Baseball may be America’s pastime, but not every home crowd has brought the energy. Sometimes, the only thing more depressing than a last-place team is looking around and realizing you could personally high-five every fan in the stadium without breaking a sweat.
Over the years, specific teams have hit legendary lows regarding home attendance. Whether it was bad baseball, bad luck, or just bad vibes, here’s a look at the 15 most pathetic home attendance disasters in MLB history.
15. 2004 Montreal Expos
By the time their final season rolled around, the Expos had all the buzz of a Tuesday night bowling league. Most games felt like being played in a very sad, cold warehouse.
14. 1985 Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates were so bad in 1985 that even the most die-hard fans decided they had better things to do, like stare at a wall. You could practically hear players call for pop flies themselves.
13. 2002 Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Tropicana Field was already weird enough, but throw in a 55-106 team, and it turned into an echo chamber. Rays fans showed up mostly out of a sense of irony and boredom.
12. 1974 Cleveland Indians
When you average fewer than 8,000 fans a game, every night feels like a minor league tryout. The players might as well have personally thanked every person in the stands by name.
11. 2003 Detroit Tigers
A 43-119 record will clear out a ballpark faster than a fire drill. Comerica Park was filled with so much quiet despair, you would think it was hosting a therapy session.
10. 1988 Atlanta Braves
Before the Braves became a dynasty, they played in front of enough people to fit into a crowded Waffle House. Every foul ball into the stands felt like a guaranteed souvenir.
9. 2019 Miami Marlins
Miami is a beautiful city with fantastic weather and zero interest in bad baseball. The Marlins could have hosted games at a local rec field and barely noticed a difference.
8. 1980 Oakland Athletics
The A’s drew such pitiful crowds in 1980 that even the mascot looked like it wanted to quit. The stadium atmosphere had all the excitement of waiting for your oil change.
7. 2001 Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Another year, another sea of empty blue seats at Tropicana. By midseason, fans were getting lonely enough to start conversations with the ushers.
6. 1970 Chicago White Sox
When you’re pulling in fewer than 5,000 fans a game, you’re just hosting a family reunion. The players probably recognized individual season ticket holders by first name.
5. 2004 Kansas City Royals
After a brutal season, the Royals went on a complete disappearing act that left Kauffman Stadium looking abandoned. At times, the home crowd had the energy of an unfortunate farmer’s market.
4. 2018 Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore fans are passionate, but even they have limits, and a 115-loss team tested every last one. Camden Yards looked more like a poorly attended cookout than a ballgame most nights.
3. 2005 Florida Marlins
The Marlins made fire sales an annual tradition, and the fans responded by ghosting them hard. Entire sections of Dolphin Stadium looked like they were being reserved for a haunted house.
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2. 1979 Toronto Blue Jays
Expansion years are supposed to be rough, but Toronto took it to a new level of loneliness. The team could have probably sent handwritten thank-you notes to every fan who showed up.
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1. 2011 Florida Marlins
The Marlins closed out their time at Sun Life Stadium with a spectacular whimper, drawing crowds that could barely fill a high school gym. Watching games that year felt less like MLB and more like a community theater production of “Baseball: The Sad Musical.”
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