I passed this sign on my way through Bethlehem after the IronPigs' game today, evidence of how minor league baseball has caught on in the Lehigh Valley. The 10,000 in attendance today made the game another sell-out. Coca-Cola Park has 8100 seats, the official sell-out point, but it accomodates an additional 1900 people through general admission (on the outfield berm) and standing room. The 'Pigs had 59 sell-outs this season; 25 were complete sell-outs. In 2008, their inaugural year, they drew 602,033 fans. This year, remarkably, they upped that figure to 641,335. They are one of three teams in all of minor league baseball to average 9,000 people per game. Helped out no doubt by the Phillies' world championship, good things are happening in baseball here in the Lehigh Valley. I was at the game today with a nine-year-old buddy, who turned to me at one point and said, "Whoever invented baseball was a genius."
