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2021 MLB Partner League attendance by average

Ballpark Digest squareWith the conclusion of the Atlantic League regular season on Sunday, it’s time to tally 2021 MLB Partner League attendance numbers. We’ll continue with a listing ranked by per-game average.

The great MiLB makeover by MLB also meant a change in the structure of independent baseball, where the American AssociationAtlantic League and the Frontier League linked with MLB as Partner Leagues, while the Pioneer Leaguetransitioned from an affiliated league to an MLB Partner League. 

In this listing, we will focus on the four MLB Partner Leagues. There are other independent leagues in the baseball marketplace, including the Mavericks Independent Baseball League and the United Shore Professional Baseball League, where multiple teams play at a single venue. While the Pecos League is now at 14 teams, that league does not report attendance, so we cannot include those teams in this ranking.

This year’s ranking of MLB Partner League attendance features some dramatic changes from the 2019 edition. For starters: 2019 saw a listing of Can-Am League teams in the rankings, but that league merged with the Frontier League. Some formerly independent teams, such as the St. Paul Saints and Somerset Patriots, transitioned to affiliated baseball, while others, such as the New Britain Bees, joined the summer-collegiate ranks. (We decided to base our comparisons on the last full season, 2019. Many of these teams operated in 2020, albeit under very limited circumstances.) There were also several teams, including the Kane County Cougars and Tri-City ValleyCats, that operated as affiliated teams through 2019.

As we compiled these numbers and had a chance to chat with many team owners, front-office workers and league commissioners, one sentiment stood out: COVID-19 had a huge impact on attendance, even when teams were cleared for full capacity. (Conversely, most front-office types working for a team shifting from MiLB to MLB Partner Leagues did not see that being a huge factor in any lower numbers.) Another issue: virtually every team was hamstrung by uncertainty entering the season. This limited promotions planning, and when teams did receive permission for full houses, supply-chain issues limited those efforts as well. And with uncertainty at the beginning of the season, group-sales efforts were hamstrung. Just because fans can show up does not mean they will show up, a lesson we’re seeing on the pro soccer front this season. We saw that same trend play out in the summer-collegiate attendance numbers as well. (This is not a baseball issue: check out our Soccer Stadium Digest site to see how MLSNWSLUSL Championship and USL League One numbers are all down significantly this year.)

Here is our list of 2021 MLB Partner League attendance, ranked by average attendance.

  TEAM LGE TOTAL GMS AV 2019A  
1 Long Island Ducks AtL 224,120 56 4,002 4,973 -0.20
2 Kane County Cougars AA 177,705 50 3,554 5,228 -0.32
3 Schaumburg Boomers FL 157,112 46 3,415 3,191 0.07
4 Ogden Raptors PL 156,734 46 3,407 3,951 -0.14
5 Lancaster Barnstormers AtL 182,132 59 3,087 4,391 -0.30
6 Chicago Dogs AA 155,582 51 3,051 3,623 -0.16
7 Lexington Legends AtL 163,798 55 2,978 4,094 -0.27
8 Rocky Mountain Vibes PL 124,762 44 2,836 3,923 -0.28
9 S. Md. Blue Crabs AtL 148,982 53 2,811 3,044 -0.08
10 Lincoln Saltdogs AA 149,204 54 2,763 3,437 -0.20
11 F-M RedHawks AA 145,553 53 2,746 3,444 -0.20
12 Boise Hawks PL 128,292 48 2,673 3,416 -0.22
13 Gary-SS RailCats AA 137,094 52 2,636 3,426 -0.23
14 Billings Mustangs PL 111,271 45 2,473 2,611 -0.05
15 Tri-City ValleyCats FL 100,519 46 2,393 3,869 -0.38
16 Idaho Falls Chukars PL 109,647 47 2,333 2,780 -0.16
17 New York Boulders FL 99,693 44 2,266 2,583 -0.12
18 Equipe Quebec FL 43,819 20 2,191 NA NA
19 Kansas City Monarchs AA 102,257 49 2,087 3,468 -0.40
20 York Revolution AtL 111,628 54 2,067 2,971 -0.30
21 Gastonia Honey Hunters AtL 111,416 58 1,973 NA NA
22 High Point Rockers AtL 108,200 57 1,898 2,157 -0.12
23 Joliet Slammers FL 86,067 47 1,831 2,536 -0.28
24 Washington Wild Things FL 82,420 48 1,717 1,928 -0.11
25 Evansville Otters FL 76,482 45 1,700 2,175 -0.22
26 Sussex Co. Miners FL 79,762 48 1,662 1,688 -0.02
27 Missoula Paddleheads PL 72,124 44 1,640 1,679 -0.02
28 Grand Junction Rockies PL 73,518 45 1,634 2,391 -0.32
29 Lake Erie Crushers FL 70,062 44 1,592 2,194 -0.27
30 Charleston Dirty Birds AtL 85,398 54 1,581 1,742 -0.09
31 Milwaukee Milkmen AA 79,741 51 1,564 1,239 0.26
32 Florence Y’alls FL 73,099 47 1,555 2,309 -0.33
33 Sioux Falls Canaries AA 82,932 54 1,536 2,336 -0.34
34 Southern Illinois Miners FL 66,099 44 1,502 2,305 -0.35
35 Great Falls Voyagers PL 62,976 44 1,431 1,292 0.11
36 Gateway Grizzlies FL 62,416 44 1,419 2,494 -0.43
37 Windy City ThunderBolts FL 65,022 46 1,414 1,684 -0.16
38 Sioux City Explorers AA 59,802 53 1,128 1,075 0.05
39 Winnipeg Goldeyes AA 52,014 47 1,107 4,079 -0.73
40 New Jersey Jackals FL 43,722 42 1,041 1,742 -0.40
41 Cleburne Railroaders AA 56,201 55 1,022 1,572 -0.35

*Played 2019 in Minor League Baseball.

Here are the averages for the four MLB Partner Leagues:

  TEAM LGE TOTAL GMS AV 2019A +/-
1 Atlantic League AtL 1,138,674 446 2,553 3,478 -0.27
2 Pioneer League* PL 839,374 363 2,312 2,493 -0.07
3 American Association AA 1,198,085 569 2,106 3,082 -0.32
4 Frontier League FL 1,106,294 607 1,823 2,266 -0.20

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