Angels' Street bemoans attendance as Pujols nears history

It's only a matter of days, if not hours, before Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols cranks his historic 600th career home run. What is more uncertain is how many people will be on hand to witness it.

Pujols failed to reach the milestone Wednesday night with the Atlanta Braves in town. Despite being on the cusp of history, Angel Stadium came up 10,000 people shy of its 45,050 capacity, according to ESPN's Alden Gonzalez.

Injured Angels closer Huston Street was disappointed by the wide array of empty seats before Wednesday's 2-1 win.

"The stadium was not packed last night - was not packed," Street said. "There was a time when that would have never happened."

The 600-home run milestone doesn't just happen every year. When Pujols finally comes through, he'll become only the ninth player in history to do so. Many reasons - Mike Trout's absence chief among them - may have played a part in the low attendance. Street thinks an overabundance of entertainment choices is at least partially to blame.

"I think the game has shifted to youth," Street said. "In a way, I think it's smart business. And in a way, someone like an Albert Pujols needs to be celebrated. And I think a lot of it has to do with the distraction of society. There's so many portals of entertainment now, not just baseball."

The concern may just be part of a larger problem impacting the whole of Major League Baseball. The Angels' average attendance of 35,846 is actually sixth-highest in baseball ahead of teams like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.