When Joe Ross walked off the mound Monday afternoon, unable to escape the fourth inning before he was ultimately charged with seven runs, the strong-lunged, blue-and-orange-clad fans tucked down the left field line let it ring throughout Nationals Park: “Let’s go, Mets! Let’s go, Mets!” It was Labor Day in the nation’s capital, but it could have been any day or night in Flushing.
By the time the Nats backers got into it, the New York Mets led by seven, and it was for a reason that would seem odd to anyone who hasn’t spent the summer here: Gerardo Parra, taking his first at-bat after replacing the injured Adam Eaton, stepped to the plate, and thousands of fans stood, clapped their hands in a chomping motion and swayed to “Baby Shark.” Parra struck out, and they sat back down.
The Nationals, with Monday’s 7-3 loss as a notable exception, have been a wonder to watch for more than three months now. They are increasingly likely to host the National League wild-card game, though with seven games remaining against the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves — whose advantage is now 6½ games — the division title hasn’t quite been decided. They have a current MVP candidate in third baseman Anthony Rendon, a future MVP candidate in outfielder Juan Soto, a Hall of Famer in right-hander Max Scherzer — and a bullpen that keeps eyes glued to the action, even if they’re peeking through cracks in fingers.
What they have right now, too, is a fan base that isn’t reaching for its wallet to push them through this pennant race. Here’s what we know: With Monday’s crowd of 25,329 — which includes all those wearing Mets gear — the Nationals are drawing 27,944 fans per game. Only four teams in the National League — Arizona, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and criminally bad Miami — have fewer people showing up to their games than the scorching-toward-the-postseason Nats. That’s down — and significantly — from last year’s average of 31,230, a 10 percent drop. The Nats are on pace to draw fewer people than in any season since 2011, not only before they had won a division title but before they had so much as had a winning year.
There are so many interesting aspects of this team to dissect. Yet sit at the ballpark on a lovely Labor Day, and it’s hard not to be struck by the atmosphere, the empty seats and sections, and ask, “Does it matter to the team?”
“I think it always matters, especially in games where you feel like you’re behind, or a night game [followed by a] day game and you’re a little tired, that energy that the fans can bring,” shortstop Trea Turner said. “You saw [Mets fans] over there bringing their energy today. I think that’s awesome.”
The crowds at Nationals Park over the remaining 13 home dates won’t determine whether closer Sean Doolittle returns to form or whether Eaton can bounce back from the bruise on the back of his knee that caused him to come out of Monday’s game. But it is a way, albeit from an armchair, to evaluate the health of a franchise, the relationship between fan base and city.