MLB Announces Eye-Popping Attendance News After Rivalry Weekend

Highlighted by Juan Soto's return to the Bronx, MLB's inaugural Rivalry Weekend (May 16-18) was composed of 15 different geographical matchups including New York Mets-New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox-ChicagoCubs and Los Angeles Dodgers- Los Angeles Angels. 

Thursday, a day before Rivalry Weekend even began, MLB announced that Wednesday's 17 games averaged 31,350 fans, for a total attendance of 501,596 - the largest ever for a Wednesday before June.

"INCREDIBLE! Great idea for these Rivalry Weekend games. I hope it becomes an MLB staple for many years to come," a fan wrote on 'X.' 

"Baseball is on the upswing," another suggested. 

"Brilliant move! There will be even more build up year after year," someone wrote. 

While most of the matchups were interstate rivalries, others were flashbacks to rivalries of yesteryear or even newly created, which didn't excite some fans. 

"I’m sorry but you can’t call Tigers vs Jays a Rivalry," someone commented. 

"Love rivalry weekend idea. It featured some true great rivalries but there were some misses. Braves and Red Sox are not a rivalry and not even close geographically. Seems like some matchups were just leftovers," another said. 

In fairness, the Red Sox and Braves used to share the city of Boston prior to 1952. 

Whether you agree with the matchups or not, the attendance numbers suggest, MLB hit a home run with Rivalry Weekend.