MLB decided to take some calculated risks in 2023.
They knew some sectors were growing tired of the long games, the wasted time and the little action, and decided to implement some new rules.
They introduced a pitch clock to avoid so much wasted time between pitches, they put some restrictions on shifts so that more balls went to the outfield for hits, and they now use larger bases to incentivize stolen bases and action on the basepaths.
That, and the rise of young, exciting stars like Ronald Acuna Jr., Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and particularly Shohei Ohtani made things much more interesting for fans.
As a result, attendance numbers registered their largest increase (by percentage) since the 1993 expansion.
MLB insider Jon Heyman brings us the numbers:
“MLB attendance 2023: 70,747,365. 2023 Average: 29,295. 2022: 64,556,636; 2022 Average: 26,843. Up 9.6% over 2022. Highest increase since 1993 expansion. 26 of MLB’s 30 teams were up. 17 teams topped 2.5 million. 8 teams eclipsed 3 million, the most since 2013,” he tweeted.
MLB attendance
2023 70,747,365
2023 Average: 29,295
2022 64,556,636
2022 Average: 26,843Up 9.6% over 2022. Highest increase since 1993 expansion.
26 of MLB’s 30 teams were up
17 teams topped 2.5 million8 teams eclipsed 3 million, the most since 2013
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 3, 2023
Just like that, the league went from hosting over 64 million fans league-wide to almost 71 million in just one year.
That 9.6 percent jump is the largest in 30 years, per Heyman.
Almost every team registered an increase in attendance: 26 out of 30 to be more specific.
Also contributing to these numbers was the fact that there were many teams in the postseason race for longer: that helped maintain interest in several key places such as Cincinnati, San Diego, Chicago, and Seattle.
It’s fair to say that baseball is in a happy, healthy place right now.
It’s not perfect, but it has kept fans interested, and that’s the most important thing.
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