LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The average attendance for Major League Baseball’s 14 games on Friday was 35,284, the highest for a Friday in April without a home opener since April 25, 2008, according to the league.
Those fans were treated to some exciting games, including the Chicago Cubs’ 13-11 home victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cubs blew a six-run lead by allowing 10 runs in the top of the eighth inning, but they rallied with six runs in the bottom half of the inning to win the game.
Mets fans in Queens erupted when Francisco Lindor crushed a walk-off home run into Citi Field’s upper deck, capping a back-and-forth battle with the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4.
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto won a pitching duel with Jacob deGrom en route to a 3-0 victory over the Texas Rangers, and Los Angeles Angels starter Tyler Anderson threw six scoreless innings in a 2-0 shutout of the San Francisco Giants.
New rules aimed at speeding up MLB games resulted in increased attendance and viewership last season, including the highest regular season attendance in seven years, according to the league in October.
The measures implemented ahead of the 2023 season included larger bases, a pitch clock, and the elimination of the infield shift, resulting in average game times of two hours and 36 minutes, the fastest since 1984.
While fans have packed stadiums in Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, and Philadelphia this season, this is not the case throughout the league.
This season, ballparks in Tampa Bay and Miami have had an unusually high number of empty seats.
