Playoffs can be held at Steinbrenner Field

Now we REALLY need to see the Rays make the postseason, because Rob Manfred has announced that Rays postseason games would in fact be played at their temporary home stadium.

Manfred told the Tampa Bay Times:

Our rule has always been that people play in their home stadiums during the World Series Game…And I’m not of a mind to change that rule. I understand it’s a unique situation. It’s different, but that’s where they’re playing. That’s where they’re going to play their games.

If the Rays were to make the playoffs, it would be a bitter pill for fans and players if their “home” games were moved to Miami or Atlanta, as had been considered.

The Rays have been able to make a minor league stadium work during the regular season, although with some sacrifices. Why not the postseason?

The home clubhouse at Steinbrenner Field, built with major league spring training in mind, is well up to the task of hosting any sort of game, but the visiting clubhouse is much smaller and more pedestrian.

There is much less room for media, which will become problematic in the post season. Postseason also brings with it larger camera crews and already the Rays broadcasts have had to downsize by a few cameras to be able to work in the smaller park.

Then there are, of course, the limited number of seats. MLB controls extra seats in the postseason — Marc Topkin says for the World Series that can be as many as 7,500 — that go to players, celebrities and associated big shots. Considering that Steinbrenner holds under 11,000, that would leave room for perhaps season ticket holders. If a few seats remain after those groups are accommodated they would presumably be sold for many hundreds of dollars.

The limited stadium size would cut into revenue for the owners and the players, as the players postseason share is based on ticket revenue. I’m not sure whether the MLBPA will need to be consulted about this. Perhaps MLB would need to find some other way to compensate players if games are held at such a small stadium.

In other words, playoffs held in Tampa will be a huge, crazy mess and I’m here for it. They play in a cornfield, they play at a Little League stadium, an ALCS in an intimate minor league park could be something memorable.

I hope this happens, and if it does there are ways to make it fun for locals. Have Thunder Alley type entertainment outside Raymond James stadium, show the games on big screens in the stadium and have inexpensive tickets to watch there. Set up big screens in the parking lots and let people watch drive-in style. Lean into watch parties all around the region.

Now I’m getting ahead of myself, there are a few baseball games to win before this becomes a reality.