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

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1954	1958
Attendance	28087	28612

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1939	1943
Attendance	28108	28668

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1933	1935
Attendance	28102	28675

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1918	1920
Attendance	28059	28649

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1903	1904
Attendance	28003	28602

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1888	1889
Attendance	27979	28552

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1874	1875
Attendance	27993	28561

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1859	1860
Attendance	28003	28560

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1844	1845
Attendance	28004	28549

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1837	1835
Attendance	28019	28596

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1822	1820
Attendance	28000	28577

Attendance is coming back. When I started tracking this (here's the first one I can find) attendance was trailing last year by about 1300 a game. That's been cut in half, and average attendance for this year finally has hit the 28,000 mark (right on the nose). This August is averaging 30,623, while last year averaged 29,161. That's, of course, when all the strike talk was going on.

The other difference is that you have pennant races this year. And you have small market teams like KC and Florida involved. The fans in KC have gotten it; they are averaging 33,838 fans a game this month. The fans in Florida haven't quite caught on yet. They are up to 18,612 in July-August after averaging 12,977 through June (a huge percentage rise), but they can do so much more. Twenty of the Marlins next 26 games are against teams with worse records than they have, most not very good. (They have three games with the Giants in their). But then they have a stretch of 13 games vs. Atlanta and Philladelphia. They should still be in contention when those two teams come to town in September, and the Pro Player should be rocking.

And it's just a short plane ride to Atlanta from Miami. Yesterday, it seemed that Yankee fans outnumbered Oriole fans in Baltimore. Braves fans are known for being very quiet. If a couple of thousand Marlins fans made the trek north, they could turn Turner Field into a home park for the Fish. Get behind your team, south Florida!

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1808	1805
Attendance	27948	28547

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1793	1790
Attendance	27931	28541

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1781	1779
Attendance	27929	28562

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1766	1764
Attendance	27946	28601

Here's the team attendance report from the point of view of the road teams. The problem, with the unbalanced schedules and interleague play, is that the comparisons may be apples and oranges.

	2002		2003
Through Same Period	Games	Avg. Attendance	Games	Avg. Attendance	Pct. Change
Rangers	56	26373	59	30135	14.3
Expos	60	24364	57	27707	13.7
Angels	57	25281	58	27607	9.2
Cubs	58	32564	59	34103	4.7
Blue Jays	55	26395	60	27325	3.5
Indians	57	25475	59	26245	3.0
Pirates	58	28731	58	29468	2.6
Orioles	62	25028	57	25666	2.5
Brewers	58	26056	56	26591	2.1
Giants	58	34153	58	34487	1.0
Astros	58	27286	59	27263	-0.1
Mariners	58	27432	57	27385	-0.2
Devil Rays	58	26975	56	26177	-3.0
Mets	59	29008	59	28108	-3.1
White Sox	60	26246	59	25408	-3.2
Phillies	59	28965	58	27881	-3.7
Marlins	58	26833	59	25698	-4.2
Braves	58	28339	60	27065	-4.5
Tigers	60	25549	60	24379	-4.6
Dodgers	58	30443	57	28992	-4.8
Cardinals	57	29500	59	27988	-5.1
Red Sox	57	30681	59	28974	-5.6
Yankees	60	37785	59	35398	-6.3
Padres	56	30726	58	28750	-6.4
Twins	59	27491	58	25646	-6.7
Royals	60	27789	58	25043	-9.9
Rockies	60	29326	60	26294	-10.3
Athletics	58	30148	58	26592	-11.8
Reds	59	30085	59	26422	-12.2
Diamondbacks	58	34577	58	30040	-13.1

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1751	1749
Attendance	27963	28651

And with the Royals having their largest gate of the year last night, here's the team report:

	2002		2003
Through Same Period	Games	Avg. Attendance	Games	Avg. Attendance	Pct. Change
Marlins	60	10227	58	14831	45.0
Angels	60	27056	60	37629	39.1
Royals	54	17874	57	23145	29.5
Reds	57	23554	58	30118	27.9
Phillies	58	21145	56	26313	24.4
Expos	57	10061	59	11956	18.8
Blue Jays	62	19905	58	23006	15.6
Athletics	61	24589	59	27075	10.1
Cubs	56	35294	58	36463	3.3
Red Sox	58	32948	58	33393	1.4
White Sox	59	22362	59	22565	0.9
Giants	59	40210	59	40034	-0.4
Dodgers	59	38390	60	38185	-0.5
Twins	60	23020	60	22396	-2.7
Cardinals	58	38290	59	37120	-3.1
Yankees	56	44685	57	43306	-3.1
Tigers	58	19109	55	18452	-3.4
Braves	59	33429	56	31306	-6.3
Devil Rays	59	13523	61	12637	-6.6
Astros	59	31679	59	29498	-6.9
Pirates	58	23639	56	21626	-8.5
Mariners	60	43746	60	39524	-9.7
Diamondbacks	59	39644	58	34761	-12.3
Rangers	58	30980	59	27069	-12.6
Orioles	53	34699	58	30287	-12.7
Padres	60	29168	60	25227	-13.5
Rockies	58	36219	60	29639	-18.2
Brewers	59	24828	60	20283	-18.3
Mets	57	37178	55	29016	-22.0
Indians	58	33282	59	21928	-34.1

Looks like if you win, the fans will come.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1740	1744
Attendance	27969	28679

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1725	1729
Attendance	27928	28626

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1709	1714
Attendance	27865	28552

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1693	1699
Attendance	27824	28496

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1679	1684
Attendance	27807	28467

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1649	1654
Attendance	27779	28415

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1646	1648
Attendance	27777	28434

A wild one in KC yesterday. Royals up 7-2, give up a six spot in the 7th, thanks to the pitching of May and Leskanic and an error by Mayne, but they come right back off Mark Malaska and wind up winning 10-8. What was impressive to me, however was the attendance total, 38,709. If you told anyone at the beginning of the season that a TB-KC game in August would draw 38,000, they'd think you were nuts. Way to go, KC fans!

The Royals retake the lead in the Central as the Mariners bleach the White Sox 10-0.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1631	1633
Attendance	27747	28430

Looks like a surge in attendance this weekend. This year's average is now only 700 behind last year's.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1616	1618
Attendance	27648	28395

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1601	1604
Attendance	27631	28418

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1587	1589
Attendance	27633	28464

Nice to see the Royals fans turn out last night. Over 24,000 at the game in KC. The White Sox won, but the Royals never gave up and mounted a decent comeback try late in the game. Roberto Alomar extended his hit streak to 11 games; he's 16 for 40 during the streak, an even .400. Alomar has a .400 OBA since joining the Sox

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1572	1574
Attendance	27636	28481

Only 11,000 at the Fish game last night. Dontrelle Willis is going against Randy Johnson today, and I heard that they have an advance sale of 20,000 and expect a big walk-up gate. Folks, this team is worth supporting even when Dontrelle isn't pitching.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1557	1559
Attendance	27665	28508

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1550	1553
Attendance	27679	28515

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1535	1538
Attendance	27636	28465

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1520	1523
Attendance	27576	28369

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1505	1508
Attendance	27527	28309

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1491	1499
Attendance	27487	28295

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1476	1484
Attendance	27477	28284

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1462	1469
Attendance	27486	28271

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1447	1459
Attendance	27483	28284

Attendance is starting to catch up to last year's numbers. We're also going into the period where attendance started to dip last year due to the negative coverage of the labor negotiations. With a number of teams still in playoff races (and different teams than last year), the hit attendance took in August of last year may not happen, and the September numbers may be higher, also.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1432	1444
Attendance	27439	28260

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1417	1429
Attendance	27353	28178

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1388	1354
Attendance	27291	28132

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1357	1323
Attendance	27128	28078

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1342	1308
Attendance	27086	28050

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1328	1295
Attendance	27078	28074

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1313	1295
Attendance	27088	28074

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1298	1295
Attendance	27110	28074

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1289	1295
Attendance	27093	28074

Here's a table showing the change for each team through the same period as last year.

	2002		2003
Through Same Period	Games	Avg. Attendance	Games	Avg. Attendance	Pct. Change
Angels	45	24685	43	36368	47.3
Expos	39	8427	40	12191	44.7
Reds	44	22653	42	29886	31.9
Marlins	46	10778	43	13390	24.2
Royals	36	18137	43	22221	22.5
Phillies	45	20655	43	25199	22.0
Blue Jays	41	18702	41	22603	20.9
Athletics	47	24549	45	26687	8.7
Cubs	37	34324	41	35503	3.4
Twins	44	21433	44	21975	2.5
Devil Rays	40	12804	46	13009	1.6
Dodgers	42	37117	45	37661	1.5
Red Sox	44	32817	40	32938	0.4
Giants	40	39663	40	39049	-1.5
Cardinals	46	37572	44	36416	-3.1
Yankees	44	42680	42	40826	-4.3
White Sox	46	21806	44	20724	-5.0
Pirates	45	22930	42	21396	-6.7
Tigers	38	18634	40	17362	-6.8
Rangers	45	30078	43	27585	-8.3
Braves	47	32595	41	29593	-9.2
Astros	40	31350	43	28230	-10.0
Mariners	46	43155	41	38350	-11.1
Diamondbacks	45	39245	42	33562	-14.5
Orioles	39	34502	44	29186	-15.4
Padres	43	29138	44	24584	-15.6
Mets	39	36108	38	29546	-18.2
Rockies	46	36373	46	28799	-20.8
Brewers	42	24091	44	18609	-22.8
Indians	39	31564	40	20639	-34.6

It seems winning the World Series really helped the Angels, and playing games in San Juan made a difference to the Expos. The new stadium has given Cincinnati a boost. In general, however, winning seems to have helped teams. Seven of the team that are showing a positive gain are either building on last year's wins or have improved themselves this year. It's good to see KC and Toronto both gaining in attendance.

I also find Texas interesting. It seems that the lure of Alex Rodriguez alone is not enough to keep fannies in the seats. Texas will have to find a way to win to get the fans back.

Update: I was curious about the Marlins increase, and I wondered how much it had to do with Dontrelle Willis. The Marlins are getting a boost when Willis pitches, but they would still be up without him. The Marlins are drawing 15,542 when Willis pitches, 12,697 otherwise.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1274	1280
Attendance	27096	28057

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1259	1265
Attendance	26990	27992

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1244	1250
Attendance	26892	27890

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1231	1236
Attendance	26861	27826

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1217	1221
Attendance	26869	27778

I'm sorry, I didn't realize this when I wrote today's attendance report.

Last night's game, was the makeup game for the second half of the Japan Trip kaiser Selig canceled. The game was not available on many of the A's or MLB promotional calendars and handouts. In fact, Roy Steele the A's public address announcer, was alerting fans after games last weekend against the Giants that the A's would be playing on Monday the 30th. Essentially, the 24,831 were all 'walk ups' (or log ons). The two Japan games, and eventually the two makeup games, were not part of the season ticket holder's package.

My apologies to A's fans everywhere. That was a nice turnout for an unscheduled game. And thanks to Elephants in Oakland for pointing this out to me.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1202	1205
Attendance	26889	27797

The big crowds from the weekend didn't carry over in KC last night. Only 14,645 for the double header. I guess Cleveland fans won't drive that far. :-) What's even more disappointing was the crowd in Oakland. The A's are in a battle for the AL West, the Mariners show up, and only 24,831 are at the stadium. Maybe that's pretty good for a Monday night, but there were 38,000 in Baltimore to watch the O's battle the Yankees. Oakland fans, you can do better! You have a great organization there. The more you show up, the more they'll be able to keep that team viable!

Update: Seems I was wrong about the low turnout of A's fans. The game was a makeup from the aborted Japan trip, and season ticket holders did not have tickets for the same. So the 24000 were walk ups.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1176	1180
Attendance	26786	27702

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1160	1165
Attendance	26636	27560

40,189 In Kansas City last night. Only 24,000 in Toronto for what should be a very good series between two good Canadian clubs. KC should boost the numbers this weekend.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1145	1150
Attendance	26505	27439

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1134	1137
Attendance	26494	27421

5717 Watching in Montreal today. That's not very much.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1119	1122
Attendance	26476	27400

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1104	1107
Attendance	26473	27433

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1096	1099
Attendance	26490	27429

Attendance has been on the rise, but the comparison with last year shows it is a seasonal trend. This year's attendance is staying stubbornly about 1000 below last year's on average. But now that school is out and the weather is getting warmer (not on the East Coast, but I assume in the rest of the country) people are showing up for ball games. And there are five good pennant races out there, and if the Phillies luck has changed, there may soon be six.

Last Monday, I reported on the boost interleage play had given attendance. Elephants in Oakland leveled this criticism, noting that a number of other factors might have contributed to this rise in attendance. So I said I'd check this Monday-Thursday of non-interleague with last Monday-Thursday of interleague. The Elephants are a smart animals. June 9th through June 12th, inclusive, the average attendance for the interleague games played was 23,754. For June 16th through 19th inclusive, the average attendance for non-interleague games was 25,810. And that's with disappointing attendance for the big series in KC.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1081	1084
Attendance	26339	27363

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1067	1070
Attendance	26194	27274

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1053	1055
Attendance	26095	27233

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1039	1040
Attendance	26095	27224

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1024	1025
Attendance	26081	27203

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1010	1010
Attendance	26099	27188

All the Elephants in Oakland write:

I enjoy the fact you are posting the attendance numbers. But I did want to question that interleague was the de facto cause for the jump in numbers. As it so happens, each year interleague starts it is also the first week out of school and about the time that the weather is universally good from coast to coast and border to boarder.

Good weather, end of the NHL season, no school and also the fact that teams kick their promotional give aways into high gear at this time make it look like Kaiser Selig was a visionary for dreaming up interleague.

In fact, it's just a culmanation of factors.

That is certainly a legitimate criticism. However, we now have four days of intra-league games, and it will be interesting to compare this Monday-Thursday with last Monday-Thursday. Also, I notice that the next two weekends will be interleague series, which should also contribute to make interleague attendance look good.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	1003	1009
Attendance	26109	27189

Update: Interleague was a big boost this year. Average attendance in interleague games so far, 28012. In non-interleague games, 25737, an 8.8% increase.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	974	979
Attendance	25915	26865

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	959	964
Attendance	25884	26760

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	946	963
Attendance	25934	26760

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	931	948
Attendance	25978	26771

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	916	933
Attendance	26024	26806

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	915	918
Attendance	26024	26840

Interleague play appears to have given attendance a boost. This is the first time I remember average attendance being over 26,000 this year.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	900	903
Attendance	25933	26759

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	886	888
Attendance	25823	26633

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	873	873
Attendance	25747	26559

There seems to have been some gains this week. Through games of May 31, MLB was about 1100 seats behind on average. Now it's down to about 800.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	858	865
Attendance	25738	26591

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	844	851
Attendance	25754	26680

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	831	837
Attendance	25760	26801

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	828	825
Attendance	25769	26894

Tom Bridge of Ramblings of a Baseball Addict writes:

I mentioned the bit about Pittsburgh being a large road draw to my girlfriend, a longtime resident of Pittsburgh, recently transplanted to Northern Virginia and she said that it wasn't surprising considering of the number of people who grew up in the area and have made their diaspora to the world at large. Apparently many of the people who grow up around there head for distant lands as to escape the bleak job market for skilled individuals. This is also why there is a Primanti Bros. sandwich shop in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and why there are many Pittsburgh-themed bars spread in unusual, non-PA locations.

Apparently, Pittsburghers love Pittsburgh, but not living there!

This is sort of the reverse Anaheim theory. People went to Angels games to see the visiting team, since Anaheim had a high population of relocated people. I don't know if that's true any more.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	813	810
Attendance	25701	26819

Clemens going for 300 in Comerica should give the Tigers a real boost. The Yankees are the most popular road team, and the Tigers are the least popular. But there is a surprise in the biggest draws on the road:

Team	Avg. Road Attend.
Yankees	34,277
Pirates	32,523
Cubs	31,824
Rangers	29,987
Giants	29,768

The Pirates are the 2nd best road draw in baseball? Looks like they were the visiting team for a couple of big opening days.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	800	795
Attendance	25629	26694

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	785	780
Attendance	25611	26563

Attendance seems to be catching up a little this week. A friend of mine wondered how the Expos are doing. In San Juan, they averaged 14,282. In Montreal, they are averaging 11,338. They've had two crowds over 30,000, but six game in the 5,000s.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	775	771
Attendance	25695	26624

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	760	756
Attendance	25728	26711

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	746	741
Attendance	25780	26841

You know, it's been a pretty good year for baseball so far. Twenty-three teams are within eight games of first place. The Expos, the Royals and the Blue Jays are doing unexpectedly well. Injuries are bringing a new group of power hitters to the fore in the NL. There's a lot going on. Take a friend (or better still, a group of friends) to a ball game and remind them how much fun you have at a game.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	737	730
Attendance	25729	26806

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	707	700
Attendance	25369	26601

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	692	686
Attendance	25322	26574

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	651	647
Attendance	25408	26558

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	630	627
Attendance	25255	26374

Attendance seems to be losing ground every day.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	615	611
Attendance	25096	26127

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	600	596
Attendance	24993	25981

If the majors continue at this rate, they will draw as a whole 2.4 million fewer fans this year.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	556	554
Attendance	25172	26118

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	549	545
Attendance	25234	26115

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	505	502
Attendance	25043	26071

It's interesting, attendance has been good at the low temperatures. It looks like the temperate games in the 60's have not been drawing the fans. I'm sure I'll be looking more deeply at this subject when I have more time. Ivan Baxter was wondering if cold weather had anything to do with the poor attendance. Over the same period last year, the average temperature was 64 degrees. This year, it's 63 degrees, so it is a little colder. However, if you look at the distribution of temperatures of individual games:

Temperature Range	# Games, 2002	#Games, 2003
30's and 40's	50	64
50's and 60's	239	229
70's+	216	215

There have been a lot more game when the starting temp was in the 30's (21 in 2003 vs. 3 in 2002). I'm not sure this is enough to make all the difference, but it probably has some effect. Of course, we can measure attendance by temperature this year and last:

Temperature Range	Avg. Attendance, 2002	Avg. Attendance, 2003
30's	27,211	27,669
40's	26,884	24,424
50's	28,806	27,860
60's	29,532	27,777
70's	23,082	22,319
80's+	20,198	20,283

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	494	490
Attendance	25125	26232

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	480	475
Attendance	25208	26373

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	465	460
Attendance	25323	26545

Through games of May 4th, 2003.

Attendance, through same period	2003	2002
Games	459	453
Attendance	25345	26627

ESPN finally picks up on this story.

The biggest fall has been in Cleveland, where that amazing Jacobs Field sellout streak is a distant memory. The Indians are down 30.7 percent this season, just ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers, where attendance is down 30.5 percent in Miller Park's third year.

Leanne and Marc Schneider brought their three children to a Braves game last week. Andrew, 12, Hayley, 9, and Justin, 5, thoroughly enjoyed themselves, but their parents can't afford many of these outings.

"It's expensive," Leanne Schneider said, her kids munching on hot dogs and snacks. "You bring a family and it costs $40 to feed them. More like $50. It's at least $10 apiece for a hot dog.

"We come at least once a year. If it were less expensive, we would come more often. The kids love it. It's a real treat."

So far, my experience trying to get tickets confirms this. I was able to get field boxes for tonight's Red Sox game, and I've also got great seats for Saturday's game at Camden Yards. Has baseball finally priced itself out of most fans? My Red Sox ticket cost $77.00. My wife compared it to the price of Broadway play.

The good thing is that lower attendance will likely be the catalyst to bring prices down.

Update: William Kelly has a different take on ticket prices, and thinks a Braves game can be a great bargain.

Great play in the Red Sox game. Lee on 2nd, two outs, line drive single into the outfield. Lee running hard, Damian Jackson makes a great throw to the plate, Mirabelli gets run over but holds on to the ball to tag Lee out.

The stadium is empty in Tampa Bay. After last night's exciting win and this edge of your seat game, Tampa fans are missing some fun baseball. Get out and support your team!