Spring training | Pittsburgh Pirates shatter McKechnie Field attendance mark with one game to play

BRADENTON -- Great weather, a promising home team and some attractive opponents made for a record year at the ol' ballpark on Ninth Street West.

The Pittsburgh Pirates shattered the overall attendance record at 93-year-old McKechnie Field on Saturday when more than 6,300 showed up for a game against the Toronto Blue Jays and gave the Pirates a total of 99,450 fans in 14 home games.

The previous record was 93,433 fans set in 2013, the first year after a $10 million renovation at McKechnie Field that expanded capacity from 6,600 to 8,500.

"Our fans have shown a wonderful commitment to this team from day one of spring training," Pirates President Frank Coonelly said. "We have made the fan experience in Bradenton a high priority, and our fans have responded repeatedly by coming out in record numbers."

Pittsburgh still has one more home game this season. The Pirates McKechnie Field finale is Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The 2015 spring schedule has featured the two largest crowds in McKechnie history. The Pirates drew 9,018 fans to the March 18 night game against the Detroit Tigers and 8.963 three days later against the Boston Red Sox.

"For the younger guys who are coming up and down from Triple-A to the big leagues, to have this kind of environment, playing in front of the entire big league coaching staff and then playing in front of a good amount of fans, it gets your adrenaline going," said Tony Sanchez, a Pirates catcher. "You kind of almost feel like it's a regular season game."

Veteran pitcher A.J. Burnett has taken note of the larger crowds this spring.

"I think it shows what we have here, and I think it shows you how many fans we've got and how hungry they are," Burnett said. "We pay attention. We notice there's fans here, and ... it makes us play better."

The Pirates will need a big crowd Monday to top last year's average of 7,587 fans per game. This year's games have attracted 7,104 fans per contest.

This story was originally published March 28, 2015 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Spring training | Pittsburgh Pirates shatter McKechnie Field attendance mark with one game to play ."