It seems that more and more fans are staying at home and tuning in nowadays than ever before with their ability to watch a high definition broadcast on a large screen for a fraction of the cost it takes to attend a game -- all in the comfort of their own home. Roger Goodell recently came out saying that creating more fan excitement during the game for those in attendance was among his highest priorities. Thus it's a bit surprising, then, when Major League Baseball announces that attendance is up in 2012 by quite a bit compared to last year.
Total @MLB attendance now up +7.6% over 2011 after Sunday’s 581,680 (38,779 avg), largest 15-game total since 8/23/08.
— MLB Public Relations (@MLB_PR) June 18, 2012
Several teams are still competitive this season and even also-rans like the Royals in previous seasons are only a few games out of first place. Even the Astros, the worst team in the league last season, has reason to hope and had a killer draft. As these teams get better and challenge MLB's stalwarts, expect these figures to continue to rise.