Maury Brown breaks down the 2008 attendance numbers. I like these groupings:

Other increases include the Rockies (11.53 percent or an average of 33,128 over 80 games), Phillies (10.11 percent, or an average of 42,254 over 81 games), and Diamondbacks (8.35 percent, or an average of 30,987 over 81 games).

The decreases were led by the Rangers (down 17.34 from an average of 29,796 per game last season to 24,321), A's (down 13.35 percent from an average of 23,726 per game last season to 20,559), and Padres (down 12.99 percent from an average of 34,445 per game last season to 29,970).

Teams that made the playoffs in 2007 received a boost. Brown notes that the new stadiums in New York offer fewer seats than their predecessors, so attendance is likely to take a dip in 2009.

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.

Was Tuesday night's Pirates victory over the Yankees a tipping point for the franchise?

"It's one of those things where we didn't really know what kind of mob to expect," left fielder Jason Bay would recall later. "Would they be for us? Would they be for the Yankees?"

Well?

"Well, we found out."

They surely did, as the hanging-over-the-railings gathering of 38,867 was dominantly in favor of the home team and, most important, was given ample cause to cheer and chant all through the 12-5 rout last night: Jose Bautista and Ryan Doumit each homered as part of a relentless 19-hit attack.

By the ninth inning, in a scene that can be compared to precious few this decade, the third-largest crowd since PNC opened stood spontaneously and roared in unison, "Let's go Bucs!" in search of the final out.

A big crowd showed up and stayed to the end. The team played well against a perennial winner. The fans had fun in a beautiful ballpark. Maybe a game like this will make more people think, "Let's go to the Pirate's game!"

Pittsburgh is averaging 18,051 fans a game, 29th in the majors. That's down 4,000 a game from last year. They can use a reason to get the fans back in the park.

In a game between division leaders in Miami Tuesday night, the Marlins drew 10,696. That's just sad. Right now, Florida is last in aveage home attendance in the majors, and Tampa Bay is last in the American League. I know there are plenty of reasons not to support the Marlins, but if you want a long term winner, show up when the team is doing well. That sends a nice positive reinforcement signal to management.

The Mariners are losing games and the fans are staying home:

Worse than that, the Mariners and Rangers are now tied with the Detroit Tigers for the worst record in the AL at 14-20.

That kind of performance is showing up at the box office, too. The game drew 15,818 fans, the smallest crowd in Safeco Field history. Seven of the 10 smallest crowds at Safeco Field have come this year in 16 home games.

Is it a front office problem? Are the small crowds something the clubhouse should be concerned with?

"I don't know how to answer that," manager John McLaren said. "I don't know."

Barry Bonds is still available.

The Orioles set an attendance record tonight. Unfortunately, it was in the wrong direction.

Tonight's attendance of 10,505 is the lowest in Camden Yards history. The previous low was 13,194.

Tampa Bay is supposed to get that at home, not on the road.

The Mets are 10% ahead of ticket sales compared to last year. Last summer, writing at Baseball Prospectus, I noticed how attendance started taking off with the advent of free agency (subscription required):

Apart from short boosts, however, baseball remained relatively static. The fan base didn't seem to change, and even moving franchises around the country and adding expansion teams didn't help. Dividing leagues into divisions didn't help. There was one change baseball needed that had nothing to do with the game on the field or communications technology--baseball needed constant dynamism.

That happened in the mid 1970s with the advent of free agency. Look at how the trend line keeps going up from 1976. The dividing line couldn't be clearer--from Messersmith and McNally onward, fan interest grew. Fans like the dynamic rosters that resulted from free agency. The money involved fascinated us; where $100,000 was a huge salary beforehand, suddenly players were making $1 million a year. Teams could seemingly go from also-rans to contenders overnight. Worst-to-first became a reality. The game now held the interest of the faithful 365 days a year.

Here's just another example. Paying lots of money for a player gets the fans interested.

With a week to go in the regular season, MLB set a new attendance record.

The average of 32,710 was up 4 percent from last year's final average of 31,423 and on pace to top the record of 31,632 set in 1994 before a strike interrupted the season.

As you can see by looking at the bottom of the list, there's a lot of room for growth. Putting 10,000 more a game in Florida and Tampa would add another 1.6 million to the total.

Take two losing teams, put them in a stadium nobody likes on a hot, humid Wedesday afternoon and what do you get? No fans. Someone counted 375 people.

OMG someone counted them. The sad part is that the count is probably pretty accurate. If you don't believe it, take a look for yourselves.

JRS yesterday.

The attendance was so small that even a fan got tossed for heckling the umpire.

FishStripes asks if a new stadium will really change things. In my opinion, not until the team wins. Unless, of course, the new stadium is in a city that actually wants a baseball team. The Havana Marlins, anyone?

Blaine Newnham wonders why baseball fans returned to Seattle but not Arizona and Cleveland:

The sudden surge at the box office -- the M's have had 11 sellouts this season after only six last season -- means the team will justify spending $12 million more than it had budgeted for the year in payroll, money taken up basically by the late signing of Weaver and the retention of Ben Broussard.

It also means baseball is alive and well in Seattle, even after three miserable seasons. It means there will be more season tickets sold next season than this one.

Why Seattle, and not Cleveland and Phoenix?

Safeco Field is one answer. The ballpark is no less appealing than it was when it opened. Other than Pike Place Market, it is the city's favorite place to gather.

Another, ironically, is management's much-maligned spending. Despite giving money to Rich Aurilia and Scott Spiezio and Pokey Reese and even Beltre and Richie Sexson, the will was there to remain competitive, if not the way.

Earlier this season, I showed that attendance started to spike up with the introduction of free agency (subscription required). Signing a big name free agent certainly creates buzz for a team. While building a team from within is a cost effective way of winning, sometimes a big name coming to the ballpark might do more to keep fans interested.

For Baseball Prospectus subscribers, my latest article looks at the relationship between winning and attendance.

My latest Baseball Prospectus article looks at attendance trends over the last century (subscription required).

WasWatching notes a double standard involving the Yankees.

FishStripes proposes a novel way to get Marlins fans to the ballpark:

Finally, adding an expensive reliever will not bring fans to the park. It is foolish to think it would. Next season's attendance probably won't be much different than last season's. Meaning most everyone will stay at home and watch the team on television. If you really want to change that, fire Rich and Tommy and hire the Cardinals announcers. The Marlins fans will quit watching the games on television and head out to the ballpark in droves, just so they don't have to listen to that crap.

Marlins fans, it's time to turn out for your team:

Still. C'mon! Local TV ratings verify people do care, but coming out to the park might be nice. The hot Marlins commence a 10-game homestand with a legitimate playoff shot and 12K show up? The last men in uniform who got a welcome-home like this were Vietnam veterans.

When players mention the crowds, sadly, it is often with dark humor.

''It's Labor Day. Hey, we got 25, 30 extra people!'' Borowski noted kiddingly.

In 2003, it was late season before playoff fever began to boost crowds, but here's a bulletin: It is late season, fellow citizens. The next homestand after this one is the last one. Your chances are dwindling to experience the Marlins' miracle comeback season not from your couch, but where the players might actually see you, and hear you, and know you care.

This team deserves that. We've had few that deserved it more.

They're setting record every day. This has to be one of the most fascinating stories in the history of baseball. You should be there.

Redleg Nation is concerned abou the low attendance at Great American Ballpark. I agree with the person who blames five consecutive losing seasons. While the Reds are in first place in the wild card, they haven't been an outstanding team like the Tigers. If they both play well and make the playoffs, the fans will come.

Rich Hurd looks at the costs and benefits of the Oakland Athletics closing the upper deck. Attendance is down, but there may be other advantages:

Regardless, Crowley said, the team has gained in other areas. He said he's convinced from the number of critical letters he's received ("Not nearly as many in the past") that folks are having a better time at A's games. Moreover, A's security director David Rinetti said he's convinced from the number of incidents involving unruly fans ("Not one that stands out") the place is more orderly.

"We've been able to focus our efforts in areas we have open," Rinetti said. "It was more difficult to staff that top deck, because of the amount of staffing we had."

Still when big games come up (as the upcoming series with the Red Sox will demonstrate), they can't pack as many people into the stadium, and this is hurting their overall attendance numbers.

The Tigers attendance is up this year, and they may set a record for the park:

Tigers attendance is up 76,184 from last year in a 34-game comparison, placing Detroit eighth in the American League at 885,400. Summer weather, combined with a first-place club that has been one of baseball's surprises, likely will make this season Detroit's best box-office year since 2000, when Comerica Park opened and hosted 2,533,752. In 2005, the Tigers drew 2,024,485 -- their first 2-million season since 2000

.

The expect to sell out the St. Louis series this weekend, which they can bill as a possible World Series matchup.

Billfer at The Detroit Tigers Weblog notes attendance is poor at Tigers games despite the team's good record. If you want your team to keep working toward winning, you need to reward management when they do a good job! Detroit fans, get out to the park the week. Billfer offers plenty of good reasons, including discount tickets!

Reds fans should be embarassed.

U.S.S Mariner notes that Seattle season ticket sales are down.

Baseball Musings is conducting a pledge drive in March. Click here for details.

In this article about marketing the Marlins, we learn about the Marlins attendance from last season:

Last season, owner Jeffrey Loria forked out $65 million to field a lineup that included Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca, Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell. But the Marlins drew just 1,823,388 fans, up slightly from the team's total in 2004 (1,723,105) but still 27th among baseball's 30 teams, ahead of Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Tampa Bay.

Since when is drawing nearly two million fans a bad thing? It used to be that two million was the magic number. Draw that many fans in and you're doing okay. Is it the rank of 27th? Well, somebody has to be down near the bottom. And if teams near the bottom are still drawing close to two million, baseball's in pretty good shape.

I suppose baseball would like to see the Red Sox last in attendance because everyone is selling out every game. Of course, at that point we'll probably hear the Red Sox threaten to move unless they get a bigger stadium. :-)

The lack of attendance at Marlins games seems a bit overblown to me.

Richard Griffin is calling out the Blue Jays fans:

Many are the fans who for the last four years were outspoken in boycotting the Jays because they were clearly not trying to compete. These same fans must now step up and spend their own money to buy tickets for a team that has committed the funds experts believed it had to in order to be competitive.

Not everyone among the general populace is so obliged, just those who had been ripping the organization since the Jays cut payroll after the hiring of general manager J.P. Ricciardi in 2002.

Countless were the times I heard fans claim they didn't go to games because the Jays were cheapskates. They claimed, convincingly, that as soon as the Jays stepped up to the financial plate and spent the money to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox, they would return to the Rogers Centre. That time for digging deep is now.

JustOneMinute demonstrates why the Yankees are the best draw on the Road, not the Red Sox.

Soccer Dad looks at the good attendance numbers for both the Nationals and the Orioles and finds the combination is doing very well.

I'm surprised to see that St. Louis ranks 15th in the National League in road attendance. I know part of the problem is playing lots of games in the NL Central where a few teams don't draw well. But you would think people would turn out to see St. Louis play for the same reasons fans turn out to see the Yankees or Red Sox. It's a team with great players. Albert Pujols alone is worth the price of admission. They've been the dominant team in the majors for over a year now; you'd think fans in other cities would flock to see these birds.

The Baltimore Sun looks at the phenomenon of Yankees fans invading Camden Yards for the NY-Baltimore series.

Fans in Derek Jeter's No. 2 pinstripes often outnumber those wearing Miguel Tejada's orange-and-white No. 10. When an Orioles pitcher gives up a hit, the crowd doesn't go silent, it erupts. If fact, if someone were to close his eyes and just listen after Orioles outfielder Larry Bigbie made the final out of Monday's game, a 6-4 Yankees victory, it would be easy, based on the roar alone, to imagine they were four hours north, crammed into the bleachers of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. The only thing missing was the sound of Frank Sinatra, whose version of "New York, New York" is blasted from the stadium speakers after each Yankees home win.

My college roommates and I are going to have a small reunion this summer. We wanted to go to Boston, but opted for a Red Sox game at Camden Yards instead.

It isn't just Yankees fans, of course, filling up Camden Yards. In recent years, more and more Red Sox fans are making the trip south simply because Boston has both the smallest ballpark in the league (Fenway, which seats only 35,095 people) and the highest ticket prices in baseball (an average of $44.56). But it still pales in comparison to the sheer number of Yankees fans, who travel from both north and south to follow their team.

With Boston and Baltimore vying for the AL East crown, the game a week from Saturday should be a lot of fun.

The Cubdom looks at how to measure how many fans a visiting team brings in to a ballpark, and finds it good to have the Red Sox come to town.

John Eisenberg of the Baltimore Sun is wondering where the fans have been the last two nights:

The weather was splendid. The Orioles were in first place, coming off that euphoric weekend sweep of the Yankees. For the first time in years, they're sending out signals that they have the potential to put together something real.

What a strange time to have a small-market moment.

But that's precisely what they had, setting a record for the smallest crowd in park history (16,301) Monday night, and then attracting just 1,708 additional fans last night.

I don't think it's the Nationals. John gets it right here:

But while conceding that the Nationals are having some impact, I still think the Orioles' seven straight losing seasons have cut the deepest into their ticket-buying public.

Too many real fans have been turned off or are waiting for the team to keep playing winning ball for longer before they come back.

Winning brings the fans out. If the Orioles keep their winning ways going for another month, we'll see big crowds again at Camden Yards.

Wow. Not even Barry Bonds could bring the fans out in Tampa Bay. Only 13,275 showed high enough interest to see if Bonds would bear them a HR. He didn't get a round tripper, but he did get on base four times and drive in 2 as San Francisco won 7-3. The Devil Rays average crowd this year is about 17,600.

I notice that the Dodgers (42,055 average at home) are first in the NL in home attendance and the Angels (40,538 average at home) are 2nd in AL. It looks to me that the Angels haven't taken fans from the Dodgers, but tapped a whole new vein of fans. And in an area that highly populated, there's plenty of fans to go around. I wonder what the TV ratings of the Dodgers and Angels are like this year? Has anyone heard?

Update: Jon from Dodger Thoughts links in the comments to this article in the LA Times, showing how TV viewing of baseball is also up this year.

It was a year ago (not by day, but by point in the season) that I started putting up daily attendance reports, as MLB stopped publishing the data. My guess is they are making it available this year:

Attendance, through same period	2004	2003	2002
Games	458	444	438
Attendance	28960	25198	26416

Even Bud Selig could be happy about that. So I guess all the folks who have been complaining about the latest scandal destroying baseball are wrong again. You can't destroy this game, it's too good.

So what's bringing the fans to the park? First I think it was the great set of playoffs at the end of last season. That captured back a lot of people. Secondly, it was the movement of free agents. The Tigers got Pudge, lets go buy tickets! The Orioles have Javy, lets go buy tickets! Then there was the A-Rod trade and all the excitement that created all winter. Let's go buy tickets and boo A-Rod! People who complain that free agency has caused teams to fall apart must also recognize that stars moving from city to city also has a positive attendance effect on the acquiring team. And finally, the weather has been real nice in the northeast compared to last year.

It's good to see people coming back to the ballparks. With luck, MLB can build on this to make the game even more popular.

The Marlins drew 55,000 today, their largest regular season crowd ever. Makes you wonder what would have happened if they hadn't sold off the team after 1997. It's great to see. Winning brings out the fans.

The rich get richer.

New York has sold nearly 104,000 tickets worth a total of $4.6 million since Monday, when it acquired the American League MVP from the Texas Rangers. The sales are double the amount for the same period last year, the team said Thursday.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2411	2412
Attendance	28051	28170

Wow. A pretty good stretch run in attendance pulled the average within 120 of last year. 2002 Was well ahead of 2003 in every month through July.

Average Attendance	2002	2003
March-April	28,321	27,432
August-September	27,402	28,620

I think two things had a hand in attendance catching up to last year:

1. The negative news reports about the labor negotiations drove attendance down last year
2. Exciting pennant races and a more balanced league drove attendance up this year.

Still, MLB has to be concerned that attendance has gone down three years in a row, and this was the lowest average attendance since 1996. It's not incumbent on MLB to build on this late season momentum.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2396	2397
Attendance	27991	28115

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2380	2382
Attendance	27929	28079

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2366	2367
Attendance	27881	28066

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2356	2356
Attendance	27899	28096

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2341	2341
Attendance	27915	28133

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2326	2326
Attendance	27934	28166

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2317	2322
Attendance	27945	28166

I guess these pennant races have really made a difference. This year's attendance is now within 225 of last year's on a per game basis.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2272	2277
Attendance	27835	28139

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2259	2264
Attendance	27851	28171

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2244	2249
Attendance	27855	28206

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2229	2234
Attendance	27869	28247

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2218	2225
Attendance	27887	28267

I'd like to note that the other day I heard Bud Selig touting the major leagues passing 60,000,000 in attendance during a Cubs broadcast. He did fail to point out that attendance was down from last year, however. But fans are coming back, as earlier in the year, attendance was down over 1200 fans per game, as you can see in my first attendance report here. Last year baseball got hammered by the media over what were the most productive negotiations in three decades. Couple the lack of negativity with the number of teams competing for a playoff spot, and the majors have been able to mostly close the gap.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2203	2210
Attendance	27876	28270

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2187	2195
Attendance	27843	28258

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2172	2180
Attendance	27830	28275

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2159	2168
Attendance	27864	28323

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2144	2152
Attendance	27897	28360

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2129	2136
Attendance	27933	28407

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2120	2123
Attendance	27970	28450

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2105	2108
Attendance	27961	28462

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2090	2093
Attendance	27927	28458

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2075	2078
Attendance	27922	28463

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2067	2069
Attendance	27962	28492

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2052	2054
Attendance	28032	28504

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2037	2041
Attendance	28084	28540

They are expecting 60,000 at the Vet for the Red Sox-Phillies game. That's pretty cool. Nice to see the fans coming out on a holiday to cheer on their team.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2026	2029
Attendance	28082	28530

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	2011	2014
Attendance	28081	28537

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1969	1973
Attendance	28073	28564