Major League Baseball is giving credit to faster game times and an expanded postseason for raising the league’s overall attendance for the third consecutive season.
A total attendance of 71,409,421 was reported by MLB this season, as the Los Angeles Dodgers passed 4 million in total attendance for the first time ever, while the San Diego Padres set a franchise record with 3.4 million in attendance.
It was MLB’s 16th highest attendance all time, with a record of 79,484,718 in 2007.
The Dodgers became the first team to draw 4 million in attendance since the New York Yankees and New York Mets both did it in 2008.
The average MLB game time was 2 hours and 38 minutes this season, the third consecutive year it was under 2:40. The last time the league had an average of under 2:40 for three consecutive seasons was 1983-85.
The New York Mets drew 3.2 million in attendance amid a late-season collapse that kept them out of the playoffs following a loss on the final day of the season. The American League Central had an enthralling stretch drive with the Cleveland Guardians catching the Detroit Tigers on the last week of the season. Those teams will face off in Cleveland in a best-of-three American League wild-card series starting Tuesday.
On television, national, local games, as well as games in Japan, all had viewership increased. FOX averaged 2.04 viewers for nationally televised games, its highest since 2022. ESPN, TBS and the MLB Network all had double-digit viewership increases over last season.
Also on Tuesday, a marquee AL matchup has the Boston Red Sox taking on the host New York Yankees in the wild-card round. The defending champion Dodgers play in the National League wild-card round for the first time since 2021 when they host the Cincinnati Reds.
The Chicago Cubs return to the playoffs for the first time in five seasons against the visiting San Diego Padres in an NL wild-card series.