The major leagues have completely escaped from the aftermath of the corona pandemic.
The number of fans visiting the baseball field is steadily increasing. As of the 13th (Korean time), the Major League Baseball, which has played 185 games, has an average of 28,151 fans per game, an increase of 4.8% from 26,860 during the same period last year.
Of the 30 teams, 19 increased and 11 decreased.
The team with the highest attendance increase was the Cleveland Guardians, up 72.9% from last year. The Oakland Athletics are second with 54.0 percent, the New York Mets are third with 31.5 percent, and the Seattle Mariners are fourth with 30.8 percent.
The team that stands out is the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pittsburgh, which had been in the bottom ranks for many years, made a sensation at the beginning of the season and appeared to be ranked 5th in attendance growth rate. Up until this day, 101,182 fans from six home games entered, a 21.4% increase from 83,333 during the same period last year. This is an increase of 2,975 from an average of 13,889 per game to 16,864.
Pittsburgh is in second place in the National League Central Division with 7 wins and 5 losses. It is only one game away from the leading Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Chicago Cubs are competing for the lead in the Central District.
Pittsburgh failed to advance to the postseason with a win rate below 50% for 7 consecutive years from 2016 to last year. The number of spectators, which exceeded 2 million in one season, plummeted to 1.92 million in 2017, 1.47 million in 2018, and 1.49 million in 2019. Pittsburgh, which mobilized 1.26 million people last year after going through the corona pandemic in 2020-2021, is expected to exceed 1.5 million people this season if the trend is now.
Pittsburgh’s recovery can be found in the changed team color. Veteran players recruited last winter hold the center of the squad, and young prospects are invigorating. The harmony between old and new stands out.
Returning MVP Andrew McCutchen is doing his part with a batting average of 0.323, 1 home run, and 3 RBIs, while outfielder Brian Reynolds is leading the way with a batting average of 0.347, 5 home runs, and 14 RBIs. Korean utilityman Bae Ji-hwan, who has formed a vibrant young group with shortstop O’Neal Cruz, third baseman Kibrian Hayes, infielder Rodolfo Castro, and outfielder Jack Swinsky, is also contributing a lot to Gongsuju.
Bae Ji-hwan has a batting average of 0.229, 2 homers, 6 RBIs, and 3 stolen bases. On the 12th, against the Houston Astros, he hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning and began to receive enthusiastic support from home fans. Choi Ji-man, who fell into a deep slump at the beginning of the season, showed signs of recovery by hitting home runs for two days in a row on the 11th and 12th.
Pittsburgh is a typical small market club.안전놀이터 It is in the bottom ranks in payroll (28th), crowd size (26th), and club value (24th). Since it is the beginning of the season, it cannot be concluded prematurely, but the reason for the over 20% increase in spectators should be found in the team’s performance. Pittsburgh’s home stadium, PNC Park, has a capacity of 38,362.
The Tampa Bay Race, which had a 12-game winning streak until this day, also showed a steep rise of 21.0%. The average per game increased from 13,861 to 16,770 this season. 6th place in audience growth rate.
On the other hand, five teams — the Colorado Rockies (-20.5%), Cincinnati Reds (-16.0%), Toronto Blue Jays (-12.5%), Baltimore Orioles (-12.0%), and Boston Red Sox (-11.6%) — scored 10% or more. showed a large decline.
The Los Angeles Angels, led by Mike Trout and Ohtani Shoei, decreased by 8.1% from 33,574 last year to 30,848. people, a decrease of 2.0%.