The Philadelphia Phillies now have the best attendance numbers during the 2011 Major League Baseball season. In the past two years it has been the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers averaging the most fans per game, but this year began a new chapter for Philadelphia and its fans.
According to the latest MLB attendance report, Philadelphia is now averaging 45,500 fans every night at home. That is an amazing number, and it shows that the Phillies have been able to sell standing room only tickets to get more people into the park. Through the first 60 games of the 2011 MLB season, that is just over 2.73 million fans that have walked through the gates.
Fans are really showing up on the road to see the Phillies amazing pitching staff as well, with 39,553 fans showing up to the average Phillies road game. That is the second best in all of baseball, just behind the New York Yankees at 39,763 road fans per game. It’s pretty impressive for a team to not just draw fans at home, but to pack the opposing ballparks as well, and these two teams are the best at the accomplishment.
There are only a handful of teams in baseball that are selling out a majority of its home games, consisting of Philadelphia, the San Francisco Giants, the Minnesota Twins, and the Boston Red Sox. Those numbers for Minnesota are a testament to the fans as well as the new stadium there (Target Field). The three other teams are right in the middle of the playoff race, and seem pretty much guaranteed to make the postseason if not win each respective division.
Two items that are important to note through August 12 include the Yankees leading in total attendance and the Red Sox selling out every game at a much smaller stadium. The Yankees have drawn 2.82 million fans this year, just ahead of the Phillies, but in three extra games for 2011 so far. Boston has drawn just over 2.22 million fans, but are selling out a Fenway Park that can only hold about 37,000 fans on a good night.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, there are three teams drawing less than 20,000 fans per night. The Florida Marlins have the least amount of fans showing up nightly, with just over 18,000 tickets selling. The Oakland Athletics are just under 19,000 fans per night, giving that franchise the lowest numbers in the American League.