MLB Sets 10-Year High In Saturday Attendance, Sign That Pitch Clock Is Enticing Fans To Get To The Park?

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Major League Baseball released information about Saturday's attendance across the league and the numbers are big. Like, really big. According to MLB, the league recorded its highest Saturday attendance in a decade.

Increasing attendance numbers are a theme for MLB this year. Last month, they boasted about recording 35,000 fans per game on back-to-back weekends for the first time since 2015.

In general, attendance is up in a huge way this season. Fans are coming out to the ol' ballpark at a 9% higher rate this season over last year.

According to several reports, that's the highest year-over-year increase since the historic 1998 season that featured Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chasing the single-season home run record.

So what's going on? Many people assume that the pitch clock is having the desired effect. MLB game times are down significantly, so fans don't have to commit three-and-a-half hours to go see a baseball game.

And perhaps the two are related, but offense is up this season, too. And one of the most exciting plays in baseball -- the stolen base -- is back in a big way.

MLB increased the size of its bases, which is partially contributing to the stolen base attempts. But also, they limited the number of times a pitcher can throw over to try and pick off a runner. That gives runners an advantage. And they are taking advantage of that ... advantage.

And all of that is great. But not the reason, in my opinion, that MLB attendance is up this season.

The reason is that so many teams are still in the playoff race. And teams that tend to draw really well when their teams are good.

Doesn't every team draw well when the team is good? Sure. But teams like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are always going to draw, whether the team is great or not. Same with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

But there are teams like the Oakland A's, Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins. Even when they're good, they don't draw that well.

It's the teams with baseball tradition that have gone through many lean years that are really pumping attendance. The Cincinnati Reds, for example, are surprisingly in the thick of the playoff race. And fans are showing up.

MLB attendance is up big in 2023 and there are many reasons for that including the pitch clock and parity.

CINCINNATI, OH - JUNE 30: Fans participate in the wave during the game between the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Friday, June 30, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

The same is true for the Baltimore Orioles, who have finished last or second-to-last in the AL East in each of the past six seasons.

Eight teams in the American League sit within 5.5 games of the playoffs. In the National League, the number is seven.

So, half of the 30 MLB teams are within range of making the playoffs. That certainly doesn't hurt with regards to attendance.

Add it all up, and Major League Baseball is trending in the right direction as far as capturing the attention of the American public.

And it's about time.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.