Every sports league has faced attendance issues over the past few years. Recovering from 2020, when literally no fans were allowed at games, is a major obstacle. However, MLB continues to struggle with attendance in 2022…and it’s not because of Covid. So what is the underlying reason for baseball’s attendance struggles?
The underlying reason for MLB’s plummeting attendance
First, let’s break down MLB’s attendance trends.
Per Axios, 23 of 30 teams have seen drops in attendance this season. Teams such as the Athletics have seen an abysmal 54.6 percent drop. Oakland held a firesale over the offseason and started a complete rebuild. So their numbers are not all that surprising. However, the Athletics have their own issues to worry about.
The Diamondbacks, Guardians, and Nationals have all seen attendance drops of over 20 percent. Arizona and Washington are both struggling, and Cleveland doesn’t feature much in the way of marketable star-power. And that is where the conversation begins… marketability.
Teams that have marketable superstars tend to see decent attendance. The Yankees have technically seen a decrease but they still average 37 thousand fans per game. Aaron Judge is going to sell tickets on his own.
Attendance increases
Let’s take a look at the 7 teams which have seen attendance increases this season.
Oddly enough, the laboring Detroit Tigers have had an uptick in fans at the ballpark. But this is likely a result of Miguel Cabrera’s early-season 3,000-hit pursuit. Miguel Cabrera is one of the more well-known stars in MLB and the Tigers have benefitted as result.
The other teams that have seen attendance increases are the Mariners, White Sox, Braves, Marlins, Padres, and Blue Jays. All of these teams either have marketable stars or are playing good baseball this season. The one exception is the Marlins. However, they still only average 12 thousand fans per contest, a mark that is only better than the A’s. So their increase hasn’t done much for their overall attendance.
The leaders in overall attendance are the Dodgers, Cardinals, Yankees, Braves, and Padres. And these are all fairly big market clubs with marketable stars. St. Louis and San Diego are not as big of markets, but they have players who are going to sell tickets on their team.
The underlying reason?
MLB fans want to see greatness. They want to learn who their players are and see them play. This is even more important than winning at times.
For example, the Angels average 31 thousand fans. Meanwhile, the Rays only get around 14 thousand fans. But Tampa Bay is in the playoff race and has performed better. However, the Rays don’t have any marketable stars on their roster. Meanwhile, the Angels have Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.
Small market teams can’t keep up with the big markets in terms of adding superstars. The Dodgers have Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw, Freddie Freeman and other extremely well-known players. Of course, fans are going to want to see them play.
But the Rays can’t afford all of those big names. So their best players are Wander Franco, Shane McClanahan, and Yandy Diaz. Those are all good players but they aren’t going to sell tickets. You could make an argument for Franco, but even that’s questionable.
The league needs to even the playing field. Imagine if a player such as Shohei Ohtani would have signed in Tampa Bay? The Rays would surely see more fans. Imagine if the A’s didn’t feel the need to sell off their top talent?
LeBron James previously signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA. The Kansas City Chiefs were able to give Patrick Mahomes a huge extension in the NFL. But would the Cleveland Guardians or Kansas City Royals be able to land the best players in baseball? Likely not.
MLB needs a salary cap.
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