By Jarred Walker – In Motion Staff Writer
According to Ballpark Digest, in 2019, 137,570 diehard fans showed up to Jackie Robinson Ballpark to cheer on their Daytona Tortugas.
This statistic was a new record for the team when it came to single-season attendance total. Every game, the stands are packed and the attendance has been increasing every year since the team’s inception in 2015.
In late 2019, out of nowhere, rumors began to swirl that the team would be abolished. With numbers like these, how could that be possible?
Alexander Gaines, longtime fan of the team who goes to about half of the home games each season, was not at all happy with the reports.
“I’m outraged!” said Gaines. “I think it would be an absolutely terrible decision and I know I’m not the only one who thinks that way.”
Gaines was introduced to the team through school like many in the community.
“It was a belly buster event where we would go on Tuesdays and get unlimited hotdogs.”
He went on to explain some of his positive experiences at the games. “I think it’s a great meeting place for the community. I love the all-around atmosphere and it’s so much better than watching a game on TV because there are no commercials. One of my favorite experiences at a game was when one of my really good friends got a chance to go on the field and race the mascot during the seventh-inning stretch. He obliterated him.”
The best possible word to describe going to a Tortugas game is “fun.” Although the main event is the game itself, the number of interactive events going on from start to finish is immense. Whether it be music, food, parties, gatherings, t-shirt tosses, dance-offs or bobblehead giveaways, it really is an experience that caters to all ages.
The team’s assistant general manager, Austin Scher, explained that the rumored potential future doesn’t specifically have to do with the Tortugas team itself.
“It comes down to the Professional Baseball Agreement which is the partnership agreement between Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball allowing franchises like ours to have player development contracts with specific Major League clubs. The Tortugas are associated with the Cincinnati Reds.
“This proposal that Commissioner Rob Manfred has put forth would cut 42 of the 160 affiliated Minor League Baseball teams across the country,” Scher continued. “What it all means is a bit unclear and a bit uncertain. The negotiations between Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball are ongoing.”
Nothing is set in stone.
Scher ended by saying, “We don’t exist without our community. The support that has been shown in Volusia County and central Florida has been nothing short of phenomenal. They have made an extreme impact already.”
Although the future is unclear, this upcoming season is going to happen and it all starts back up on Thursday Apr. 9 at 7:05 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.