When the Tampa Bay Rays took the field against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night with a chance to clinch their second playoff birth in franchise history, the stadium was filled with an embarrassing crowd of 12,466 people. With exception to the Rays, every team in contention, or who have already clinched a playoff birth have fans scalping tickets outside of their team’s stadium because extra tickets are rare to come by. In St. Petersburg, fans can walk up to ticket gates and purchase tickets on the night of any game. Throughout the season, the only games at Tropicana Field that sold out were games against the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and Saturday night games which featured a celebrity concert following the game. The Rays have the best record in the American League at 94-63 and deserve a better fan support. When the Rays clinched their first playoff birth in 2008 against the Minnesota Twins, Tropicana Field was packed with 34,048 fans and sold out the balance of their post-season game. Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles manager, said that the Rays deserve more than 12,000 fans in attendance during their games because they are a great ball club. The Rays will finish their season playing four games versus the Kansas City Royals as they look to clinch their second American League East title in three years. Although Tampa has not received the support they deserved throughout the season, the organization believes that the fans will come out and support their team as they pursue their first World Series title.
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