Tribe seeks to win back ticked fans

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Boasting one of baseball’s most dedicated fan bases, the Cleveland Indians once sold out 455 consecutive home games.

This season, the streak will end at 1.

These days, the Indians are a tough sell.

Struggling to regain the faith, trust and interest of their fans, they’ll open their 2010 home season at Progressive Field today at 3 p.m. against the Texas Rangers in front of a packed house. Last Thursday, after months of promotion, the Indians announced they had finally sold all tickets, assuring the 17th consecutive home opener sellout since the 40,000-plus-seat ballpark opened its gates in 1994.

While the weather has been unseasonably warm, Clevelanders are still giving a cold shoulder to the Indians, who have dropped a distant third behind both the Browns and Cavaliers in the pecking order among the city’s professional sports franchises.

With the Indians coming off a 97-loss season, which included the controversial trades of Cy Young winner Cliff Lee and All-Star catcher Victor Martinez, apathy toward the club has dipped to levels not seen since the late 1980s, when the team played in cavernous Municipal Stadium aka “The Mistake By the Lake.”

It didn’t take first-year manager Manny Acta long to sense the love has been lost.

“During the caravan, I could sense it,” said Acta, who spent a week this winter on a press junket across Ohio to help drive ticket sales. “We were one win away from going to the World Series two years ago. We won a bunch of games in 2005. We dominated in the mid-90s.

“But everybody wants to win and I don’t blame them for that. We want to make that happen, too.”

Acta, who replaced Eric Wedge, has promised his team will play hard and make Clevelanders proud.

However, that may not be enough to lure fans back. The depressed economy as hit this region hard, forcing sports fans to be more selective with their disposable dollars.

The Browns, despite making the playoffs just once since their 1999 NFL return and undergoing almost constant change, are still the city’s top draw. It’s a football town, always has been, always will be.

And with superstar LeBron James moving the Cavaliers to the brink of an NBA championship, the Indians are a third wheel.

Their payroll is down $20 million since last season and with few marquee names on the roster, the Indians, who drew 1.76 million fans at home last season, lack mass appeal.

However, because they play in the winnable — and some would say weak — AL Central, there is always the possibility of a quick turnaround to invigorate fans.

“The main thing is just winning,” said designated hitter Travis Hafner. “If we win, that’s what creates excitement and makes fans want to come out. We’ve got a lot of talent at the big-league level, and prospect-wise it’s as good as I’ve seen.”

The Indians’ sluggish off-season ticket sales weren’t helped by dire predictions that the club would finish near the bottom in the AL.

Hafner dismisses the gloomy forecast.

“I haven’t heard anybody picking us to do anything, but none of that matters to us,” he said last week in Chicago. “We believe we’re good. Everybody in here is expecting to win. You have to play the games. Nobody knows who’s going to finish where.”