The Washington Nationals had a great series against the Marlins. They got their second sweep of the season and looked like a serious, well drilled operation. However, one thing stuck out like a sore thumb when watching the games, nobody was in the crowd. The stadium was awkwardly empty and I want to discuss that.
Sure, there are plenty of factors.
The last two games were the two days after Labor Day, and parents are getting their kids back to school. They were also playing a Marlins team that is not a big draw. When you are a bad team, fans are more likely to show up when you face a team with a bunch of stars like the Dodgers or Mets. Those fanbases also travel well.
With all that being said, the crowds were still insanely light. The announced attendance of 11,190 felt generous. So much so that a fan yelled out “liar” after it was announced. It was a rough visual to say the least.
Sometimes when there are double headers, the first game can be very empty, but I cannot remember a time where Nationals Park looked that bad. It makes me worry about the future of the team. If I were Mark Lerner, I would be frightened by that visual.
With the Commanders on the rise and moving back into DC, could that eat into the Nationals fanbase. Something that helped baseball in DC grow was the fact that the football team was so poorly run that it led fans to dive deeper into other sports. This phenomenon helped the Nats and the Caps greatly. They filled the void that the Dan Snyder regime created.
Now Snyder is gone and Mark Lerner is the owner with a target on his back in the city. This 2025 season was supposed to be a year of growth. However, after a lackluster offseason and a disastrous season, Nationals ownership is getting more heat than it has had in years.
The World Series title gave the Lerner’s and Nationals management some built up good will. While having to blow up that old core was frustrating, fans were mostly understanding. That was an aging team and with a World Series not too long ago, fans were willing to go through a painful but necessary rebuild.
However, this season was proof that the rebuild has failed. At a certain point you go from a rebuilding franchise to a losing franchise. For many fans, this was the year where the Rubicon was crossed. They are angry and drawing fewer than 40,000 fans across three games is proof of that.
Back to that World Series, the Nats really did not get to totally enjoy the fruits of their labor. 2020 was supposed to be a triumphant year where the Nats could soak in their success and campaign as the defending champions. However, the Covid-19 pandemic threw a wrench into those plans.
Of course, fans were not allowed in the stands in the 2020 season. This really killed a lot of the momentum and fan excitement that the World Series created. That showed in the 2021 season as the Nationals finished 12th in the National League in attendance.
The momentum was gone and by July of 2021, the Nats had gone into a rebuild. At that deadline, they traded stars like Trea Turner and Max Scherzer. They also moved complimentary pieces who played a big role in the World Series win like Yan Gomes and Daniel Hudson. That era of Nationals baseball was gone and the fans did not even get a chance to celebrate it.
Despite having a 100 loss season, attendance was not terrible in 2022. They drew just over 25,ooo a game. That ranked 11th in the National League, the same ranking as 2019. The highest the Nationals ever ranked was 5th in the NL in attendance back in 2015.
The last three years, the Nationals have been 13th in the NL in attendance and are drawing just over 24,000 a game this year. With how things are trending, it will likely fall below the 24,000 number by the end of the season.
When the team was really humming, the team drew between 30-32,ooo a night. I really miss those days when we had a lively Nationals Park crowd. The only time you see a packed house these days is when the Savannah Bananas are in town.
The empty stands are good imagery of how far the product has fallen since 2019. I miss the days when Nationals ownership was invested in the team and was doing whatever it took to win. Now the owners are seemingly unwilling to cough up much more than $10 million on any players.
All of this just makes me miss winning baseball. Even after the sweep this week, the vibes just seem dead around this organization. Ownership needs to get control of the situation and solve these problems before it is too late. There was a time where DC did not have baseball and I hope there is never a time like that ever again.
If big changes are not made, the crowds are going to continue to shrink. There needs to be a sense of urgency in this organization. Hopefully the midseason firings are a sign that the urgency is there. The organization is in a tough spot right now and when you do not give the fans a good product, they will not show up.
