Baseball Attendance Drops For Fourth Straight Year

Major League Baseball’s average attendance dropped in the season that ended on Sunday, the fourth year of decline in a row.

The Baltimore Orioles drew 1.3 million fans, the lowest total at home in a full season since 1978. The Kansas City Royals attracted 1.5 million, the lowest total since 2006.

The San Francisco Giants dropped from 3.2 million fans at home to about 2.7 million, the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays went from 2.3 million to about 1.8 million.

The declines come in season in which there were more strikeouts than hits for the second straight year as batters trying to hit home runs whiffed at a record pace for the 12th year in a row.

There were also signs of a growing gap in competitiveness, as four teams won 100 games in the same season, the first time that has ever happened, while four clubs lost at least 100 games for only the second time.

Enjoy this good analysis by Ronald Blum of The Associated Press.

Photo by Dallas Morning News.