Even in Major League Baseball’s final attendance figures for 2015, youth was served.
The league ended the regular season with an attendance of 73.76 million, a .04 percent increase that narrowly reverses a two-year decline at the turnstiles and represents the seventh-highest total in league history.
But this year’s figure showed a tight correlation between clubs increasing over their gate from 2014, and young stars populating the list of the most popular player jerseys on MLB.com’s online shop.
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Young players like Dallas Keuchel have helped draw more Astros fans to Minute Maid Park.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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That jersey list was led by Chicago Cubs rookie phenom Kris Bryant and the San Francisco Giants’ duo of Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey. The Cubs and Giants were among the 13 of 30 MLB clubs that increased attendance from last year, as were clubs such as the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals and Toronto Blue Jays that also placed players under 30 years of age on the top-selling jersey list, such as Matt Harvey, Andrew McCutchen, Bryce Harper and Josh Donaldson.
“I think the single biggest story for us this year has been the emergence of our young group of stars,” said MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. “For a new commissioner, you can’t ask for a better first-year theme.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels were exceptions to the trend of young stars as an attendance driver, each declining slightly while fielding popular young players such as Clayton Kershaw and Mike Trout. But the two California clubs still ranked first and fifth, respectively, among MLB clubs in attendance, combining for a total draw of more than 6.7 million.
Reid Ryan, president of the upstart Houston Astros, agreed with Manfred that fans were drawn to ballparks by the rapid development of new talent. The Astros made a surprise playoff run on the backs of players such as rookie shortstop Carlos Correa and 25-year-old second baseman Jose Altuve, and added more than 400,000 to their final Minute Maid Park attendance, surpassing 2 million for the first time since 2011.
“I think we’re really on to the next cycle of talent now,” Ryan said. “You see these transitions historically as we move from one group to the next, and what’s happening, certainly in Houston but also around the sport, is that shift as we’ve awakened the next generation. And there’s no question what we’ve seen in Houston from the likes of Correa, Altuve and [pitcher Dallas] Keuchel and so forth is a reconnection with our fan base and a new energy at our ballpark.”
Fourteen MLB clubs surpassed 2.5 million in individual attendance, up from 12 in 2014, and the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates each set franchise records. Conversely, the Philadelphia Phillies posted by far the lowest mark in Citizens Bank Park history with 1.83 million, ranking as MLB’s largest decliner at the gate, and have lost nearly half of their annual draw since 2012.
MLB attendance remains a vital indicator on the health of the league and the industry. Baseball has by far more ticket inventory to sell than any other league, and ticket sales traditionally have represented baseball’s largest individual revenue source.
MLB’s current run, in which the 12 most-attended seasons have occurred in the last 12 years, mirrors a trend in the affiliated minors. All of Minor League Baseball’s top 10 attendance seasons have been since 2005.
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RANK
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PLAYER
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RANK
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PLAYER
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1
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Cubs 3B Kris Bryant
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11
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Mets 3B David Wright
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2
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Giants P Madison Bumgarner
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12
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Blue Jays 3B Josh Donaldson
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3
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Giants C Buster Posey
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13
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Reds 3B Todd Frazier
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4
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Dodgers P Clayton Kershaw
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14
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Red Sox DH David Ortiz
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5
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Angels CF Mike Trout
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15
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Cardinals C Yadier Molina
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6
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Nationals RF Bryce Harper
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16
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Astros SS Carlos Correa
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7
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Giants RF Hunter Pence
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17
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Mets P Jacob deGrom
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8
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Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo
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18
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Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia
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9
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Mets P Matt Harvey
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19
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Mariners P Felix Hernandez
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10
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Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen
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20
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Angels 1B Albert Pujols
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