For Major League Baseball, shorter games and more action have drawn bigger crowds

Oct 3, 2023
MLB saw its highest attendance since 2017 this year, and on average, games were 24 minutes shorter than last year.
MLB instituted new rules this year aimed at shortening the length of a game. It seems to have paid off.
Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images

MLB's new rules are drawing more fans to ballparks nationwide

Jul 11, 2023
More than two-thirds of Major League Baseball teams are ushering more fans through turnstiles.
New rules include a pitch clock, which means pitchers now have 20 seconds at most to throw the ball.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Major League Baseball rules aim for shorter games — and a bigger audience

Mar 30, 2023
One change: Pitchers will have 20 seconds or less to throw the ball. But is that enough time to capture the mood?
Shorter games could sustain the sport in the long run, according to Khalid Ballouli at the University of South Carolina.
Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Empty seats, feral cats, angry fans: Oakland A's push for new home as crowds stay away

May 11, 2022
Some fans are convinced the team is trying to keep fans away as it eyes a potential new home in Las Vegas.
A's manager Mark Kotsay, left, and pitcher Frankie Montas during a contest with the Detroit Tigers. With A's home games attracting few fans, the team hopes for a new stadium to play in, built with assistance from the city.
Duane Burleson/Getty Images

Cleveland's baseball team takes the field as "Guardians"

Apr 7, 2022
Economic pressures have played a role in the campaigns to change mascot names that many people consider racist.
The team changed its name after being pressured to drop branding that many people considered racist.
Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
After a delayed start due to pay disputes, baseball is back.
Quinn Harris/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Texas Rangers fans can go out to the ballgame again ... all together

Apr 1, 2021
The Rangers' 40,000-seat stadium, Globe Life Field, will be open at full capacity this season.
Soon, Globe Life Field will be ready to host fans at full capacity again. Texas has been declared 100% open.
Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

With baseball on hold, a professional umpire "just tried to make this a positive thing"

Oct 2, 2020
When the pandemic upended minor league baseball, Jen Pawol focused on growing her off-season business.
Jen Pawol is one of two women umpires working in professional baseball.
Courtesy of Jen Pawol