Tuesday, October 05, 1999
Reds' sellout a long time coming
54,621 fans pack Cinergy for extra game
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
It took Reds fans six months and 163 games, but they finally jumped on the bandwagon.
The Reds, who had only two sellouts — Opening Day and a Saturday night game against Cleveland — in their 81 regularly scheduled home dates this season, sold out Monday's one-game playoff against the Mets in 71/2 hours. Attendance, including standing-room tickets, was 54,621.
Tickets for the showdown with the Mets went on sale at 7 a.m. Monday. By 2:30 p.m., the 52,000 seats had been sold (season-ticket holders already had tickets in their season book), and standing-room-only tickets were put on sale.
“It's unbelievable,” General Manager Jim Bowden said. “They went fast. It tells you what a great baseball town this is.”
The fans were vocal. Though many fans continued to stream in as game time approached, those who got there early cheered loudly when former Red Joe Morgan, broadcasting the game for ESPN, trotted on the field, and they booed lustily when the Mets came out to stretch.
Some fans got out of hand. Play was held up three times because fans ran onto the field.
“It's like Opening Day,” catcher Eddie Taubensee said. “Big hoopla. Now it's the same thing. End of the year. We're going to need their support.”
Remember, this is the town that didn't sell out playoff games against the Dodgers and Braves in 1995.
Monday's quick sellout was ironic, because the very team the fans came out to support may not come back intact next year because poorer-than-hoped attendance numbers this season may force the Reds to keep their payroll low.
“There's a reason to come out,” center fielder Jeffrey Hammonds said. “Now's the time we need them. We needed them all year, but at the end of the season, we made believers.”
While the Reds topped the 2 million mark in attendance for the first time since 1993, attendance figures were one of the main stories of this season even as the Reds hovered near first place from June on. Attendance picked up in the weekend's final homestand against St.Louis — with crowds at 37,000, 39,000, 44,000 and 29,000 — but the team averaged 24,873 for its 81 home dates.
“It's going to help us,” Bowden said of the sellout's impact on the players. “You saw what it did in the Cardinals series when we swept (four games). It's a big advantage.”
Dmitri Young excitedly told Sean Casey about the sellout when they saw each other in the clubhouse early in the afternoon.
For the time being, at least, it gives the Reds the feeling this is their town again.
“It's a great thing, a great thing for Cincinnati,” Hammonds said. “Baseball's back here.”
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