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Even if the Phillies eventually improve, no guarantee fans will return

John Weber saw something more than nearly 30,000 empty blue seats when he surveyed Citizens Bank Park during the Phillies' tedious, 9-1 loss to the Miami Marlins on Thursday afternoon. The man in charge of ballpark ticket sales also saw the past, and it jarred pleasant memories.

Will the fans return following a Phillies rebuild? (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer).
Will the fans return following a Phillies rebuild? (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer).Read more

John Weber saw something more than nearly 30,000 empty blue seats when he surveyed Citizens Bank Park during the Phillies' tedious, 9-1 loss to the Miami Marlins on Thursday afternoon. The man in charge of ballpark ticket sales also saw the past, and it jarred pleasant memories.

"How amazing was it that we sold out 257 straight games and our fans came out on days like this one?" Weber said Friday during a telephone interview. "They supported us on so many days like that, and I give them all the credit in the world."

The conditions were raw Thursday. The game-time temperature was 49 degrees, and strong winds created one of those unpleasant April chills. That, combined with the raw baseball being played by the 2015 Phillies, made the South Philadelphia ballpark about as attractive as its new "Triple Triple" nine-patty burger after you just digested a 24-ounce porterhouse steak.

All signals said stay away Thursday, and only 17,097 fans did not heed the warnings. It was the smallest crowd in the 12-year history of Citizens Bank Park, and that dubious record is likely to fall again before we reach the faraway finish line of this season. Weber said season-ticket sales are at 12,500, which is down 15,000 from the height of the club's attendance explosion of a few years ago.

The Phillies set an attendance record with 3,777,322 fans in 2010 and ranked fifth or better in baseball every year from 2008 through 2012. Last season, however, they drew just 2,423,852 fans, the lowest total in CBP history. That unwanted mark is going to fall, again, in 2015.

Weber, who has worked in the Phillies ticket department since 1987, is an optimist by nature, and he believes these difficult times for the ball club will pass and the sellout crowds will return. In the meantime, it is the job of the ballpark employees to continue to make Citizens Bank Park a fan-friendly experience.

"I think our fans understand what we're trying to do," Weber said. "We're trying to get younger, and it's not going to happen overnight, but Citizens Bank Park is still a great place to come see a ball game, especially once the weather starts warming up.

"Am I worried? Sure. Any time attendance decreases you are worried, but I have confidence that our fan base will return. We all know how important wins and losses are."

History tells us that Phillies attendance has almost always been about wins and losses. Few cities have a fan base that would allow for an increase of nearly 15,000 per game, the way attendance jumped at Veterans Stadium when the 1993 team went from worst to first in the National League East. It was the first time the Phillies drew more than three million fans, a figure they have eclipsed in eight of 11 seasons at CBP.

Even if you want to call Phillies fans bandwagon jumpers, they jump in higher numbers than most places. Washington, for example, won its first division title in 2012, but drew only 2.37 million that season. The Nats still have not drawn more than 2.73 million in a season, and that happened in the first year after the franchise moved from Montreal.

The Atlanta Braves, meanwhile, won 14 straight division titles from 1991 through 2005 and have also been to the playoffs three times in the last five years, but their yearly attendance has stagnated between 2.3 million and 2.7 million over the last 13 years. They have opted to move to the suburbs, even though Turner Field is only 19 years old.

There are tales all over baseball about how difficult it can be to regain the fan base once you lose it. The best example is in Cleveland. When Charlie Manuel worked for the Indians as a hitting instructor and manager, the good teams and good times rolled. The team ranked fourth or higher in attendance every year from 1995 through 2001 and sold out what was then known as Jacobs Field 455 straight times.

Since 2003, however, the Indians have not ranked higher than 22d in attendance even though they put together 90-win seasons in 2005, 2007, and 2013. The Indians have been last or next to last in attendance four of the last five years. The prevailing opinion seems to be that the fans in Cleveland do not show up because they have a real disdain for owner Larry Dolan, who purchased the Indians in 2000.

We have seen that in Philadelphia with the Phillies in the past. Nasty adjectives used to precede Bill Giles' name, and some of them remained in place long after he had relinquished the day-to-day duties of running the team. We are beginning to see the same thing with the current ownership group. Even though John Middleton and Jim and Pete Buck remain mostly invisible as they gain a greater percentage of the franchise, there is a growing impatience among the fans that is mostly fueled by general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.'s continued presence.

A lot of things are likely to change between now and that time when the Phillies are good again. The man in charge of ticket sales has enough faith in the fans to believe that the large crowds and the wonderful must-be-there atmosphere will return along with that winning feeling.

Look around baseball, however, and you will see that there are no guarantees.

@brookob