I started tracking and analyzing Rays attendance in 2014. That year, the Rays went 79-83, their first year under .500 since 2007. The year earlier, in 2013, the Rays made the playoffs for the fourth time in six years.
The Rays continued to slump in 2014, again finishing under .500. The year that followed, 2015, was a rebuilding year. Gone were Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon, architects of the 2008-2013 contenders. In came Kevin Cash, Matt Silverman and eventually Erik Neander, and a rebuilt core of players. The Rays struggled to win games and lost approximately 30% of their regular season attendance, decreasing from 1.