Mariners' huge attendance jump is barely hiding a key lesson for ownership

The Mariners' series opener versus the Royals on Friday was an entertaining affair witnessed by 36,384 fans at T-Mobile Park. Even more people (42,794) showed up on Saturday, but don't put this purely down to Randy Johnson's number retirement ceremony. Attendance figures have been impressive all season, and it's linked to Mariners ownership finally proving they care.

As per Baseball Reference, attendance at Mariners games is up by an average of 6,714 fans compared to the same point as last year. Only the Blue Jays and Rays are enjoying bigger attendance spikes, and in the case of the latter it's because they've returned to "The Trop" after playing all last season at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

The Mariners do something they haven't done for more than 20 years

The Mariners hosted 539,263 fans through their first 17 games, which is the second-most in March and April in their history at T-Mobile Park. The only year the M's did better was in 2002 when, coming off their record-equalling 116 regular season wins the season before, 619,771 fans went through the turnstiles during April.

It's a true testament to the Mariners fanbase that attendances have never really cratered since moving to the then-named Safeco Field midway through the 1999 season. And keep in mind this is despite a 20-year playoff drought between 2002-2021. On that point, even after the M's ended the drought in 2002, the attendance jump in 2023 wasn't as big as what we've seen so far this season.

Now yes, we know Cal Raleigh is a big part of the reason for this after exploding last season to become just the seventh Major League player ever to hit 60 home runs in a campaign. He's a beloved and bonafide marketable star in Seattle. You also have to give some credit to the Seahawks winning their second Super Bowl back in February, to help stoke the fires of ambition and optimism in what is already an extremely passionate Seattle sports fanbase.

Give Mariners ownership their flowers and long may it continue

However, as mentioned at the top of this post, the actions of Mariners ownership is also a significant factor in the attendance spike. Sure there were signs last year that John Stanton and company were finally investing more into winning now, from signing Raleigh to a six-year extension, to going all-in at the trade deadline by bringing in Josh Naylor and reuniting with Eugenio Suárez. However, they doubled down over the winter in a way they didn't after 2022, and the fans took notice.

Getting Naylor tied down with a five-year deal definitely helped, and when the Mariners completed the blockbuster trade for Brendan Donovan, it was clear to fans that the commitment was truly there. The vibe couldn't be more different from around this time a year ago, when the fanbase was clearly frustrated after years of what seemed like an ownership group only interested in maximizing profits, leading to a hint of a "Sell the team" movement.

The Mariners are hovering around the .500 mark at the moment but, aside from traditionally taking a while to warm up each season, the attendance spike points to a simple and seemingly obvious lesson for ownership: Act like you care and the fans will buy in.

The window is here and now for the M's to finally make their first World Series in franchise history, and it's up to ownership to keep it open as long as possible, which will in turn see them reap the benefits.

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