The dog days of the Major League Baseball season came early to the Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon.
The Marlins held a "Bark at the Park" promotion at Marlins Park for Miami's game against the San Diego Padres, Deadspin.com reported. The team sold reserved seating for the event, and reported that 1,652 fans bought tickets specifically for the event.
The promotion, with all of the proceeds going to benefit the Humane Society of Broward County, also drew 592 dogs.
There were no reports on how many hot dogs purchased for the game.
The four-legged pets were treated to Jeff Mathis' grand-slam home run in the bottom of the ninth inning that gave the Marlins a 6-2 victory over the Padres. The homer was the 3,000th in the program's history, according to Deadspin.com.
The total attendance for the game was 15,929, including the 592 canines. The attendance still was lower than the Marlins' season average of 17,262 before the game.
The Marlins' marketing department has had to earn its money this season, with the ballclub settling in with the worst record in Major League Baseball at 29-51 after Sunday's win.
The team has not been competitive since 2003 when it won the World Series and then dumped most of its players' salaries immediately after the championship season.
The franchise changed its name from the "Florida Marlins" to the "Miami Marlins" after the 2011 season and opened Marlins Park in 2012 with the hopes of revitalizing the franchise.
The Marlins averaged 27,400 fans per game last season but finished in last place with a 69-93 record.
The idea of bringing in pets to add to the attendance may help the Marlins' sagging fan support, but likely will do little to the bottom line with so few canines able to afford the price of a ticket.
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