Padres News: Bob Melvin Praises Fans After Breaking Franchise Attendance Record
Entering the season, the San Diego Padres had a ton of buzz around them. They were one of the trendy picks to win it all by most experts after a strong offseason that they had put together.
But winning the offseason and winning in the regular season are two different things. The Padres found that out the hard way this year, and with under two weeks to go in the season, they find themselves in danger of missing the playoffs.
While the team didn’t live up to the hype that surrounded them, they did have the support of their loyal fans all year. The San Diego faithful packed Petco Park all season, and it has led to them breaking their attendance record in franchise history on Monday night.
“With an announced crowd of 42,062, the Padres have now welcomed 3,029,009 fans to Petco Park this year, breaking the previous record set in the ballpark’s inaugural season in 2004. They reached that mark even with five home games left on the calendar -- even with two home dates played in Mexico City.”
It was a cool moment for this organization and a reminder that the fans were there even in the tough times. Having fans like this makes the team want to win even more, and if they can’t turn things around, next season will be another chance to do so.
Manager Bob Melvin spoke highly of the San Diego fans and gave his thoughts on the team breaking the attendance record.
“You walk out on a Monday night, you look up in that far corner in left field, and that kind of tells you what the attendance is going to be,” said manager Bob Melvin. “There’s people there early, and you know it’s going to be another sellout. We broke an attendance record today. That’s been the most consistent part of this season -- the fans showing up.”
Despite the year not having gone the way anyone would have hoped, the Padres can at least feel good about this fact. They have fans who support them all year long, and they are a part of the team that helped break a franchise record.
