It’s bad out there, very bad. I call your attention to a recent column written by Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times when he tells an interesting tale of an afternoon at the ballpark, Frank McCourt style.
The story begins with his son locating tickets on StubHub for a game between the Dodgers and Reds. The price?
$2.55.
Per ticket.
$2.55!
There was no bait-and-switch, it was the gospel truth. A ticket to a Dodger game in the year 2011 could be had for far less than a small order at Starbucks.
Plaschke then outlined the entire experience, which included no traffic near the stadium, no fuss in the parking lot, no lines at concessions or restrooms, and, finally, the fact that he and his two children had an entire section to themselves.
In keeping with the fraudulent nature of the McCourt regime — and doesn’t the word “regime’’ bring to mind notions of evil governments? — the announced attendance for that June 15 matinee was 30,443. The “443’’ was closer to the truth.
This ghost town atmosphere is what Frank McCourt has created in Dodger Stadium.
We are talking about the Los Angeles Dodgers, who, along with the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals, and Cubs are one of the five golden marquee franchises in major league baseball. It took a man with a spectacularly well-developed reverse Midas touch to turn an elite franchise in which the team had drawn in excess of three million fans 24 times in the last 32 years to one in which attendance is down to an official count of 64 percent capacity, which we all know is a lie.
But it’s not just the numbers. The collateral damage to the image of this proud franchise is equally catastrophic. When Frank McCourt (and, I guess we should say, ex-wife, or soon-to-be ex-wife Jamie) bought the team in 2004, the Dodgers, despite some bumbling by Fox, were still held in very high local esteem. There was no question which was the king of local sports franchises. As successful as the Lakers had been in the previous 30 years, everyone would tell you that, sure, they matter, but, good Lord, they’re not the Dodgers, you know?
