Padres Attendance Down in 2016 – How Much?

The Padres have seen attendance dip from this point in 2015 as a result of no major moves and low expectations, but difficult to see in an All Star Game season.

The Padres, according to a tweet by Dennis Lin, have only averaged 27,786 fans per home game this season. That is down from 32,161 through 21 home games in 2015.

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They ended up finishing the 2015 season with 2,459,752 fans, which was 10th of 15 National League teams. That was up 300,000 fans from 2014 but with an average payroll up to nearly $125M from $76M in 2014.

Of course last year new General Manager A.J. Preller had electrified the fan base by making a flurry of moves in his first off-season, bringing in Matt Kemp, James Shields, Wil Myers and more. The Padres were thought by most to be post-season contenders and even through April were holding their own.

However, things failed to coalesce and by the end of June the Padres had fired Bud Black and seemed content to float along the rest of the season. A.J. Preller failed to unload anyone (including Justin Upton) at the trade deadline believing the Padres could still make a run – but they did not.

Now the Padres have been hit hard by injuries but are treading water once again. Alexi Amarista returned from the DL Wednesday and they are hopeful that other keystone infielders Yangervis Solarte and Cory Spangenberg can return in time to bolster the offense. The pitching has overall exceeded expectations despite its own injury issues with Robbie Erlin, Tyson Ross, and now Andrew Cashner.

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Drew Pomeranz is turning in one of the best seasons of anyone in the National League not named Clayton Kershaw. Would you believe Pomeranz has only allowed 28 hits all year while Jake Arrieta has allowed 29? He has also only allowed 10 earned runs in his 8 starts (Arrieta 8) but because Pomeranz is on the Padres and not the loaded Chicago Cubs he is 4-4 while Arrieta is 7-0.

The fans expect the Padres to show they are invested in this team and not what has been seemingly a continuous 5 year plan. Last year seemed different. It was different. It just didn’t work out, and it might have set the franchise back more time than we can know.

Next: Padres Offense Still Struggling

The good news is that the MLB All Star Game comes to town this year and the Padres do have several players that should be considered for inclusion in the Mid-Summer Classic. Certainly the aforementioned Pomeranz. Additionally closer Fernando Rodney is 10-10 in save opportunities and hasn’t allowed a run yet. Matt Kemp is hitting well, though has cooled off considerably of late.

Wil Myers is playing great at first base and hitting well, with Melvin Upton Jr.having a resurgent though probably not All-Star season at the plate and in the field. Reliever Ryan Buchter might grab a late roster addition as well as he and Brandon Maurer have been outstanding at the back end of the bullpen getting to Rodney. While these players are having good years, the wins aren’t coming. Its safe to say until they do the fans won’t come.