/Beeston and then they spent it all like drunken sailors on the Marlins trade and ran out of budget room for contingency plans.

[07collian]

Im from Australia but moved to Toronto early this year and in my travels have been to nearly 100 different stadiums. Rogers centre (or skydome, I've learnt you guys don't love the name) is by far the most easily accessible and comfortable stadium I've been in. I don't know if its the location or the clientele or a combination of a number of things but I understand why its such an attractive option for fans to go watch the game rather than staying home. I wonder how much of this place a factor in the numbers.

[BlueRocky]

If it stays like this then I can't see Rogers' argument against it.

 

 

 

Why not? Strive for as high as possible. As long as they're still making a profit, give Shapiro/Atkins the world of resources.

 

Yeah, their lame exchange rate excuse won't cut it if the Jays make another ALCS appearance (or further)

[King]

Im from Australia but moved to Toronto early this year and in my travels have been to nearly 100 different stadiums. Rogers centre (or skydome, I've learnt you guys don't love the name) is by far the most easily accessible and comfortable stadium I've been in. I don't know if its the location or the clientele or a combination of a number of things but I understand why its such an attractive option for fans to go watch the game rather than staying home. I wonder how much of this place a factor in the numbers.

 

Welcome to the board 07. Follow us on the twitter -->

[Dick_Pole]

Im from Australia but moved to Toronto early this year and in my travels have been to nearly 100 different stadiums. Rogers centre (or skydome, I've learnt you guys don't love the name) is by far the most easily accessible and comfortable stadium I've been in. I don't know if its the location or the clientele or a combination of a number of things but I understand why its such an attractive option for fans to go watch the game rather than staying home. I wonder how much of this place a factor in the numbers.

 

I think this is the first time I've heard someone truly complimentary of the dome to this extent. Outside of the roof being a godsend for April games.

[saskjayfan]

Rogers is a publicly traded company. With that comes guidance on revenue and net profit figures. That straps the team with respect to short-term cost increases as any miss on net profit is going to have to be explained. In the longer-term there should be a salary increase because revenue is definitely going up. I don't think the Jays are ever going to have a "loose" budget, unless payroll is secretly $160M and the team spends only $140M of it. Who knows, maybe that's what it was under AA/Beeston and then they spent it all like drunken sailors on the Marlins trade and ran out of budget room for contingency plans.

 

Our attendance numbers in 2010 were just over 20K per game. We're over 40K per game and leading the AL. We've doubled attendance numbers and tripled tv numbers and that's not counting playoff numbers where sportscentre following games that draw over a million viewers. Winning does bring substantially higher revenues, but you can also spend and fail. There's no guarantee that spending brings winning. See the Yankees. There is a business case for the Blue Jays to increase to the 160+ million dollar level for next year, but time will tell what they do.

[jaysblue]

Im from Australia but moved to Toronto early this year and in my travels have been to nearly 100 different stadiums. Rogers centre (or skydome, I've learnt you guys don't love the name) is by far the most easily accessible and comfortable stadium I've been in. I don't know if its the location or the clientele or a combination of a number of things but I understand why its such an attractive option for fans to go watch the game rather than staying home. I wonder how much of this place a factor in the numbers.

 

Rogers Centre is in a perfect location in comparison to some other ballparks down in the States. For example, Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, Dodger Stadium, Anaheim, Citizen's Bank are in the middle of nowhere and there aren't many things around before/after the games such as bars/restaurants etc. Still, mainly high attendance is due to the teams success on the field more than anything.

[BlueRocky]

Our attendance numbers in 2010 were just over 20K per game. We're over 40K per game and leading the AL. We've doubled attendance numbers and tripled tv numbers and that's not counting playoff numbers where sportscentre following games that draw over a million viewers. Winning does bring substantially higher revenues, but you can also spend and fail. There's no guarantee that spending brings winning. See the Yankees. There is a business case for the Blue Jays to increase to the 160+ million dollar level for next year, but time will tell what they do.

 

If all three of Joey, Edwin, and Saunders walks due to a lack of financial commitment from Rogers I'd be pissed

[CBlake]

Man, great post, brought up a lot of names from days gone by, Randy Ruiz what a 33 game stretch he had, something you can never take away from him.

 

It's interesting when you compare the Jays home attendence from the first 55 home games this year compared to last. They have had 593,728 more people in this stadium in 2016 for an average of 40,276 compared to 29,481 at this time last year. Now as we all know it was not until August last year after the trade deadline that attendance caught fire which helped the Jays finish the season with an average of over 36K. Which was pretty good considering how many mid-teen crowds they had early on last year.

 

 

 

There was a lot of buzz surrounding the team in 2002, with Eric Hinske winning ROY and some young talent breaking through like Josh Phelps, Orlando Hudson, Vernon Wells and Roy Halladay. Things were looking promising.

 

2003: was a good season, and I admit was a fun season to watch. They had a great lineup led by both Delgado and Wells, along with a decent supporting cast. Doc won the Cy Young that season, Escobar looked like he was emerging as a solid SP (sucks he was a FA after). A lot of rookies from 2002 underperformed like Hinske and Phelps unfortunately.

 

2004: was a mess and that was the first season with the new uniforms. Lineup was riddled by injuries, the rotation was awful, all the BP arms JPR brought in imploded, Doc missed a lot of time as well.

 

2005: which looked like it could have been worse (with Delgado leaving a FA) actually wasn't that bad. The 2005 pitching was solid. Doc looked like he was in the best form that season, and a lock for the AL Cy Young, until Kevin Mench. Towers, Chacin and Scott Downs pitched well in the second half after Doc got injured, and the bullpen was solid as well. The lineup was pretty bad though.

 

2006: the Jays had one of the best teams under the JPR regime. They had a huge offseason, bringing in Burnett, Ryan, Glaus, Overbay and Molina. The lineup was stacked in 2006 - Glaus and Wells were kind of reminiscent of Delgado/Wells in 2003. Overbay looked like he was an emerging star, Rios finally had his breakout, Reed Johnson posted a 4.4 WAR and was one of the better leadoff hitters in the AL, Catalanatto had his best season with the Jays as well. Pitching wise, the rotation was a mess: missing Burnett for the first two months was tough, Towers and Chacin couldn't repeat 2005 and were garbage, they didn't have any depth to call upon. Defensively as well, Adams was terrible, and Glaus was a statue at the hot corner.

 

2007: Things weren't that great at the beginning when they had a rotation that consisted of Chacin, Victor Zambrano, Tomo Ohka, John Thompson, Josh Towers for the first two months of the season. BJ Ryan got injured which was a big blow, though they still had a solid BP surprisingly with the emergence of Jeremy Accardo lol. Gotta say, it was fun watching both Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum develop and come into their own as pitchers, which made 2008 look very promising of a rotation featuring Doc, Burnett, McGowan and Marcum. Lineup wise, Rios and Hill both had fantastic years, Frank Thomas was pretty solid people tend to forget, and Matt Stairs came out of nowhere. Injuries played a part as well (Glaus was banged up, Overbay broken wrist, Wells became injury prone, Reed Johnson battled injuries and sucked).

 

2008: the Jays in my opinion this season had the best pitching staff that comes to mind. I always said if they managed to make the postseason, with the way Doc and Burnett were pitching, they could have been dangerous. I was really excited for Opening Day that season: a rotation that featured Doc, a healthy Burnett, McGowan, and Marcum had a lot of promise. The lineup was non-existent however unfortunately (Thomas sucked, they were running out Brad Wilkerson, Shannon Stewart, Kevin Mench, David Eckstein, Rod Barajas). Overbay never returned to form. A big hit was losing McGowan and Marcum to injuries, which didn't make things look that bright for 2009 on the pitching side, especially with Burnett opting out.

 

2009: was a depressing year, with the Doc trade rumours, awful pitching staff. Was fun watching Adam Lind and Aaron Hill with the seasons they had, as well as Marco Scutaro. Jose Bautista had that awesome September, the Jays did get EE and Zach Stewart (who everyone was raving about) for Scott Rolen. And I gotta admit, it was funny how so many posters on here thought Randy Ruiz was the next Babe Ruth lol.

 

The 2000's weren't that bad as many people make them out to be and as a Jays fan, there were some good times and bad times. The Jays played in a tough era, where the AL East was dominated by both the Yankees and the Red Sox. As well, they had some bad luck with injuries and some key players underperform which definitely hindered their success at times. Overall, the fans that say 2015 was their only best year are correct to some extent, though I guess they just became fans and hopped on the bandwagon that summer. I've been following the Jays since the early 2000's, as many other prominent posters on here have, so we've seen the good and the bad. Yes there was some good, though the casuals never flocked the Rogers Centre and never were behind the team. They missed some good baseball (watching Delgado, Wells in his prime, Doc being the best pitcher of the decade), which was their loss. So for us fans who have been following the Jays, the 2015 and 2016 seasons are even more rewarding than it is for casual fans who have just hopped on the bandwagon, as we actually appreciate the current team on the field and the baseball that is being played.

 

Sorry for the long rant, but I hate bandwagon fans who have just hopped on board last season! GO JAYS GO!!!!

[nextyear]

Regarding the Roger Centre, I am amazed at the interior changes over the past 2 years; the concourses looks clean, bright and more modern, the dirt infield and new turf have made a huge improvement on the interior appearance of the stadium.

 

Looking at reviews from tripadvisor, people from the States and other countries seem to enjoy the Rogers Centre experience - https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g155019-d156878-Reviews-Rogers_Centre-Toronto_Ontario.html