Published: July 10, 2009 08:02 am      

There should be more fans than bobbleheads

ONEONTA _ Shame on you, Oneonta.

With one more chance to thank Sam Nader and Sid Levine for everything they've done for this city _ and get a nifty bobblehead of each at the same time _ you dropped the ball.

Baseball in this city is taken for granted. It always has been.

So it shouldn't have surprised me Monday when the Oneonta Tigers announced that 691 fans attended Sam Nader Bobblehead Night. But it did.

Likewise, I shouldn't have been shocked on Sid Levine Bobblehead Night this past Wednesday, when the O-Tigers announced that 623 fans showed up to complete the set. But I was.

The O-Tigers obviously thought more people would be interested in miniature, ceramic, head-bobbing likenesses of the former owners, who have kept professional baseball alive in Oneonta since 1966. The new guys in charge advertised well in advance that the first 1,000 fans each night would receive Daily Star-sponsored bobbleheads at no extra cost.

As it turned out, O-Tigers general manager Andrew Weber ended up with hundreds of leftovers. And that's a shame.

"I wouldn't say I was disappointed, but yeah, I definitely had hoped we would be able to give away all 1,000 of the bobbleheads," Weber said Tuesday night. "That didn't happen, but we hope that the people who did show up were happy with the product and the giveaway, and I think overall the night was a success. Sam was very happy and very pleased and honored, so that's really what it's all about. But, yeah, I would have liked to have seen some more seats filled, no question about it."

Weber added that the leftovers cannot be sold because they were part of promotional nights. On Thursday, he said he was unsure what he'll do with them.

But still, he shouldn't even have that problem.

When the bobblehead promotions were first announced, I thought Monday and Wednesday would be two of the biggest draws of the year. I've attended other bobblehead nights _ at major- and minor-league parks _ and have never seen leftovers. In fact, I've missed out on a few all together for showing up a little late.

So I just don't get what happened in Oneonta.

Weekday games, especially Mondays, are usually tough sells in the first place. And maybe the community is still adjusting to the very new feel of the O-Tigers, perhaps even still stinging from the elimination of free nights that traditionally drew the biggest crowds of the season.

Nader and Levine deserved better turnouts, though, especially when a $6 general admission ticket included a free bobblehead each night.

The funny thing is, despite the changes since the December sale of the O-Tigers, attendance is almost the same through the first eight home games of the season. Last year's eight-game total was an announced attendance of 6,424 fans, three fewer than this year.

At this point last season, the O-Tigers had drawn more than 1,000 fans three times _ opening night (1,152), the second home game (1,376) and on the Fourth of July (1,917). This season, they've done it twice so far _ opening night (1,242) and on the Fourth of July (1,522); their second home game was rained out, by the way.

The key to maintaining the numbers this season seems to be an increase in attendance during games that fail to attract crowds in the quadruple-digits. Last year, the Tigers averaged 395 fans on those nights, compared to 610 this year.

"It's our jobs to put fannies in seats," Weber said. "So we need to just keep plugging away and let people see the product that we're putting out and hopefully they are enjoying it and go from there."

Weber also said there was nothing new to report on beer sales _ the team is still waiting for approval from the New York state liquor authority.

Maybe more people will show up when beer starts flowing at Damaschke Field.

But I won't be surprised if they don't.

And if people keep away from Damaschke Field, for whatever reason, professional baseball in Oneonta will be history very soon. Those Nader and Levine bobbleheads, then, will become artifacts of a past era.

At least for the fans who came out to get them.

___

P.J. Harmer covers the Oneonta Tigers for The Daily Star. E-mail him at pharmer@thedailystar.com.