Red Sox radio announcer gives correct explanation for sparse crowds at Fenway Park

For the first time in years, Boston Red Sox fans who watch home games on TV can consistently see hundreds to thousands of empty seats at Fenway Park.

Fans are frequently seen leaving the park early if the Sox aren't in the game in the late innings, which happens more often than not. Boston is 14-18 at home and 18-13 on the road, and the Red Sox's poor home performances likely aren't helping them keep fans in their seats — or even fill them in the first place.

Red Sox radio announcer Will Flemming explained his perspective on Fenway's vacant seats on the latest episode of MassLive's "Fenway Rundown" podcast. Fans can attest that he's correct.

"I just think, there has been now for some time, the messaging to the fanbase is, 'not now,'" Flemming said to host Sean McAdam. "'We're going to try to compete, we're doing everything we can, but we're still very much in a transitional period.' And I just think people have, sort of, taken that advice."

Red Sox radio announcer Will Flemming perfectly explains why Fenway Park has been so empty

Fans expressed their frustrations with ownership and the state of the team before the season began. Many shared their plans to boycott Fenway Park until John Henry, Tom Werner and co. prove they care about the on-field product instead of the ballpark's marketability.

According to John Couture of Boston.com, the Red Sox's Mother's Day game had the worst attendance for a weekend day game in 19 home dates. Fenway Park reported 29,250 fans attended the game — capacity is 37,755.

Red Sox broadcasts have previously noted that Fenway's reported attendance appears larger than the true number of fans in the stands. Many parks report attendance as ticket sales numbers rather than the number of people who actually go to games to make it seem like the park is more full than it is.

Many of the seats at Fenway have recently been filled by away fans. Now that much of Red Sox Nation won't attend games, away fans don't have to battle local folks for a chance to get "the Fenway experience" that Henry and Werner are hell-bent on selling at the team's expense.

"I sorta view it like a political election, in a way, where these things are determined by 30,000 people in five states," Flemming said. "To me, that's the different between whether Fenway is rocking and a great place to go see a ballgame. . . or whether it's more of a tourist experience."

"You have to be blind to not look around at 6:45 at Fenway Park and see that there are 8-10,000 empty seats most nights."

Low attendance due to ownership's lack of care about the quality of the Red Sox team trotted out every night is getting the attention it rightly deserves. The Red Sox have been one of the most popular teams in baseball for decades and Fenway Park boasted a 794-game sellout streak in the regular season from 2003-2013.

Fans have had it with ownership's attitude toward the Red Sox as a team and they're doing a great job at hitting them where it hurts the most — their wallets.

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