Joe Smith knew life would be different with his new team when he looked up from the visiting bullpen at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday and noticed the Athletics had nearly sold out their stadium.
The Chicago Cubs fill ballparks, at home and on the road, where their average attendance is second in the majors, trailing only the Dodgers. The Angels entered Wednesday 24th in average road attendance.
Smith has been a Cub since 12:45 p.m. on Aug. 1, 15 minutes shy of the trade deadline, when he received a call from Angels General Manager Billy Eppler to inform him he was no longer an Angel.