Tommy Pham believes his remarks in December about the Rays lacking a fan base and possibly needing to move were "sensationalized" by the media, but he's standing by what he said.
He isn't concerned about how the fans who do come to Tropicana Field react to that assessment, either.
"No, not at all,'' the outfielder said Saturday at the team's FanFest, according to the Tampa Bay Times. "Granted, you know the truth hurts. But like I said (earlier in my media session), I am appreciative of the fans we do have."
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Tampa Bay was next to last in the majors last season with 14,259 tickets sold per game (according to Baseball-reference.com) and is perennially near the bottom in attendance. The Marlins, who reported turnstile counts rather than ticket sales, were last.
The Rays responded by reducing seating capacity at the Trop to approximately 26,000, the smallest in MLB. Single-game tickets will be as low as $15 or $20, depending on the opponent and/or the day of the week. Fans can also get in for $7.11 on Fridays as part of an ongoing promotion with 7-Eleven.
Pham is hopeful that a strong season will bring more people out to the park. The Rays got hot after he joined the club July 31 in a trade with the Cardinals and reached 90 wins, but they were never a serious threat for an American League wild-card berth, finishing seven games behind the A's.
"When you’re a team of our caliber it would be nice — because I do envision us winning — to have more fan support at our games," Pham said, per the Times.
