Numbers show Prospect League, Cape Catfish had a remarkable 2023

America is in the midst of football season right now, but a few months ago, the numbers showed that baseball weighed heavy on their minds, particularly throughout the Midwest.

The Prospect League, of which the Cape Catfish have competed for four seasons, recently announced that it had broken its previous mark for attendance.

The college summer league attracted over 575,000 fans.

“The attendance surge this season proved that fans seek the quality baseball, family-friendly entertainment, and fun atmosphere provided by the Prospect League,” first-year Commissioner David Brauer said in a release.

Not only was the total number of fans in attendance improved, but the 23 percent increase from the 2022 season was the highest of all college summer baseball leagues throughout the country.

“(Catfish General Manager Mark Hogan) will tell you,” Club President Glenn Campbell said, “everywhere he goes, lunch or the grocery store, people are telling him ‘The Catfish are awesome.’ And with me, it is the same thing.”

The Catfish not only have been successful ON the field and set a Prospect League record for the best start to a season (12 consecutive wins), but like the Prospect League, the franchise set new marks for total attendance this season, as well as average attendance and average attendance increase.

Campbell randomly ran into a fan from Chaffee recently and the interaction was typical.

“She said whatever we are doing,” Campbell said, “we need to keep doing it.”

To a degree, Campbell said the club would.

In his first year as part-owner and team president, Campbell implemented a horde of new marketing ideas, and just like his players’ at-bats, some ideas were hit out of the ballpark, some were singles and doubles, while others struck out. But he said the team had more hits than strikeouts.

“We focused a lot on the Southeast Health Home Run Party Deck and the Papa John’s Dugout Club,” Campbell explained. “Those were higher tickets that made sense for us.”

Offering a variety of food options was another hit for the club, according to Campbell.

“Having solid food vendors there,” Campbell said, “helped bring people in.”

Another “hit” with the fans was the ability to interact with the Catfish players, who were also talented enough to advance to the postseason for the third time in four seasons.

The Cape players would lineup in the outfield and dance for the fans, pass out flowers, or throw beach balls into the stands, and Campbell said the fans loved it.

“The kids were clamoring for (the players),” Campbell said. “Anything that we can do to get the kids involved, which will be every inning, our kids understand, it isn’t just about wins and losses.”

What the new Catfish players learned, and the returning veterans could have told them this, is that each summer is about improving as a player and building a relationship with the people within the franchise, as well as the fans.

Campbell said that he had players in tears when the season ended, as they told him “This was the best summer I’ve ever had.”

And the word is spreading throughout college baseball.

Several colleges have told Hogan that the Catfish are that coach’s number one destination to send his players for a summer of competition.

“I get 10 emails a day from players,” Campbell said of athletes wanting to come to Cape Girardeau. “We don’t have to cold call (for players). We have enough relationships. We tell the players that if you buy in (to playing here), we’ll buy in, the city will buy in, and you’ll have the best summer that you have ever had.”