Major League Baseball is experiencing an upswing in attendance.
According to MLB, the sport drew 1,688,731 fans to 45 games played during the June 14-16 weekend. That averages 37,527 fans per game, making both marks the highest of any weekend since Aug. 22-24, 2008.
The weekend featured two historic rivalries as the St. Louis Cardinals played the Chicago Cubs and the New York Yankees met the Boston Red Sox. Saturday’s attendance total was the highest pre-July Saturday total since 2008 and the highest average overall since 2013.
The weekend is not an anomaly. Baseball is back, and the numbers prove it. MLB has routinely reported increases in attendance over the past few years, but why?
Certainly, some elements of the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic are playing a role. More people are attending games than ever. The NFL, NBA, and NHL each reported their highest attendance figures this past season.
For MLB, the draw also correlates with rule changes and a marketing campaign that has attempted to bring the product to a wider audience.
To combat the stigma that baseball is old and boring, the league launched its “Let The Kids Play” campaign in 2018, featuring Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. narrating a video of today’s young stars playing hard.
The best news for MLB is that those young stars featured have mostly panned out. Catcher Adley Rutschman of the Baltimore Orioles and outfielders Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves are stars. The influx of young talent has reinvigorated fan bases across America.
While MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has received some criticism, his implementation of several rule changes has made the game more engaging.
Baseball lacked action at times, but implementing the pitch clock beginning with the 2023 season has speeded up the game and made it a better product for television.
In 2021, games took an average of three hours and 11 minutes, but that figure has dropped to 2:38 this season. Fewer mound visits mean fewer stoppages, and fans respond by attending in person and watching from home.
It’s good news for the league that experienced its lowest viewership for the Texas Rangers-Arizona Diamondbacks World Series last fall and falling overall attendance for a lengthy period. From 2012 to 2019, overall attendance dropped every season, but since 2021, it has risen by at least 6 million yearly.
The upward trends indicate MLB is doing the right things to attract people to the game. Sports is an increasingly crowded marketplace, with multiple leagues expanding, signing new television deals and increasing popularity.
The attendance upswing over the weekend — and the past several seasons — is great news for MLB.
