- December 23, 2024
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The New York Yankees — or at least their Florida fanbase — rule spring training.
The team drew the most fans to Grapefruit League games in the 2024 spring training season, with an attendance mark of 158,927 at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, according to a report from the Florida Sports Foundation.
There are 15 teams in the Florida Grapefruit League, with 10 of those teams on the west coast of the state. Games were held from Feb. 24 through March 26. Total attendance, the foundation reports, was 1,428,096 people over 226 games, for an average of 6,319 per game — the highest total since the 2017 season.
There were eight rained-out games. The largest crowd for a single game happened Sunday, March 24, when 10,966 paid fans watched the Toronto Blue Jays play the Philadelphia Phillies at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater. (The Phillies, playing in their longtime spring training home, beat the Blue Jays, who are based down the road in Pinellas County, in Dunedin, 2-0.)
Other highlights from the 2024 Grapefruit League season, the foundation reports, include:
The annual Major League Baseball pilgrimage to Florida for pre-season preparation dates back to the 1888 season when the Washington Nationals traveled south to Jacksonville for pre-season workouts. Since 2000, a total of 35,731,605 fans have attended spring training games in Florida.
Spring training attendance | |||
Team | Spring Training Location | Average per Game | Total Attendance |
New York Yankees | Tampa | 9,351 | 158,972 |
Philadelphia Phillies | Clearwater | 9,428 | 150,850 |
Boston Red Sox | Fort Myers | 8,653 | 129,801 |
Minnesota Twins | Fort Myers | 7,243 | 115,882 |
Detroit Tigers | Lakeland | 6,921 | 110,737 |
Atlanta Braves | North Port | 6,409 | 102,543 |
Toronto Blue Jays | Dunedin | 6,770 | 101,549 |
Baltimore Orioles | Sarasota | 6,709 | 100,629 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | Bradenton | 5,892 | 94,271 |
Tampa Bay Rays | Port Charlotte | 4,020 | 52,265 |
Source: Florida Sports Foundation |