‘We feel that support’: Miami Marlins appreciate having fans back at the ballpark
Sandy Alcantara missed the noise.
The ace of the Miami Marlins’ rotation feeds off the roar of a crowd, no matter the size.
But in 2020, when the Marlins broke their 16-year playoff drought and Alcantara continued his emergence as Miami’s top pitcher, there were no fans in sight. Out of precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MLB played its games in empty ballparks. The only exceptions were the National League Championship Series and World Series at the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Field, when up to 11,500 fans were allowed at each game.
“Last year was hard for me, my teammates and baseball not having fans at the stadium,” Alcantara said toward the end of spring training. “That’s one of the things that made baseball a little sad. We want to hear the fans cry your name and support you. ... This year is going to be better.”
Thursday was already a step in the right direction, with the Marlins hosting fans in socially distanced pods for their 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays to begin the 2021 season at the newly named loanDepot park.
The announced attendance: 7,062, about 19 percent capacity for the 36,742-seat ballpark. The Marlins are capping capacity at about 27 percent for the first three months of the season. According to the Marlins, seats in every available pod were sold but not necessarily every available seat was purchased (for example, a pod of five seats might have had only three tickets sold).
They plan to re-evaluate with hopes of expanding capacity later this season. CEO Derek Jeter also mentioned the possibility of opening the stadium to full capacity by the end of the season.
Even with the reduced crowd, there was a noticeable atmosphere inside the ballpark. A mariachi band played on the concourse in left field. There was a roar with each ball put in play and each strikeout.
“We love it,” Alcantara said. “We feel that support. We need that support, and we feel happy to have them back.”
But that still didn’t bring back the moments missed last year. With fans limited to watching games on TV in 2020 due to COVID-19, they didn’t have the experience to watch the Marlins clinch their first playoff appearance since 2003.
“We knew 2020 was going to be an inflection point for us in terms of the progress on the field, and it was incredibly disappointing to not be able to have fans be here and experienced that with us,” said Adam Jones, the Marlins’ chief revenue officer. “We know when fans are here, and the team is performing and exceeding expectations on the field, that this can be a special place for baseball. Last year, we missed a lot of those moments. We’re pleased that at least in that initial limited form, we’re going to be able to get fans in, and let them be part of this continued progression with us.”
Between then and now, though, the Marlins did what they could to make sure fans were as connected to the team as possible despite not physically being allowed in the ballpark.
They heightened their Twitter and Instagram presence, a task led by by senior associate of social media Sarah Penalver. They had shortstop and de facto team captain Miguel Rojas host an occasional show on their YouTube channel, “The Clubhouse,” in which he interviewed teammates, coaches and front office personnel.
According to data provided by the Marlins:
▪ They had an 87-percent increase in engagement on social media posts in 2020 compared to 2019.
▪ Their online retail sales increased by 15 percent year over year.
▪ Among people 18-34, the Marlins topped all Sinclair regional sports network teams in year-over-year viewership growth with a 1,197-percent increase in 2020.
“When you don’t have tickets sales to look at, views on on videos, traffic to the website, engagement on social became incredibly important to give us validation that the plan and progress is working and that fans are responding,” Jones said. “We want to tell our story. ... We wanted to get Marlins fans behind the scenes, immerse them in the lives of our players and our brands, and let them hear through that authentic voice.”
They heard the Marlins’ voice last year, albeit from a distance.
Now, the Marlins are ready to hear their voice again.
“When you go to a baseball game and you have the fans there, that’s a special type of adrenaline that you have every single night or every single day,” Rojas said. “We’re asking for the fans to bring it this year because we’re going to be prepared and we’re going to be ready for an exciting year.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 7:36 PM.
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