MLB Wild Card Series attendance took center stage this week as weekday afternoon games in Atlanta and Houston played to noticeably sparse crowds despite high-stakes playoff drama.
On Tuesday, Atlanta’s Austin Riley launched a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth to lift the Braves over the Phillies 5-3, creating a charged atmosphere at Truist Park for those in the seats. Yet the announced crowd for the 2 p.m. local start was 30,127, well below the ballpark’s 41,108 capacity.
Houston saw a similar scene. The Astros announced 34,011 fans for Tuesday’s 4 p.m. Game 1 at Daikin Park, short of the 41,168-seat limit. The next day in Atlanta, Game 2 drew an announced 37,150.
MLB Wild Card Series attendance trends
Attendance challenges at weekday day games are not new. Since MLB expanded to a 12-team postseason in 2022, just six of 26 afternoon Wild Card Series games through Tuesday reached or exceeded capacity, according to Sportradar.
Seven games failed to hit even 85 percent. Tuesday’s Braves-Phillies matchup was 73.2 percent full, the lowest of the expanded postseason era.
The reasons are straightforward. Weekday day games in late September and October conflict with work schedules and the school calendar, and first pitch times are often set only a few days in advance.
The result can be a subdued in-park environment for some of the year’s most meaningful games. Similar scheduling issues have been noted in other leagues, including high-profile matchups like Dodgers beat Giants 2-0 behind Skubal, two solo homers.
Players tried to keep focus on the field. Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm said before Wednesday’s game that the team is not concerned with the turnout, noting the early start time in the middle of the week and emphasizing the stakes remain the same.
Recent history backs up the trend. All three AL Wild Card Series games in Cleveland last year between the Guardians and Tigers began at 1:08 p.m., and none topped 30,000 fans.
The Tampa Bay Rays drew just 19,704 for a 2023 ALWCS opener against Texas that started at 3:08 p.m., the lowest attendance for a non-COVID postseason game since the 1919 World Series.
MLB did not comment on attendance figures. The league staggers Wild Card games across the day to give each a dedicated television window and to maximize national viewership.
NBC is paying about $200 million annually for “Sunday Night Baseball” and the Wild Card Series under a three-year agreement reached last November.
In Houston, frustration added to the mood as the Astros fell behind 5-0 by the fifth in an eventual 6-3 loss. Manager Joe Espada acknowledged the fans’ disappointment and said he hoped for a livelier scene the following day, adding that the team values and needs their support.
The Astros’ home ballpark information and ticketing policies are available through the official Houston Astros site.
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