By Ron Matejko, MVP Magazine

The Cactus League’s single-game attendance record held firm for six years until the mark was bested on Thursday. The event seemed innocent enough when it was announced, but since then three more single-game attendance records have been announced and we are calling shenanigans.

Thursday’s game between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch-Glendale (CBR-G) set a new record after drawing a crowd of 13,391. The previous Cactus League single-game mark of 13,366 was set March 12, 2004 at the Peoria Sports Complex when the Seattle Mariners played host to the Chicago Cubs. The new record garnered a front-page headline on azcentral.com and was recognized by other media outlets as well, bringing good exposure to the ballpark during an otherwise uneventful Cactus League season.

Then, on Friday it was announced that the cross-town rivalry game between the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox at CBR-G set another new record by drawing 13,413. The announcement seemed legitimate as this rivalry is among the most intense in sports and the Cubs are by far the highest drawing Cactus League team both at home and on the road. Again, the record garnered recognition for the ballpark, which could now claim the top two highest attended games in Cactus League history.

Things started smelling fishy on Saturday when it was announced that an afternoon game at the Peoria Sports Complex between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners set the third Cactus League single-game attendance mark in three days after drawing 13,444. The initial instinct was that the crew in Peoria enjoyed being able to market itself as the club that held the record entering this Cactus League season and wanted to hold that distinction again.

Securing sponsorships for the numerous Cactus League ballparks in the Valley is very competitive, especially entering this season when the ad dollars were tougher to come by. Every little edge means a lot.

However, any glow that was regained with Peoria reclaiming the record was short lived as there was still a night game to be played at CBR-G between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. Guess what happened? Yep. Another record was set with an announced crowd of 13,506.

This game of one-upmanship reeked of a covert competition between two ballparks that each wants to hold the single-game attendance record. The announcement seemed especially fishy since the San Diego Padres were one of the two teams involved. The Padres are a bad baseball team that usually ranks middle of the pack in attendance. A game earlier in the day between the Padres and Chicago White Sox drew less than half than the night game.

In the press release announcing the new, new, new, new record, their was a mention of the temporary mark held by their northwest neighbor in Peoria. It was also mentioned that Camelback Ranch-Glendale now held three of the top five single-game attendance marks and four of the top seven. Think that won’t be in the marketing material for next spring?

Records and numbers have long been manipulated in sports, so such a petty battle such as the attendance record comes as no surprise. The attendance record should come in to question anyway as their is no scientific way to truly determine the actual total number of fans at a game. Coyotes fans have seen for the last two years how attendance numbers are manipulated.

We will never know the truth about the numbers but if anything, this week has given sports fans a glimpse into the game behind the game.

Top 10 Cactus League Single-Game Attendance Records

No. Opponents, Site, Date, Attendance
1. San Diego Padres @ Los Angeles Dodgers, Glendale, March 20, 2010, 13,506
2. Arizona Diamondbacks @ Seattle Mariners, Peoria, March 20, 2010, 13,444
3. Chicago Cubs @ Chicago White Sox, Glendale, March 19, 2010, 13,413
4. Chicago Cubs @ Los Angeles Dodgers, Glendale, March 18, 2010, 13,391
5. Chicago Cubs @ Seattle Mariners, Peoria, March 12, 2004, 13,366
6. Chicago White Sox @ Chicago Cubs, Mesa, March 27, 2009, 13,327
7. Chicago Cubs @ Chicago White Sox, Glendale, March 21, 2009, 13,311
8. Colorado Rockies @ Chicago Cubs, Mesa , March 24, 2009, 13,289
9. Arizona Diamondbacks @ Seattle Mariners, Peoria, March 28, 2004, 13,171
10. San Diego Padres @ Chicago Cubs, Mesa, March 20, 2009, 13,162