MLB is all but assured of a fourth consecutive annual attendance increase, with the latest gain at the gates potentially representing one of the last boosts for the league before an expected lockout of the MLB Players Association in December.
Entering the final month of the 2026 regular season, MLB has a total attendance of 61.09 million, and a per-game average of 29,524. Those measures are up by 0.9% from a year ago, and advance meaningfully beyond the scant 0.09% gain in 2025.
Within these topline numbers, however, are a set of somewhat surprising developments. Among them:
- Just 11 of MLB’s 30 teams are up at the gate this season as the league increasingly relies on several teams with sizable attendance gains, such as the Rays, Blue Jays, White Sox, and Mariners. By comparison, 17 clubs showed attendance growth from 2024 to 2025. The final number of teams with 2026 increases, however, could shift somewhat depending on fan patterns during September.
- The Rays’ move back into Tropicana Field after playing in a minor-league facility all of last year due to hurricane damage has had a singular impact on total MLB attendance. The club’s attendance increase of 519,372, the largest among all 30 clubs, exceeds the overall league increase of 518,651 through Monday’s games.
- The Mets, mired in a second straight disappointing season, have MLB’s largest attendance decrease, shedding nearly 370,000 in their count so far compared to 2025. That is a huge shift from last year, when the club had by far MLB’s biggest attendance boost after signing superstar Juan Soto to a record-setting, $765 million contract in December 2024.
One thing isn’t surprising about this year’s attendance trends, though: the Dodgers are leading the league in attendance for a 13th consecutive season, once taking advantage of Dodger Stadium, MLB’s largest facility, and two straight World Series titles. Los Angeles also still has 15 home games left on its regular-season schedule, something set to add about 750,000 fans to the league’s final count for 2026.
MLB went into this season highly optimistic that there would be a fourth consecutive attendance increase to create the first such streak since 2004–07. This is now bearing out as fans continue to embrace elements such as the pitch clock and the newly introduced automatic ball-strike system.
These positive attendance trends, however, stand at significant risk in 2027 and beyond as MLB owners and players remain locked in a bitter labor dispute. The current collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, and a management lockout is expected at that point. Among the key points of division is the owners’ pursuit of a salary cap, something bitterly opposed by players.
Judge Update
Yankees superstar Aaron Judge, meanwhile, could be nearing a return to play after missing more than three months with a fractured rib.
Judge, a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, remains one of the top fan draws, both home and away, and ranked second in MLB jersey sales last year beyond the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani. A specific return date for Judge has not been finalized, but the Yankees are potentially eyeing a homestand that begins Sept. 8.
“I think it’s possible,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said about that timetable. “I’m not going to put a date on it. But I think those things are in play now. Again, it’s about getting the durability, and the workload, built up on him, which is the biggest thing now.”
Despite a run of injuries this year that has included not only Judge but designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton and pitchers Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt, the Yankees have a firm hold on the American League’s top wild card slot.
