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Fenway draws smallest Red Sox-Yankees crowd since 1997

Reuters

Blame it on the rain, or maybe the long-standing rivalry between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox doesn't have the same luster it used to.

On Wednesday, the Red Sox hosted the Yankees at a dreary Fenway Park for the first time in 2017, and the normally heated matchup between the rivals drew an attendance of 32,072, which was Fenway Park's lowest since April 20, 2016, against the Tampa Bay Rays, according to Tim Britton of the Providence Journal.

The crowd is also the smallest at Fenway Park for a Red Sox-Yankees game since Sept. 10, 1997, Bill Ballou of the Worchester Telegram reports.

The weather in Boston was rainy and cool for most of the day, and fog crept in during the late innings. The Boston Celtics were also playing their playoff game down the road at TD Garden. Both might have contributed to the poor attendance.

Fenway can hold 37,731 during night games, so the place certainly wasn't empty, but getting a ticket to see a game between the two clubs used to be nearly impossible, so perhaps, with the Yankees moving in a younger direction, things have changed.

Or maybe Red Sox fans really do miss yelling profanities at Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

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