Top Menu

2021 MLB Partner League attendance by total

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 begin with a listing ranked by total attendance.

The great MiLB makeover by MLB also meant a change in the structure of independent baseball, where the American Association, Atlantic League and the Frontier League linked with MLB as Partner Leagues, while the Pioneer League transitioned 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 total attendance. Later we will post a ranking by average attendance.

  TEAM LGE TOTAL GMS AV 2019T +/-
1 Long Island Ducks AtL 224,120 56 4,002 328,194 -0.32
2 Lancaster Barnstormers AtL 182,132 59 3,087 285,441 -0.36
3 Kane County Cougars* AA 177,705 50 3,554 350,305 -0.49
4 Lexington Legends* AtL 163,798 55 2,978 270,221 -0.39
5 Schaumburg Boomers FL 157,112 46 3,415 156,383 0.00
6 Ogden Raptors* PL 156,734 46 3,407 146,201 0.07
7 Chicago Dogs AA 155,582 51 3,051 166,672 -0.07
8 Lincoln Saltdogs AA 149,204 54 2,763 168,394 -0.11
9 S. Md. Blue Crabs AtL 148,982 53 2,811 200,889 -0.26
10 F-M RedHawks AA 145,553 53 2,746 161,857 -0.10
11 Gary-SS RailCats AA 137,094 52 2,636 167,887 -0.18
12 Boise Hawks* PL 128,292 48 2,673 129,805 -0.01
13 Rocky Mountain Vibes PL 124,762 44 2,836 137,294 -0.09
14 York Revolution AtL 111,628 54 2,067 199,045 -0.44
15 Gastonia Honey Hunters AtL 111,416 58 1,973 NA NA
16 Billings Mustangs* PL 111,271 45 2,473 96,594 0.15
17 Idaho Falls Chukars* PL 109,647 47 2,333 102,859 0.07
18 High Point Rockers AtL 108,200 57 1,898 144,486 -0.25
19 Kansas City Monarchs AA 102,257 49 2,087 156,058 -0.34
20 Tri-City ValleyCats* FL 100,519 46 3,415 131,529 -0.24
21 New York Boulders FL 99,693 44 2,266 123,999 -0.20
22 Joliet Slammers FL 86,067 47 1,831 121,730 -0.29
23 Charleston Dirty Birds* AtL 85,398 54 1,581 118,444 -0.28
24 Sioux Falls Canaries AA 82,932 54 1,536 114,452 -0.28
25 Washington Wild Things FL 82,420 48 1,717 90,638 -0.09
26 Sussex Co. Miners FL 79,762 48 1,662 72,594 0.10
27 Milwaukee Milkmen AA 79,741 51 1,564 59,459 0.34
28 Evansville Otters FL 76,482 45 1,700 100,051 -0.24
29 Grand Junction Rockies* PL 73,518 45 1,634 88,476 -0.17
30 Florence Y’alls FL 73,099 47 1,555 99,308 -0.26
31 Missoula Paddleheads* PL 72,124 44 1,640 57,076 0.26
32 Lake Erie Crushers FL 70,062 44 1,592 100,915 -0.31
33 Southern Illinois Miners FL 66,099 44 1,502 101,441 -0.35
34 Windy City ThunderBolts FL 65,022 46 1,414 79,171 -0.18
35 Great Falls Voyagers* PL 62,976 44 1,431 43,920 0.43
36 Gateway Grizzlies FL 62,416 44 1,419 112,252 -0.44
37 Sioux City Explorers AA 59,802 53 1,128 51,618 0.16
38 Cleburne Railroaders AA 56,201 55 1,022 78,624 -0.29
39 Winnipeg Goldeyes AA 52,014 47 1,107 195,787 -0.73
40 Equipe Quebec FL 43,819 20 2,191 NA NA
41 New Jersey Jackals FL 43,722 42 1,041 76,658 -0.43

*Played 2019 in Minor League Baseball.

Here are the totals for the four MLB Partner Leagues:

  LEAGUE LGE TOTAL GMS AV 2019T +/-
1 American Association AA 1,198,085 569 2,106 1,775,249 -0.33
2 Atlantic League AtL 1,138,674 446 2,553 1,940,590 -0.41
3 Frontier League FL 1,106,294 607 1,823 1,028,721 0.08
4 Pioneer League* PL 839,374 363 2,312 717,981 0.17

*Played 2019 in Minor League Baseball.

, , , , ,