It's easier to explain baseball's Wild Card races than the Orioles' lack of attendance, so we'll touch on second things first.
There are reasons and there are excuses, but the fact that attendance is a bigger story than the Orioles being four games out of first place in the American League East and holding a one-game lead for the AL's second Wild Card spot, is rather damning evidence. Judging by the crowd for the first game of a pivotal three-game series with the Blue Jays Aug. 29, it would appear the Orioles had a special promotional deal for all those who showed up with passports issued in Canada.
TV ratings for O's games continue to be very strong, but that interest is not reflected in the attendance numbers. We have heard the reasons, all legitimate to a certain extent, but they still don't explain the crowd of less than 16,000 Aug. 29.
