MLB records its highest steals total in season since 1915
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Major League Baseball’s basestealing renaissance continued in 2024, with players swiping bags at a level not seen in more than a century.
MLB players stole 3,617 bases this past season, the most in 109 years and the third most in any season since 1900, behind only 1914 (4,574) and 1915 (4,108).
That was up from 3,503 stolen bases in 2023, the first season after MLB instituted a number of rule changes designed to shorten games, increase on-field action and showcase athleticism.
Dynamic Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz led all players with 67 stolen bases, while Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani tallied 59 steals to go with his 54 homers, recording the first 50-50 season in MLB history.
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Average time of game also dropped once again, falling to 2 hours and 36 minutes, the crispest since 1984 (2 hours and 35 minutes). MLB games averaged just under 2 hours and 40 minutes in 2023.
Meanwhile, MLB attendance surged for the second straight year. A total of 71,348,366 fans attended games in 2024, the largest attendance figure since 2017 and a 1% increase from 2023. It marked the first time MLB has registered back-to-back attendance gains since 2011-12.
MLB also saw significant increases in television viewership and social-media engagement across multiple platforms, particularly among younger fans.
Additionally, MLB.TV set a new high of 14.5 billion minutes watched, up 14% over the previous record of 12.7 billion minutes set in 2023. The 28 most-watched days in MLB.TV history have all come over the past two seasons, with seven of the top 10 taking place in 2024.
“The increased enthusiasm baseball fans of all ages have shown the last two seasons is evident in all of the ways we track fan engagement,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “Building off last year’s momentum, the 2024 season was memorable with historic performances, emerging young stars, a series of successful special events, and tight pennant races. We thank all the fans for their outstanding support and look forward to an exciting postseason.”