MLB Scores Highest Saturday Average Attendance Since 2013 with Nearly 583K Total Fans

A lot of people attended Major League Baseball games Saturday.

MLB announced the average crowd of 38,858 for games across the league was the highest Saturday average since August 2013. Nine of the 15 games drew crowds of more than 40,000 people, and more than 582,000 people attended contests in total.

There was no shortage of attractive games Saturday, which surely helped bolster the attendance numbers.

Matchups between intra-league contenders such as the ones between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds; Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves; Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays; and Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels stood out. So did high-profile divisional rivalries between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals in the National League and New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles in the American League.

Saturday was also the continuation of a yearlong pattern.

MLB Network's Jon Heyman noted Friday that league-wide attendance has increased by approximately nine percent this season, which is on pace to be the biggest jump since the 1998 campaign.

That 1998 season captured the nation's attention because Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled each other in the pursuit of Roger Maris' single-season home-run record of 61. Barry Bonds now holds the record with 73.

The attendance leap is notable considering the rule changes in place this season.

MLB instituted a pitch clock, larger bases and the banning of the shift to increase action and exciting plays while cutting down on the dead time in between sequences. The league released data earlier this month that revealed the average nine-inning game lasted two hours and 38 minutes to that point in the season, which is the lowest mark since 1984.

It is also notably lower than the average of three hours and 10 minutes per nine-inning game in 2021.

The attendance spike could be partially attributed to the rule changes, although there are also a number of teams still in contention heading into August.

As of Sunday, 12 of the 15 American League teams were within 6.5 games of a playoff spot. On the National League side, 11 of the 15 teams were within seven games of a postseason position.

More teams being in contention means more fans are interested in the season heading into the stretch run. That, in turn, leads to more fans going to the ballpark.