Major League Baseball draws highest attendance since 2017
More than 70 million fans will attend Major League Baseball games for the first time in six years, a post-pandemic rebound for a sport that instituted its biggest on-field changes in decades.
A pitch clock to speed play -- game times are down 24 minutes to 2:40 for nine innings this season -- limits on defensive shifts to increase offense, new social spaces at ballparks and technology innovations to speed entry have factored into a 9.2% rise in average attendance to 29,176. Expanding the playoffs to 12 teams, which began last year, led to more than half the teams remaining in mathematical contention....
What do you think of the changes? I don't follow close enough to opine.
Still, the average attendance remains below the record high of 32,785 in 2007 and MLB hasn't reached 30,000 since 2017....
Attendance is based on tickets sold, not fans who actually walk through turnstiles. The league brought in 68.55 million fans through Wednesday and advance sales for weekend series meant 70 million is essentially assured.
Twenty-four teams were up, led by NL champion Philadelphia and Cincinnati. Of the six clubs with decreases, just two dropped by six figures: the Chicago White Sox and Washington.
Combined with the minors, baseball will top 100 million fans. Minor leagues drew around 32.1 million for 7,884 dates, an average of 4,076 and up 3.9%....
Tickets may soon disappear entirely, replaced by facial recognition software similar to what's used in the U.S. Global Entry program. Philadelphia started a pilot program of Go-Ahead Entry at the Citizens Bank Park first base gate last month. More teams are likely to adopt it for 2024.
"It seems preposterous if you were to look five years ago that someone would be entering the stadium with just their face and their entire family walking in with them and by next year that will be at most MLB ballparks," Philadelphia Phillies vice president and chief technology officer Sean Walker said.
Fuck that Big Brother

, I may never attend again.
Teams also have given ballpark food much thought. Mobile food orders are available for all 30 clubs, including 25 through the MLB Ballpark app, four through Uber Eats and Seattle through a website. Twelve clubs provide for grab-and-go food....
Atlanta has self-checkout concessions at Truist Park, much like a grocery store, and has been sending push notifications with content, promotions and discounts to some fans when they enter through a gate. The Braves are testing having fans store payment information to allow food purchases without stopping at a register....
I like that. My eating and drinking was always limited to the hawkers since I didn't want to miss any game play waiting in lines.
How many games did you attend this year? Will you go to playoff games if the Cubs get to and survive the WC Round?
Cubs tied with Marlins for NL WC #3, ut-oh. Losing 1-5 in the 4th, on the verge of getting swept by @Atlanta

. Marlins 0-0 at Mets in the 5th.
Orioles still 2.5 games over the Rays for the AL East

. Little hope for MLB best thanks to the Cubs' choke

, 3 games back.
Mariners 1.5 games behind the Cheatin' Astros for AL WC #3, ut-oh.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/standings