Nearly two-thirds of MLB teams are currently showing declines in attendance this seasongetty images
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred at the end of the owners’ meetings in N.Y. signaled new concerns regarding league attendance, which remains down by 7% from last year. Manfred on Thursday said, “We are concerned there’s something to it more than weather. You never want to see attendance down, but weather’s a big part of it, and we’re hoping we rebound in the second half of the season.” When questioned last month about the sluggish attendance, he cited record-setting levels of rainouts and cold weather in April and early May and said the gap was not "a hole indicative of a problem with our product." The shortfall is stuck at roughly the same level nearly a month later, with nearly two-thirds of teams clubs showing declines (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Jared Diamond writes MLB in '18 has lots of "home runs, even more strikeouts -- and, relatively speaking, not a lot of people in the stands to see them." The sport "hasn’t seen an attendance drop of more than 6.7% in a single season" since '95, when the "average crowd fell nearly 20% following the player strike that canceled" the '94 World Series. MLB attendance has "remained consistent throughout this decade, never changing more than 1.9% in either direction." This season has been "more than a minor dip, raising legitimate questions about what is happening." Weather "can’t explain the issues everywhere," as Blue Jays' attendance is down 29% at Rogers Centre, a ballpark with a retractable roof, while the Mariners are down 3% at Safeco Field (also a retractable roof) (WSJ.com, 6/15).
SEEING AN IMPACT: On Long Island, David Lennon notes MLB continues to address pace-of-play issues and to date, the "average length of a nine-inning game this season sits at 2:59:49, a significant decrease from 3:05:11 at the end of last year." Part of that is due to the "tighter breaks between innings, but apparently the six-visit cap on mound trips has made a difference, too." The games are "averaging 3.92 visits so far, as compared with 7.41 a year ago." Those "minutes add up." Manfred said, "We’ve managed to play all the games without a mound-related incident." He added, "One of the things that happens when you make rule changes, in the pace-of-game area ... it puts pace in the front of people’s minds. And I think some of what we’re seeing is just actually players playing faster" (NEWSDAY, 6/15). Meanwhile, Manfred said the '19 schedule will likely contain some new tweaks, such as potentially two-game series on a Saturday and Sunday featuring popular matchups. “We have been reluctant because of scheduling traditions to do a two-game series on a weekend. … That’s something you will see in the future,” he said. “If it’s our biggest games, maybe with a bit of flexibility and hard work we can put them on the two days when most people are interested in seeing them" (Fisher).
