With the conclusion of the Atlantic League regular season on Sunday, it’s time to tally 2023 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 seven, and all four leagues saw a bump from 2022 to 2023.
Generally speaking, it was a good year on the 2023 MLB Partner League attendance front, with many, many teams up from 2023. 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 16 teams, that league does not report attendance, so we do not include those teams in this ranking.
It was a stable year on the MLB Partner front, with only one new team and one new ballpark. The owner of the MLB Draft League’s Frederick Keys added the Spire City Ghost Hounds (Atlantic League) to the mix at Harry Grove Stadium, while the New Jersey Jackals moved from Yogi Berra Stadium to the newly restored Hinchliffe Stadium.
Here is our list of 2023 MLB Partner League attendance, ranked by total attendance. Later we will post a ranking by average attendance.
| TEAM | LGE | TOTAL | GMS | AV | 2022AV | +/- | |
| 1 | Kane County Cougars | AA | 261,836 | 47 | 5,571 | 5,068 | 0.10 |
| 2 | Long Island Ducks | AtL | 297,745 | 64 | 4,652 | 4,538 | 0.03 |
| 3 | Schaumburg Boomers | FL | 230,023 | 51 | 4,511 | 3,963 | 0.14 |
| 4 | Chicago Dogs | AA | 206,258 | 50 | 4,125 | 4,000 | 0.03 |
| 5 | Lancaster Barnstormers | AtL | 242,961 | 60 | 4,049 | 3,471 | 0.17 |
| 6 | Winnipeg Goldeyes | AA | 178,393 | 49 | 3,641 | 3,414 | 0.07 |
| 7 | Ogden Raptors | PL | 164,561 | 48 | 3,429 | 3,540 | -0.03 |
| 8 | Boise Hawks | PL | 162,922 | 48 | 3,395 | 3,348 | 0.01 |
| 9 | York Revolution | AtL | 196,968 | 60 | 3,283 | 2,654 | 0.24 |
| 10 | F-M RedHawks | AA | 155,331 | 48 | 3,238 | 3,064 | 0.06 |
| 11 | Gary-SS RailCats | AA | 148,354 | 47 | 3,156 | 3,185 | -0.01 |
| 12 | S. Md. Blue Crabs | AtL | 181,291 | 58 | 3,126 | 2,905 | 0.08 |
| 13 | Lincoln Saltdogs | AA | 151,265 | 49 | 3,087 | 3,074 | 0.00 |
| 14 | Quebec Capitales | FL | 166,916 | 55 | 3,035 | 2,623 | 0.16 |
| 15 | New York Boulders | FL | 151,290 | 50 | 3,026 | 2,635 | 0.15 |
| 16 | Tri-City ValleyCats | FL | 136,231 | 50 | 2,725 | 2,640 | 0.03 |
| 17 | Rocky Mountain Vibes | PL | 114,041 | 48 | 2,376 | 2,046 | 0.16 |
| 18 | Charleston Dirty Birds | AtL | 146,336 | 62 | 2,360 | 1,961 | 0.20 |
| 19 | Billings Mustangs | PL | 110,683 | 48 | 2,306 | 2,056 | 0.12 |
| 20 | Joliet Slammers | FL | 114,901 | 51 | 2,253 | 2,706 | -0.17 |
| 21 | Florence Y’alls | FL | 111,742 | 51 | 2,192 | 2,158 | 0.02 |
| 22 | Glaicier Range Riders | PL | 100,661 | 48 | 2,098 | 1,734 | 0.21 |
| 23 | Evansville Otters | FL | 102,561 | 50 | 2,052 | 2,451 | -0.16 |
| 24 | Idaho Falls Chukars | PL | 91,459 | 47 | 1,946 | 2,111 | -0.08 |
| 25 | Lake County DockHounds | AA | 91,914 | 48 | 1,936 | 1,874 | 0.03 |
| 26 | Windy City ThunderBolts | FL | 98,015 | 51 | 1,922 | 1,659 | 0.16 |
| 27 | High Point Rockers | AtL | 116,925 | 61 | 1,917 | 1,879 | 0.02 |
| 28 | Missoula Paddleheads | PL | 90,653 | 48 | 1,889 | 1,743 | 0.08 |
| 29 | Washington Wild Things | FL | 94,899 | 51 | 1,861 | 2,040 | -0.09 |
| 30 | Lake Erie Crushers | FL | 91,501 | 51 | 1,795 | 1,955 | -0.08 |
| 31 | Kansas City Monarchs | AA | 83,608 | 48 | 1,742 | 2,106 | -0.17 |
| 32 | Milwaukee Milkmen | AA | 85,318 | 49 | 1,741 | 1,721 | 0.01 |
| 33 | Gateway Grizzlies | FL | 80,453 | 52 | 1,548 | 1,538 | 0.01 |
| 34 | Lexington Counter Clocks | AtL | 92,806 | 60 | 1,547 | 2,387 | -0.35 |
| 35 | Ottawa Titans | FL | 78,495 | 51 | 1,540 | 1,250 | 0.23 |
| 36 | Sussex Co. Miners | FL | 72,255 | 47 | 1,538 | 1,597 | -0.04 |
| 37 | Gastonia Honey Hunters | AtL | 88,953 | 61 | 1,458 | 1,637 | -0.11 |
| 38 | Sioux Falls Canaries | AA | 71,924 | 50 | 1,438 | 1,213 | 0.19 |
| 39 | Grand Junction Jackalopes | PL | 67,500 | 48 | 1,407 | 1,527 | -0.08 |
| 40 | Great Falls Voyagers | PL | 66,254 | 48 | 1,381 | 1,379 | 0.00 |
| 41 | Trois-Rivieres Aigles | FL | 68,814 | 50 | 1,377 | 1,322 | 0.04 |
| 42 | Spire City Ghost Hounds | AtL | 57,836 | 43 | 1,345 | NA | NA |
| 43 | Cleburne Railroaders | AA | 59,817 | 50 | 1,196 | 1,328 | -0.10 |
| 44 | Sioux City Explorers | AA | 54,899 | 46 | 1,193 | 1,109 | 0.08 |
| 45 | SI Ferry Hawks | AtL | 67,477 | 60 | 1,125 | 1,279 | -0.12 |
| 46 | New Jersey Jackals | FL | 36,971 | 51 | 725 | 1,022 | -0.29 |
| LEAGUE | TOTAL | GMS | AV | 2022AV | +/- |
| American Association | 1,549,917 | 581 | 2,668 | 2,591 | 0.03 |
| Atlantic League | 1,489,298 | 589 | 2,529 | 2,463 | 0.03 |
| Pioneer League | 968,734 | 431 | 2,248 | 2,158 | 0.04 |
| Frontier League | 1,635,067 | 762 | 2,146 | 2,118 | 0.01 |
RELATED STORIES: 2023 MLB Partner League attendance by total; Analyzing the 2023 summer collegiate attendance figures; 2023 summer collegiate attendance by average; 2023 summer collegiate attendance by league; 2023 summer collegiate attendance by total