The Oakland A’s won on Monday night, increasing their record to 71-48. That’s the fourth-best mark in all of MLB, and at the moment they have a firm grip on a Wild Card and sit just two games behind the heavily favored defending champions in the AL West. And yet, their latest victory over the division rival Mariners was witnessed by only 10,400 spectators.
It’s a tale as old as Oakland baseball, with plenty of background behind it. Outside of a couple brief windows of popularity, the A’s are notorious for not drawing big crowds to their games.