In the late 80s and early 90s, Major League Baseball’s attendance figures faced a trying time. The average overall attendance from 1989 to 1993 was only 58,500,000. With only 26 teams in the league for the majority of that period, average attendance per game was approximately 13,770, a figure aided by expansion into the Florida and Colorado markets in 1993. Though expansion opened untapped markets, the Marlins and Rockies would not be baseball’s solution to poor attendance and a fading interest in America’s past time.
Over the same period of time, the number of home runs being hit were also low in comparison to what we would eventually become accustomed to. The average number of home runs hit from 1989 to 1993 was approximately 3,370, less than one per game.
Fans felt cheated and it showed in the low attendance figures the league experienced after the lockout. Any progress made in previous years was all but lost. Something needed to happen to jumpstart baseball’s appeal to sports fans. Baseball needed an ‘injection’ of excitement and as it turned out, the players had discovered just the solution.
From 1995-1997 the average league-wide attendance was worse than the years leading up to the lockout. A trend, however, had begun to form with the number of total home runs in the MLB increasing in each of the first three post-lockout seasons.
It culminated in 1998, when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa went on a spectacular chase after Roger Maris’ elusive home run record that he had held for over 36 years. Suddenly, Major League Baseball was back on the world stage and everyone was feeding into the hype. Attendance figures rose to over 70,500,000 that year. With Tampa Bay and Arizona expanding, the per game average had increased to over 15,500 (an average increase of approximately 2,000 fans per game from the years preceeding the lockout).
For the first time in history, over 5,000 home runs were hit in that record-breaking year. However, this was the only the tip of the iceberg. After 1998, an average of 5,350 home runs were hit between 1999- 2005. Subsequently, the fans started to share their support for their once favourite national past time. During this time, yearly attendance figures grew to a staggering 71,200,000 fans per year. Coincidence?
However, baseball reached a plateau and came crashing down on March 30, 2006 as the Mitchell Report marked a dark day in baseball history. The 21-month investigation into steroid use in baseball led to the exposure of 89 ballplayers accused of using banned substances. After the Mitchell Report, Major League Baseball cracked down heavily on steroid users with harsher penalties. Players accused of taking steroids were facing public humiliation and a permanent smear on their reputation. Some of today’s greatest players such as Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, and Barry Bonds have been accused of taking banned substances, while some are facing federal charges.
The end of steroid use in baseball has equaled less homeruns, which has equaled less interested fans. This past year, baseball attendance dipped to a shocking 73,000,000; noticeably low considering the average number of fans going through the turnstiles in the past four years was over 77,000,000. In terms of home runs, just over 5,000 balls left the warning track in the dust in the 2009 season; that is nearly 300 less home runs hit before the Mitchell Report. With fewer bombs and a less than coincidental increase in injuries, it looks as though baseball’s future forecasts gloomy skies.
If baseball struggled without the longball before the lockout, how can we expect it to survive now that a precedent has been set? While its clear steroids saved baseball in the 90s, what’s yet to be seen is whether it has ruined baseball in the long run.
Top Cheese 