Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez are a lot of things, but being shy about their feelings isn’t one of them.
The SNY broadcasters reminded everyone of that on Wednesday night when the duo called out Florida baseball fans for their lack of support for their teams.
As the Mets played the rubber game of a three-game set with the Marlins, Cohen pointed out the intimate crowd of a reported 12,045 people on hand during the second inning.
“Another sparse crowd. They had just over 10,000 last night,” Cohen said while the camera panned the stands. “With the Marlins competing for a postseason berth, it is ever thus here in Miami.”
The Marlins are a game out of the final NL Wild Card after their 8-3 loss to the Mets on Wednesday.
Hernandez was quick to point out that loanDepot park had seen large crowds during the World Baseball Classic earlier this year.
However, the former Mets first baseman transitioned into explaining how the fans have never shown up for the Marlins over the years.
Gary Cohen speaks at the Mets Hall of Fame Ceremony before the game when the New York Mets played the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at Citi Field in Queens.Robert Sabo for NY Post The Marlins, per ESPN, rank 29th in attendance this year by averaging just over 14,000 per game, which is an improvement from the 11,203 that they averaged last year.
The Mets, in contrast, who are well out of the playoff race, rank 10th in the majors.
In 2003, the last year the Marlins won the World Series, they ranked 28th in attendance.
“It’s the same old here. You have a team that’s fighting for a wild card and there doesn’t seem to be any excitement,” Hernandez said, while the SNY cameras zoomed in on rather uninspired fans in the small crowd.
“As a player, I guess you come to terms with it. What else can you do?”
But the Marlins weren’t the only Florida ball club that Cohen took aim at.
Keith Hernandez noted the team’s low attendance figures as well.Corey Sipkin for NY Post “Well Tampa Bay deals with that every year,” he said. “They’re in the race virtually every season. Their crowds are terrible and they use that to their advantage. They dig into it.”
The Rays have also struggled to get fans in the door, and this season, they have averaged 17,743 fans at Tropicana Field despite already having locked down a playoff berth.
