Though the New York Yankees took home the series win against their crosstown rivals, the New York Mets, last month, they’re falling behind the orange and blue in a crucial category.
According to data collected from baseball-reference.com, the Yankees’ average home game attendance is up by 5.2%. The stats take the total number of attendees this season and divide it by the number of games, giving the Pinstripes an average of 40,803 fans per game. Because Yankee Stadium can sit a total of 46,537, Yankees home games have been about 87% full this year.
While the Yankees have experienced some growth since the 2024 season — which makes sense for a team fresh off an appearance in the World Series — the Mets have grown 10x that amount, with an increase of 52.3%.
One of the factors likely drawing crowds to Citi Field, home of the Mets, is superstar outfielder Juan Soto. Soto departed the Yankees for the Mets in December 2024, signing a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract, the biggest in all North American professional sports. While many fans and analysts thought he would re-sign with the Yankees, who were offering a similar deal, Soto’s family reportedly convinced him to go with the Mets.
Though the attendance in Queens has experienced greater season-to-season growth than that of the Bronx, Yankee Stadium still boasts a higher average with the Mets pulling 37,502 fans per game, or 89% attendance, compared to last year’s 24,609. Yankee Stadium can also fit 4,615 more people than Citi Field.
Both teams rank in the top 5 across the MLB for fan attendance. Some small market teams, like the Kansas City Royals, have half the average fan attendance of the Yankees, even though their numbers are up from 2024. The Yankees will see more fans from Yankee Stadium this week as they take on the Cleveland Guardians from home.
