With Irma on Horizon, Smallest Crowd in Tropicana Field History Turns Out to See Rays vs. Twins

It's a pretty shocking crowd for a game between two Wild Card contenders.

As Floridians prepare for Hurricane Irma, just 6,509 fans turned out to Tropicana Field to see the Rays beat the Twins 2-1 on Tuesday night—that's the smallest crowd in Tropicana Field's 20-year history. 

Irma is expected to make landfall in coming days, and it's reasonable to assume that many potential fans didn't make the trip to the ballpark in order to conserve gas. 

With the win, the Rays pulled within two games of the Twins for the second AL Wild Card spot. 

That 6,509 is lowest crowd ever for a #Rays game at the Trop in 20-season history

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) September 6, 2017

Not exactly wild-card fever at the Trop for #Rays and #Twins tonight pic.twitter.com/0qDlrvvPr6

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) September 5, 2017

Florida seems to have other things on its mind than baseball pic.twitter.com/KYGDWp9ilT

— DuckFart Baseball (@JScottButherus) September 5, 2017

Still, seeing an MLB stadium that empty—particularly for a game between two teams still in playoff contention—is jarring, and speaks to the severity of the situation facing Floridians.