Major League Baseball attendance in the ballparks last year decreased by 480,877 admissions. With a total of 72,678,798 admissions in 2017, down from 73,159,674 in 2016, this was a decrease of less than seven tenths of one percent. It is impossible to get an exact handle on total revenues for baseball but most studies indicate that it is in the 10-12 billion dollar range. Using the lower figure, if $10 billion can ever be considered a lower figure, the decrease in revenue from attendance amounts to 48 one thousandth of one percent of total revenue.  

Does anybody really believe that this loss constitutes a financial crisis for baseball? 

In 2017, 12 of the 30 Major League teams had increases in attendance. Eight of the 12 who showed an increase in attendance were teams that made it to the playoffs. Three of the other four teams with increases in attendance were teams that improved their records from 2016-2017. The Los Angeles Angels moved from fourth place to second place in the American League West, the Milwaukee Brewers moved from fourth place to second in the National League Central and the Atlanta Braves improved from fifth to third in the National League East. (The Braves, of course, had the additional boost of opening their new Sun Trust Ballpark which contributed to their 24 percent increase.) The only team that increased attendance while having a poorer season in the field was the St. Louis Cardinals who went from second to third in the National League Central.  

Of the ten teams that did make the playoffs, the six division winners and four wild cards, eight of them showed increased attendance last year. The two that made the playoffs and had lower attendance were, ironically, the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, the two clubs with the oldest stadiums in baseball.  You don’t have to be a genius to figure out that the Cubs decline in 2017 might be due, at least in part, to the letdown from winning their first World Series in 108 years in 2016. In the Red Sox case, even though they finished with same record both years, winning the Division both years, their 2016 attendance was increased by the fans reaction to the retirement of David Ortiz.

Obviously, baseball attendance is closely linked to the performance of teams on the field, although baseball fans are a strange breed. Throughout their 108 year World Championship drought, the Cubs fans continued to flock to see their Cubbies.

Some baseball teams have suffered larger reductions in attendance than others and are taking steps to remedy the problem. The Baltimore Orioles, for example, have instituted a program they call “Kids Cheer Free” which provides two free upper deck tickets to a ball game with a regular priced ticket purchased by an adult. Orioles Executive Vice President John Angelos said of the program, “The Orioles are committed to sustaining the access for families from all walks of life to our great game, and that commitment is reflected in the ‘Kids Cheer Free’ initiative and our many other family-focused programs.” 

The Washington Post recently reported that “Baltimore’s National League neighbors, the Washington Nationals, have catered to families in recent years by designating Sunday home games as Family Fundays, with various activities for kids. The Nationals  announced last month that they will open an enhanced children’s play area near the right field gate this season.”

Baseball has recognized for some time that their fan base is becoming more and more older people and have been instituting programs to encourage and interest younger people in the sport. Much of the concern among baseball owners and the Commissioner’s Office is that younger people have more to do these days and live at a faster pace making baseball games, particularly long ones, less attractive to this demographic. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, also known here as “The Idiot In The Commissioner’s Office,” has come up with several new ways to make the game more exciting and faster moving. His Pace of the Game Committee is experimenting this year at the Minor League level with several ideas, including a time clock to speed up pitchers and starting extra innings with a runner on second base.

If baseball is as slow and boring to this new generation and needs to be sped up and made more exciting, can anyone explain to me why they continue to sanitize the game while trying to make the games get over quicker?

The instant replay rule, which supposedly provides the right call on a disputed play has eliminated arguments between players, managers and umpires, while taking longer in most cases than the rules supposedly allow. The average baseball fan loved those confrontations and the opportunity they provided to support their team vocally.

The rules all but eliminating collisions between players at home plate and second base have reduced the drama the game provided. Last week’s slide into second base by the Yankees’ Tyler Austin and Boston’s Joe Kelly’s retaliation in hitting Austin with a pitch later in the game resulted in two bench clearing brawls that have been the talk of baseball fans and the media for several days.  

I admit that the rule limiting visits to the pitcher by coaches, managers and players have eliminated some slow times during games but that is about the only change that has been initiated or is being planned that does not have more negative consequences than positive.

Baseball is alive and well and does not need changing. The miniscule reductions in ballpark attendance have been more than offset by other revenue sources such as merchandise sales and radio and television revenues. Attendance first passed 73 million mark in 2004, increased to 79.5 million in 2007 and 78.6 million in 2008 and has since hovered at 73-74 million per year except in 2017 when it dipped to 72.7 million.   

Maury Brown, writing in Forbes Magazine said recently “It’s a heck of a time to be an executive in Major League Baseball. Gross revenues are well in excess of $10 billion, national television ratings were up last year on Walt Disney-owned ESPN, and the league continues to knock it out of the park in prime time at the local and regional level. Throw in a booming business on the sponsorship and digital media front, and well, it’s maybe never been rosier.”

With a rejuvenated Yankee-Red Sox rivalry in what could be one of the most hotly contested pennant races in recent years, there is no need to worry about baseball attendance anywhere, particularly the Northeast. As I have said many times before in this space, baseball ain’t broke, don’t fix it! 

— Carl Johnson lives in Sanford and writes a weekly baseball column for the Journal Tribune Sunday. Contact him at [email protected] and check out his blog at baseballworldbjt.com.