Major League Baseball

MLB attendance drops 1.2 percent this year

Published Oct. 2, 2013 1:37 a.m. ET

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Major League Baseball's average attendance fell 1.2 percent this year, with the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies experiencing big drops.

The average was 30,514, down from 30,895 last year and the peak of 32,785 in 2007. Total attendance of 74.03 million was down from 74.86 million last season but was the sport's sixth-highest.

There were 37 postponements this year, up from 21 in 2012.

''After the challenges posed by poor weather early in the season, our game showed its resiliency with a terrific second half,'' commissioner Bud Selig said.

After cutting payroll ahead of their second season in a downtown ballpark, the Marlins went 62-100 and experienced a 29 percent drop in home attendance, from 2.2 million to 1.6 million. The Phillies were 73-89 in their poorest season since 2000 and watched home attendance fall from 3.57 million to just over 3 million.

Milwaukee fell from 2.8 million to 2.5 million in a season when NL MVP Ryan Braun was suspended for the final 65 games after admitting he used banned performance-enhancing drugs. Minnesota (66-96) dropped by 298,000 and Texas by 282,000.

Toronto rose 437,000 to 2.5 million after acquiring Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey. The resurgent Los Angeles Dodgers climbed by 419,000 and led the major leagues at 3.7 million. Washington went up by 281,000, Baltimore by 255,000 and Cincinnati by 187,000.

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