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(Photo by Tom Wilson/Getty Images)

(Editor’s Note: This story will be updated when the season ends to reflect the final numbers)

With multiple playoff races still up in the air, thereâ€s another more subtle down-to-the-wire race going on in Major League Baseball.

With five days left in the regular season, MLB will need an excellent finish to equal last yearâ€s attendance. If it can’t do it, it will mark the first time that MLB attendance has dipped since baseball returned to action post-pandemic.

Currently, MLB has drawn 68.914 million fans, with an average of 29,301 fans per game. Thatâ€s down from last yearâ€s 71.348 million total and 29,544 average.

With multiple playoff spots still at play, MLB can expect solid attendance to finish the season. If it continues drawing at its current average, it will finish with 71,024,625 million fans. MLB would need to draw on average 33,798 fans per game over the final six days to equal last yearâ€s attendance.

Attendance Declines

Stadium moves have factored in. The Athletics†shift to Sacramento has had little impact given their already dismal numbers. The Rays, however, were forced into Steinbrenner Field by Tropicana Field damage and are drawing 6,802 fewer fans per game.

Even so, the biggest drops belong elsewhere.

The Cardinals, once among baseball’s best draws, have seen their attendance crater. After missing three million fans last year for the first time in a normal season since 2003, they drew 2,250,007 this year—7,754 fewer per game than 2024, which itself was down nearly 5,000 per game from 2023.

The revenue effects from dropping 12,000+ fans per game over two years are dramatic. Using a modest ballpark figure of a $100 per cap (revenue per attendee), attendance-based fan revenue would have declined nearly $100 million from 2023â€s numbers to 2025. Because of how MLB shares ticket revenue, 52% of that revenue would have been the Cardinals’, meaning their direct decline would have been tens of millions of dollars.

The Orioles are the other biggest decliner. Baltimore has drawn 22,769 fans per game this season after averaging 28,162 fans per game in 2024.

Attendance Gains

The biggest attendance gainers in 2025? That would be Mets. New York is drawing 9,831 more fans per game compared to last year and will top three million fans for the first time since 2009. The signing of Juan Soto isn’t the only driver, but it illustrates how increasing fan interest in a team can be highly lucrative. While the Cardinals†fan revenue has likely declined significantly, the Mets revenue from increased attendance will likely have increased by tens of millions of dollars this year.

The Tigers, one of the AL’s best this season until their recent slide down the standings, have seen a nearly 6,000 fan per game boost, while the Giants, who are still mathematically alive for the postseason in the final week of play, saw a nearly 3,000 fan per game jump.

The Padres have also seen another attendance increase, as they are on pace to finish third in the majors in attendance, behind only the Yankees and Dodgers. This is the third straight season in which San Diego has topped three million fans. They had done so only once in franchise history before that.

Dodgers Dominance

The Dodgers have long been the biggest draw in baseball, but this year, they’ve reached new levels. Los Angeles finished their home schedule with 4.012 million fans in attendance, making them the first MLB team to top four million fans in a season since the Yankees in 2008 (the last year of the old Yankee Stadium).

While the Dodgers are clearly the most popular team at home in terms of attendance, with a strong finish this week they will likely draw the most fans on the road, as well. The Dodgers have averaged an MLB-best 35,220 fans per game on the road. The Tigers so far are the worst road draw, averaging 25,185 fans per game.

2025 MLB Attendance Totals

Hereâ€s how all MLB teams stack up attendance wise with five days to go this season:

TeamAttendanceAVGCHANGE
FROM 2024Los Angeles Dodgers4,012,47049,537880San Diego Padres3,261,66342,3591,241New York Mets3,184,57039,3169,831New York Yankees3,180,67842,409512Philadelphia Phillies3,179,16041,831304Chicago Cubs2,833,31537,2801,357San Francisco Giants2,777,62936,0732,976Atlanta Braves2,764,93535,908-1,739Houston Astros2,727,87733,677-1,326Boston Red Sox2,667,46334,1981,359Toronto Blue Jays2,641,47734,7561,654Milwaukee Brewers2,527,91732,4091,086Los Angeles Angels2,445,94432,183361Detroit Tigers2,413,44229,7965,972Colorado Rockies2,404,61330,058-1,302Texas Rangers2,349,15129,736-2,999Seattle Mariners2,317,66730,496-1,057Arizona Diamondbacks2,315,60429,311399St. Louis Cardinals2,250,00727,778-7,754Cincinnati Reds2,115,98926,7851,795Cleveland Guardians1,890,79624,879-824Washington Nationals1,835,99723,538-750Minnesota Twins1,768,72822,109-1,985Baltimore Orioles1,768,51122,673-5,489Kansas City Royals1,748,80121,8601,387Pittsburgh Pirates1,525,02518,827-2,412Chicago White Sox1,445,73818,072140Miami Marlins1,051,96213,48762Tampa Bay Rays786,7509,713-6,802Athletics721,0749,488-2,041

Biggest Average Attendance Gains In 2025

TeamAttendanceAVGCHANGE
FROM 2024New York Mets3,184,57039,3169,831Detroit Tigers2,413,44229,7965,972San Francisco Giants2,777,62936,0732,976Cincinnati Reds2,115,98926,7851,795Toronto Blue Jays2,641,47734,7561,654Kansas City Royals1,748,80121,8601,387Boston Red Sox2,667,46334,1981,359Chicago Cubs2,833,31537,2801,357San Diego Padres3,261,66342,3591,241Milwaukee Brewers2,527,91732,4091,086Los Angeles Dodgers4,012,47049,537880New York Yankees3,180,67842,409512Arizona Diamondbacks2,315,60429,311399Los Angeles Angels2,445,94432,183361Philadelphia Phillies3,179,16041,831304Chicago White Sox1,445,73818,072140Miami Marlins1,051,96213,48762

Biggest Average Attendance Declines In 2025

TeamAttendanceAVGCHANGE
FROM 2024St. Louis Cardinals2,250,00727,778-7,754Tampa Bay Rays786,7509,713-6,802Baltimore Orioles1,768,51122,673-5,489Texas Rangers2,349,15129,736-2,999Pittsburgh Pirates1,525,02518,827-2,412Athletics721,0749,488-2,041Minnesota Twins1,768,72822,109-1,985Atlanta Braves2,764,93535,908-1,739Houston Astros2,727,87733,677-1,326Colorado Rockies2,404,61330,058-1,302Seattle Mariners2,317,66730,496-1,057Cleveland Guardians1,890,79624,879-824Washington Nationals1,835,99723,538-750

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