Major League Players Association executive director Bruce Meyer answers questions from the media before game 1 of the 2026 World Series between the Milwaukee Brewers vs.Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg on Mon Oct 26, 2026 (AP News photo)
MLB State of the Game
That’s Amaury News and Commentary
By Amaury Pi-González
Commissioner Rob Manfred told the MLB Network show today from Tropicana Field in Tampa, prior to Game 4 of the 2026 World Series, that MLB fell slightly short of its overall attendance projection for the 2026 season. The projection was 74 million, and the actual total of 71 to 75 million represents growth rather than decline.
13 teams saw attendance increases, while 17 experienced declines. The Los Angeles Dodgers led the majors in attendance for the 14th straight year with 4,034,219 total, while the Athletics were last with 799,240 while playing in Sacramento.
The bigger Gains and Drops: The Tampa Bay Rays had the largest-year-over year surge adding over 628,000 fans following theior return to Tropicana Field. The New York Mets suffered the largest drop, down 472,450 fans.
MLPA and Owners’ negotiations are totally stalled, and most in the sport now believe a prolonged lockout is inevitable. The issue is the owners’ proposed salary cap: a $245.3 million spending ceiling, a $171.2 million floor, and a 50-50 revenue split. The MLPA said THE SALARY CAP IS A RED LINE. In other words, they will not negotiate that.
My take: There is a lot of money to be made here, and I hope cooler heads prevail on both sides; however, I tend to favor the players’ side on this issue, and I believe players should not “surrender” to the owners. I remember the 1981 season player strike well as a broadcaster for the Oakland A’s; it lasted over 700 total games, more than one-third of the season.
Divided into two parts, the postseason took us to Kansas City, where we eliminated the Royals; then we lost to the New York Yankees, and our season ended. Strikes, Lockouts- whatever stops the game for a prolonged period of time is not good for the game.
Let’s hope for the best; that is all we can do, and that baseball returns in 2027, starting with Spring Training.
Quote: “The fans are the ones who suffer, but they are also the ones who keep us alive. We have to remember that baseball belongs to the people, not just the boardrooms.” — Cal Ripken Jr.
Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.
