The 2011 summer collegiate baseball season has come to a close, and our annual Summer Collegiate Top 50 per game average attendance rankings are now available. For the second year in a row, every team in our Top 50 cracked the all-important 1,000 fans per game threshold.
Topping our list again are the Northwoods League’s untouchable Madison Mallards (#1) and LaCrosse Loggers (#2). And just when you thought the Mallards couldn’t possibly go any higher in the attendance department, they renovate the “Duck Pond” in the offseason and increase their numbers this season by several hundred fans per game.
Making a monster jump from #39 in 2010 to #3 this year are the Holyoke Blue Sox from the New England Collegiate Baseball League. We haven’t seen a jump like this since the Madison Mallards leaped from 1,973 fans per game in 2002 to 4,411 in 2003.
The Western Major Baseball League’s Okotoks Dawgs climbed up one spot from last year to #4 on our list with an impressive 2,307 fans per game. By comparison, as of Sunday, the indy pro Edmonton Capitals and Calgary Vipers (North American League) were averaging 1,897 and 1,489 fans per game, respectively. The O’Dawgs are clearly the “Alpha Dogs of Alberta!”
Rounding out the top five are the Fayetteville SwampDogs — the Coastal Plain League’s “Organization of the Year.” The S’Dogs have remained a steady, strong, and consistent performer over the years, and we wouldn’t expect anything less than a top-five ranking.
A very welcome entry into this year’s rankings are the Oneonta Outlaws (#19) from the New York Collegiate Baseball League. It’s great to see baseball alive and well at Oneonta’s Damaschke Field, after the Single-A Oneonta Tigers (New York-Penn League) relocated to Norwich (CT) in 2010. The Outlaws won the NYCBL title this year and broke the league’s single-season attendance record.
This year’s top performing leagues include the Northwoods and Coastal Plain, both with 11 teams in the Top 50, and the Cape Cod League with six (6) teams. The West Coast League also had six (6) teams making the grade, including the previously unranked Corvallis Knights (#35), the second-year Walla Walla Sweets (#22) and Cowlitz Black Bears (#49), and the inaugural Klamath Falls Gems (#46). View rankings here.
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It has to be a team that gives free entry to games due to sponsor buyouts.
Brrrrrr………..
Holyoke pads their attendance in an incredible amount. I was at a few of their games and literally saw 200 people max, and the next day the box score said 2,000
Our hope is that leagues will police their own teams, but we realize this will not always be the case. This goes to a team’s and league’s credibility. That said, we have one team banned from the rankings right now, and we’ll ban more if we find evidence that there is serious padding going on. Fans are encouraged to send photos of grandstands while games are going on, with a date to allow us to compare reporting. We also talk with reporters when we smell a rat. Violators will be called out publicly!
Alan
Who’s the banned team?
As the first team to be busted two years ago, we will cut them slack by keeping the name quiet. However, in the future, we will call teams out. Before the 2012 season kicks off, we will give teams ample warning to keep it honest.
The Coastal Plain league has 11 teams in the top 50, but languishing at the foot of the league attendance ladder are Petersburg, who averaged only 244 per game, down from last years 696.
With the Indians leaving Kinston, could this open up for a CPL team?
The Appy League is really the only “possible” long-term affiliated option for Kinston. The CPL is the best alternative, so it would be no surprise to see Kinston get a relocated or expansion CPL franchise.
Alan
The Coastal Plain League would be a smart move for Kinston. The talent in the Wood Bat Leagues is excellent. Especially with Kinston in the Heart of the ACC, SEC, ECU, etc. I would rate the CPL, Perfect Game Col. League, N.Y.,and the Cape Cod League at the top. The Single A teams are a step below.
Tom