With the conclusion of the Atlantic League regular season on Sunday, it’s time to tally 2022 MLB Partner League attendance numbers. We conclude with a ranking based on per-game average.
Within the industry per-game average is considered the most accurate way to measure performance year over year when it comes to public numbers. Total attendance is not a great measure–leagues with longer seasons will inevitable do better in those rankings–but per-game averages tend to level playing field. In this ranking, it’s worth noting that all four MLB Partner Leagues placed teams in the top five.
Generally speaking, it was a pretty good year on the 2022 MLB Partner League attendance front, with many, many teams up significantly from 2021. The four MLB Partner Leagues are the American Association, Atlantic League, Frontier League and Pioneer League. 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 do not include those teams in this ranking.
The totals are boosted by five expansion teams as well as the return of Canadian teams to the Frontier League and the American Association. In 2021 the Canadian teams were hampered by the lack of a totally open U.S./Canadian border, forcing the Frontier League to form a Quebec/Trois Rivieres U.S. travel team and delaying the launch of the expansion Ottawa Titans, while also forcing the Winnipeg Goldeyes to play part of the season south of the border.
Here is our list of 2022 MLB Partner League attendance, ranked by total attendance. Later we will post a ranking by average attendance.
TEAM | LGE | TOTAL | GMS | AV | 21AV | +/- | |
1 | Kane County Cougars | AA | 248,354 | 49 | 5,068 | 3,554 | 0.43 |
2 | Long Island Ducks | AtL | 285,888 | 63 | 4,538 | 4,002 | 0.13 |
3 | Chicago Dogs | AA | 191,984 | 48 | 4,000 | 3,051 | 0.31 |
4 | Schaumburg Boomers | FL | 221,907 | 56 | 3,963 | 3,415 | 0.16 |
5 | Ogden Raptors | PL | 162,796 | 46 | 3,540 | 3,407 | 0.04 |
6 | Lancaster Barnstormers | AtL | 222,167 | 64 | 3,471 | 3,087 | 0.12 |
7 | Winnipeg Goldeyes | AA | 163,893 | 48 | 3,414 | 1,107 | 2.08 |
8 | Boise Hawks | PL | 157,351 | 47 | 3,348 | 2,673 | 0.25 |
9 | Gary-SS RailCats | AA | 152,894 | 48 | 3,185 | 2,636 | 0.21 |
10 | Lincoln Saltdogs | AA | 144,494 | 47 | 3,074 | 2,763 | 0.11 |
11 | F-M RedHawks | AA | 147,073 | 48 | 3,064 | 2,746 | 0.12 |
12 | S. Md. Blue Crabs | AtL | 174,293 | 60 | 2,905 | 2,811 | 0.03 |
13 | Joliet Slammers | FL | 137,988 | 51 | 2,706 | 1,831 | 0.48 |
14 | York Revolution | AtL | 172,519 | 65 | 2,654 | 2,067 | 0.28 |
15 | Tri-City ValleyCats | FL | 134,617 | 51 | 2,640 | 2,393 | 0.10 |
16 | New York Boulders | FL | 139,628 | 53 | 2,635 | 2,266 | 0.16 |
17 | Quebec Capitales | FL | 141,618 | 54 | 2,623 | 2,191 | 0.20 |
18 | Evansville Otters | FL | 122,516 | 50 | 2,451 | 1,700 | 0.44 |
19 | Lexington Legends | AtL | 150,392 | 63 | 2,387 | 2,978 | -0.20 |
20 | Florence Y’alls | FL | 107,877 | 50 | 2,158 | 1,555 | 0.39 |
21 | Idaho Falls Chukars | PL | 101,285 | 48 | 2,111 | 2,333 | -0.10 |
22 | Kansas City Monarchs | AA | 105,302 | 50 | 2,106 | 2,087 | 0.01 |
23 | Billings Mustangs | PL | 94,563 | 46 | 2,056 | 2,473 | -0.17 |
24 | Rocky Mountain Vibes | PL | 96,134 | 47 | 2,046 | 2,836 | -0.28 |
25 | Washington Wild Things | FL | 106,043 | 52 | 2,040 | 1,717 | 0.19 |
26 | Charleston Dirty Birds | AtL | 119,598 | 61 | 1,961 | 1,581 | 0.24 |
27 | Lake Erie Crushers | FL | 99,656 | 51 | 1,955 | 1,592 | 0.23 |
28 | High Point Rockers | AtL | 124,010 | 66 | 1,879 | 1,898 | -0.01 |
29 | Lake County DockHounds | AA | 93,711 | 50 | 1,874 | NA | NA |
30 | KY Wild Health Genomes | AtL | 102,502 | 57 | 1,798 | NA | NA |
31 | Missoula Paddleheads | PL | 83,619 | 48 | 1,743 | 1,640 | 0.06 |
32 | Glaicier Range Riders | PL | 83,217 | 48 | 1,734 | NA | NA |
33 | Milwaukee Milkmen | AA | 86,028 | 50 | 1,721 | 1,564 | 0.10 |
34 | Windy City T-Bolts | FL | 84,564 | 51 | 1,659 | 1,414 | 0.17 |
35 | Gastonia Honey Hunters | AtL | 101,471 | 62 | 1,637 | 1,973 | -0.17 |
36 | Sussex Co. Miners | FL | 79,833 | 50 | 1,597 | 1,662 | -0.04 |
37 | Gateway Grizzlies | FL | 76,864 | 50 | 1,538 | 1,419 | 0.08 |
38 | Grand Junction Rockies | PL | 73,277 | 48 | 1,527 | 1,634 | -0.07 |
39 | Great Falls Voyagers | PL | 64,786 | 47 | 1,379 | 1,431 | -0.04 |
40 | Cleburne Railroaders | AA | 65,062 | 49 | 1,328 | 1,022 | 0.30 |
41 | Trois-Rivieres Aigles | FL | 67,419 | 51 | 1,322 | NA | NA |
42 | SI Ferry Hawks | AtL | 76,759 | 60 | 1,279 | NA | NA |
43 | Ottawa Titans | FL | 64,979 | 52 | 1,250 | NA | NA |
44 | Sioux Falls Canaries | AA | 59,425 | 49 | 1,213 | 1,536 | -0.21 |
45 | Sioux City Explorers | AA | 52,121 | 47 | 1,109 | 1,128 | -0.02 |
46 | New Jersey Jackals | FL | 52,086 | 51 | 1,022 | 1,041 | -0.02 |
LEAGUE | TOTAL | GMS | AV | 2021AV | +/- | |
1 | American Association | 1,510,341 | 583 | 2,591 | 2,106 | 0.23 |
2 | Atlantic League | 1,529,599 | 621 | 2,463 | 2,553 | -0.04 |
3 | Pioneer League | 917,028 | 425 | 2,158 | 2,312 | -0.07 |
4 | Frontier League | 1,637,595 | 773 | 2,118 | 1,823 | 0.16 |
RELATED STORIES: 2022 MLB Partner League attendance by league; 2022 MLB Partner League attendance by total; Attendance analysis: 2022 summer collegiate numbers; 2022 summer collegiate attendance by average; 2022 summer collegiate attendance by league; 2022 summer collegiate attendance by total