Reviewed by: Nathan Watson
Minor League Baseball in Alabama attracts 750,000+ fans in 2022
Reading time: 3 minutes
Alabama’s 3 minor league baseball teams—the Rocket City Trash Pandas, Birmingham Barons and Montgomery Biscuits—attracted 750,384 fans in 2022, according to a post by Ballpark Digest.
Trash Pandas Led the Southern League in Attendance
For the 2nd consecutive year, Huntsville’s Trash Pandas led the Southern League in attendance, drawing 327,007 over 65 games—an average of 5031 fans a game. Nationally, they ranked 33rd out of 336 minor league teams. Despite the strong numbers, the average attendance was down 12% from last year’s inaugural season, which was probably expected.
On the field, the Trash Pandas won 81 games overall, 10 more than any other Southern League team. They were simply unbeatable at home, racking up a 49-20 record at Toyota Field. Unfortunately, their season came to an abrupt end in the North Division series when they lost to the Tennessee Smokies.
Birmingham’s Busy Summer — USFL, The World Games & Barons
Attendance at Birmingham Barons games were down 5% in 2022 at Regions Field. The Barons drew 266,921, averaging 3,925 fans a game over 68 home dates.
2022 was likely an anomaly. This past spring and summer, The Magic City added to the sports calendar The World Games for 11 days in July and the entire USFL regular season – 40 games in total.
On the field, the Barons tied the Chattanooga Lookout for the least wins – 61 – over the 138 game schedule.
From 2013-2019, the Barons were the Southern League attendance champs. They are now 3rd behind the Tennessee Smokies in league attendance and tied for 67th nationally, drawing 3,925 fans on average per game.
Montgomery Biscuits Rainy Summer
The Montgomery Biscuits, the 2021 Southern League Championship Series runner-up, brought in 156,356 fans to Riverwalk Stadium this year. The team drew 3% less fans on average in 2022.
Mother Nature may have played a role in putting a damper on attendance this year. As reported by The Bama Buzz, Montgomery experienced one of its wettest summers on record, especially in August. It is likely the reason the Biscuits finished the season playing 62 home games, five less than the Barons.
Nationally, Montgomery is the 111th most popular minor league baseball team attendance -wise.
Got Baseball Fever? 2023 Schedules are Out
For diehard baseball fans, immediately after the 2022 season ended the Southern League came out with the 2023 schedule. All three teams are selling season tickets right now before the holiday season. Here are details on how purchase season ticket packages :
- Rocket City Trash Pandas – https://www.milb.com/rocket-city/tickets/season-tickets
- Birmingham Barons – Visit: https://www.milb.com/birmingham/tickets/season-ticket-options
- Montgomery Biscuits – https://www.milb.com/montgomery/tickets/
Which team is your favorite Minor League Baseball team in Alabama? Tag us on social media at @TheBamaBuzz with your favorite Trash Panda, Barons or Biscuit photo or story.
