Tribe to retire '455' sellout streak mark

There will be a special celebration April 22 at Jacobs Field to honor the fans.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- On the first night in seven seasons that the Jacobs Field ticket windows were open with plenty of choices available for customers, the Cleveland Indians' hitters did their best to give fans reasons to fill the empty seats.
The Major League Baseball record streak of 455 consecutive sellouts ended Wednesday at Jacobs Field when a paid-crowd of 32,763 (about 10,500 below capacity) watched the Indians even their record at 1-1 with an 8-4 victory over the White Sox.
"I believe it's safe to say that this amazing feat of 455 consecutive sellouts may never be matched," Indians owner Larry Dolan said.
"On behalf of the entire Cleveland Indians organization, I would like to congratulate and thank our fans for their remarkable support."
Celebration: The Indians will celebrate the streak's retirement before the April 22 game against the Detroit Tigers. The number 455 with "The Fans" written under it will be "retired" and placed in right-field alongside the six Indians whose numbers have been retired.
"This once-in-a-lifetime experience deserves special recognition and a day of celebration," Dolan said.
"I hope our fans take great pride in setting the standard in Major League Baseball among cities across America," Dolan said. "The streak may have come to an end, but the special bond between the fans and this team is as strong as ever."
The club didn't expect much of a walk-up crowd. Two hours before the first pitch, the Indians had only one of 14 ticket windows open at the Ontario Street box office across from Gund Arena. Customers had plenty of choices, including $25 lower box seats down the left-field line. Most of the empty seats were in the upperdeck.
The culprit? Missing the playoffs last season after five consecutive American League Central Division titles.
The sellout streak began on June 12, 1995. After the Indians lost to the Atlanta Braves in the 1995 World Series (their first championship series in 41 years), every ticket for the 1996 season was sold before Christmas.
That trend of preseason sellouts continued for the next four seasons. However, huge pockets of empty seats at games last spring and summer inspired some to question why so many paying customers were staying away.
Broke record: The Jake streak became the major-league record on Sept. 9, 1997, when the Colorado Rockies' record of 204 was broken.
During the streak, the Indians sold 19,324,248 tickets.
"That was a nice streak, especially coming from where Cleveland was 10 years ago over at the old stadium," Indians pitcher Chuck Finley said. "The [fans] you now get on one night was what you might get [then] for a whole series."
Since signing with the Indians before last season, Finley is 11-3 at Jacobs Field with a 3.34 earned-run average.
"This has been a great place to come play at," Finley said. "I can understand why the fans have been coming out every night -- a beautiful stadium and a great team."
Monday, the Indians said that 5,000-plus tickets were available for each of this week's games.
Those numbers have been revised: 10,000 for Friday's 7 p.m. against the Orioles; 4,500 for Saturday's 1 p.m. game; and 7,500 for Sunday's 1 p.m. game.
When the Detroit Tigers visit in two weekends, 8,500 tickets are available for each of the April 20 and April 22 games, and 4,000 for the April 21 game.
"It's hard to expect the fans to come out and fill this place on chilly nights," third baseman Russell Branyan said. "It's nice when they do."