MLB Crowds Growing, Reach 17-Year High in League-Wide Attendance

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Baseball season is well underway, and fans are coming out in droves. MLB announced Saturday that the league's average attendance across its 14 games on Friday reached 35,284. That was the highest for a Friday in April with no openers since April 25, 2008.

The crowd that came out to see the Philadelphia Phillies host the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park had a lot to do with the high mark, considering they were 44,949 strong. That was the highest reported attendance at the venue since Opening Day 2017, per The Athletic's Matt Gelb . Big games at Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Globe Life Field, Camden Yards and Citi Field helped set the high water mark as well.



Not even the Tampa Bay Rays facing the New York Yankees at a minor league venue dragged the average down too far, with their 10,046-member crowd marking a sellout in its own right. Weather was surely a factor as well, with temperatures rising and winter firmly in the rear-view mirror. That wasn't the case in Denver, though, as Friday's series opener between the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals was postponed due to snow .

Related MLB Stories WILD 8TH INNING AT WRIGLEY: After giving up 10 runs to the Diamondbacks in the top of the eighth inning Friday, the Cubs battled back and retook the lead by posting six runs in the bottom of the same frame. CLICK HERE DON'T RUN ON BARGER: Right fielder Addison Barger notched not one, not two, but three assists in the Blue Jays' win over the Mariners on Friday night. CLICK HERE YAMAMOTO ON HISTORIC TEAR: Yoshinobu Yamamoto shut down the Rangers on Friday night, setting the Dodgers up for a win with his 7.

0 scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts. CLICK HERE Follow Fastball On SI on social media Continue to follow our Fastball On SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN . You can also follow Sam Connon on Twitter @SamConnon .

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