51s fortunate fans don’t judge them by record

Here is the checklist we usually banter about at home when someone mentions attending a 51s game:

Is there a promotional giveaway? Will we be handed a T-shirt or sports bag or cowbell? Have they finally come to their senses and announced Russ Langer Bobblehead Night?

Is it Thursday and does Dad look thirsty? Will Mom be driving home? Who will drive if the red wine also costs $1?

Now that the press box at Cashman Field has wireless, is the password for our iPhones "Cosmo"?

We don't check the Pacific Southern Division standings. We think the Pacific Southern Division is a railroad from the 1860s. We don't care where Las Vegas sits compared to Fresno or Sacramento or Tucson. We are not interested in batting averages or ERAs.

The 51s are a niche product because that's what they should be, because what drives those who attend games at the minor league level is far different from those in the majors.

It has been a forgettable beginning for the 51s this season, a 6-14 record after Tuesday night's 11-6 loss to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, putting the home team nine out of first place three weeks before Mother's Day.

At this pace, it will finish 101 back.

I just don't believe much of what happens on the field influences how many seats are filled in the stands.

Cashman Field remains an eyesore, but that isn't changing any decade soon. The metal bleachers are still hard and the lack of shade laughable and the shortage of restrooms ridiculous.

But any talk of a new ballpark should be treated in these parts as the Great Arena Debate, meaning until bulldozers are moving ground, making the best out of what you have might be the optimum strategy.

Maybe it's the cheap beer on certain nights. Maybe it's free gifts. Maybe it's the hope of catching a bag of Cracker Jack from Langer during the seventh inning stretch.

Maybe it's the hot tub down the left-field line, where fans can soak and party during games, or the smoking hot cheerleaders in bikinis dancing along the front row. Oops. The 51s don't have those last two things, but why not?

My fellow columnist, Ron Kantowski, came up with those ideas.

I like how Ron thinks.

Whatever brings fans out to watch, the scoreboard isn't near the top of most lists, which is a good thing. If winning were a main ingredient for the 51s to draw bodies, Langer might be tossing Cracker Jack at empty seats each night.

Don Logan disagrees and has seen more minor league baseball than most. The team's executive director is certain that his is like most sports, in that winning always will increase fan interest.

"I do think it matters," he said. "There is just a better feeling about everything when you win. If UNLV had a perennial bowl team in football and competed for a BCS game every five years or so, people would go to the games and not give a (bleep) about where the stadium is. Look at the increased enthusiasm about UNLV basketball this past season once they beat North Carolina.

"Now, we have not won lately. We have not competed for the playoffs in a long time. But back in 2002, when we had a really good team, we definitely saw a spike in attendance in August coming down the stretch."

I lost him at, "If UNLV had a perennial bowl team in football ..."

That 2002 season is the last time a 51s team advanced to the playoffs, and during a season where Las Vegas averaged a little more than 4,600 per game, the number rose to 5,000 in 14 home dates in August.

One crowd that month was more than 10,000. Three were more than 9,000.

If the 51s win big again, perhaps attendance numbers will support Logan's claim as they did back then. But the team had averaged just more than 3,600 this season entering Tuesday's loss, and I don't see much of the 1915 Boston Braves on this roster.

Storming back to contend for and win championships usually means you have some semblance of starting pitching.

So those who come will continue to do so for reasons other than final scores. It's how it should be at this level.

"As a player, you don't want to get acclimated to one place too long, because that means you're repeating levels and that's not good," said 51s infielder Chris Woodward, a veteran at age 35 whose luggage has stamps from the depths of Hagerstown, Md., to the major leagues of Toronto. "But when you're in a city, you get to know those fans who come out every night and you appreciate them."

Woodward said the best minor league experience he has seen for fans came each time his Syracuse team visited Buffalo. There was always 10,000 or more in attendance.

He didn't mention anything about cheerleaders in bikinis, probably because it doesn't hit above 70 degrees in Buffalo until May.

It could work here, though.

Just another reason fans would come despite the losing.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from noon to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday on "Gridlock," ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.