In Paul Sullivan’s story suggesting “contracting” Major League Baseball (Tribune, Jan. 14), he spends a lot of time criticizing the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization and the ballpark the team plays in. He goes so far as to say the Tampa Bay area should never have been given a baseball team.
I find it interesting that Sullivan didn’t include Chicago’s very own White Sox in the mix of teams that should be “contracted.” Here’s a team that won 95 games and its division, yet played to a half-empty ballpark much of the season. Their two highest-drawing series were the Cubs and Cardinals. Many could contend the reason they drew so many fans for those two series was because the opponents brought their own fans to Comiskey Park.
Despite the White Sox’s showing in 2000, many people would say that winning influences attendance. Considering the much-maligned Devil Rays only won 69 games, they drew far more fans per win than the White Sox did. Kudos to Tampa Bay. It’s obvious that Chicago cannot support two big-league baseball teams.
