September 09, 2008
Falling Short
Maury Brown examines the attendance trends across the majors and finds MLB will likely come up short of last year's total. It's also good to note that except in the case of the White Sox, if you win, the fans will come.
One reason for the drop that Maury doesn't note, however, is the lack of appeal of the Yankees this season. In 2007, they drew 37,227 on the road, the second best average in the majors. This season, it's down to 34,925. That accounts for about 1/2 the decline. Another reason MLB likes to have a strong team in New York.
The other reason, too, is the lack of a tight wild card race in the NL. The last two years there were numerous teams involved in the chase going into the last week of the season. Right now, there are only six teams involved in meaningful races (the AL East is a bit of fun, but both teams are extremely likely to make the playoffs). Milwaukee is trying to make the NL Wild Card tighter, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.
Posted by David Pinto at
08:11 AM
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It's hard to keep setting attendance records when offense dwindles. The 2008 season will be one of the lowest-scoring since the high offense era began in 1993.
I look for baseball to get more offense back into the game next year, especially if the slow economy continues. Run scoring is slightly above historical averages this year, but it feels like a low-offense season after the batter's bacchanalia of recent years.
At least the minors set another attendance record this year. Their lower ticket prices help, but I don't look for relief on that front from the majors (wink).
If the Yanks are driving the decline it will continue for a couple years. Sox and Rays are dramatically superior, and even the pending CC and Tex signings will do little to move that needle, as remaining vets continue to flounder.
