Conor O'Neill

The last time my baseball team had a winning season was 1997. I was eight. I don't remember much about it. Cal Ripken Jr. was at the back end of his prime. Rafael Palmeiro was a hero, Mike Mussina wasn't a sell-out yet and Peter Angelos was a only a semi-senile old man.

Yea, I looked all that up. What I do remember is that Camden Yards came close to selling out every game that season. The team was playing exciting baseball, first-place baseball, and Baltimore was buzzing with excitement.

It's a simple concept: when your team is winning, attendance is high. When attendance is high, your team has money to bring in free agents and keep young stars.

So why are Cincinnati and Tampa Bay, two great teams in 2010, among the bottom feeders in attendance this year?

Cincinnati:

A team that nobody (other than my buddy Andy Harris, who deserves a lot of credit for picking this team as his preseason sleeper) expected to compete is 77-55 and 7 games ahead of the Cardinals for the NL Central lead.

They have a star first baseman in Joey Votto, who is competing for the NL Triple Crown. Some scouts have said that he is a more dangerous hitter this season than perennial MVP candidate Albert Pujols (I disagree, Pujols is 'The Machine' after all).

The Reds were not supposed to be this good. Their bullpen was supposed to struggle. Instead, they have one of the best bullpens in the league. Their starters weren't supposed to give them this many quality starts. They have.

It's an upstart team with a lot of potential to compete for a very long time in the NL Central. As an outside observer, you'd think they would be drawing good crowds.

Ha. The Reds draw an average home crowd of 25,796 people. That mark ranks 12th of 16 teams in the NL. On average, they fill 61.3 percent of their stadium.

What gives? Cincinnati is supposed to be a baseball town. Hell, the first professional team was the CINCINNATI REDS. Going back to 1869 now.Yes, I know not to expect the city to show the same support that the Yankees, Red Sox or Dodgers get, but c'mon. Your team is a month away from earning its first postseason berth since 1995, and you can't support them? Pathetic.

Tampa Bay:

And now Cincinnatians get a reprieve. Because their case of non-support is not the worst in baseball this year.

That un-superlative goes to the Tampa Bay Rays. The team that is one game back of the Yankees for first place in the AL East, and for the best record in baseball, draws a meak 22,794 people for every game.

That number has filled 52.1 percent of the Trop each game. Yes, the Trop is apparently one of the worst venues in baseball. But, with the players on that team, I'd go bankrupt (which wouldn't take much right now) to support the Rays.

Evan Longoria is the first player who comes to mind as the team's star, though is far from being the only one. I've labeled him as the one player in baseball who I would start a franchise with, given his defensive ability at a tough position (third base), his offensive prowess (hitting .296 with 19 HR's) and his leadership ability (see him getting in teammate B.J. Upton's face earlier this year about a poor defensive play by Upton).

Another star is Carl Crawford, who is a free agent at the end of the year and likely won't be back with the Rays. Part of the reason for that is because nobody goes to their games. If you have money in baseball, you can pay your players to stick around. The Yankees and Red Sox are the prime examples of this. Unfortunately, they are the division rivals and leading candidates to land Crawford.

Another hint that Crawford won't be back are these comments from earlier in the week. He called the attendance after a game 'depressing,' saying that the team came out fired up to play and saw about 12,000 people in the stands.

Endnote:

No, these aren't the only teams doing well with bad attendance marks. The San Diego Padres have been in first in the NL West for three months and they have similar figures. But San Diego is not a baseball town. Cincinnati is. Tampa Bay should be, with the second best team in baseball.

Fans who complain about the Yankees and Red Sox having all the money need to look in the mirror. Or on their calendars. The reason they have the money is because they have the most loyal fans in baseball. Same with the Phillies and Dodgers.

Maybe I feel this way because I am a baseball junkie. I love the game, there is not a better sport to see a game live. The aroma of Camden Yards is my first love. When the Orioles have been terrible, I've stuck with them all the way.

For the Reds and Rays to prolong success, they have to have people come to games. Or it'll be back to losing, and back to complaining about how teams with money always win.