What is Major League Baseball?
Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada. It is made up of 30 teams, and each team plays 162 games in a regular season. The games are divided into two leagues, the American League and the National League. The World Series is the championship series of MLB, and it is held each October between the two league champions.
How Many MLB Games Are There All Time?
The total amount of MLB games ever played is over 200,000. This includes regular season games, postseason games, and exhibition games. It is estimated that over 150 million people have attended these games.
Regular Season Games
There have been over 180,000 regular season games since the establishment of MLB in 1876. The regular season consists of 162 games for each team and is usually completed by the end of September.
Postseason Games
The postseason is a best-of-seven series that determines the winner of the World Series. Since 1903, there have been over 4,000 postseason games. The American League has won the most World Series, with a total of 41 championships.
Exhibition Games
Exhibition games are the games that are played before the start of the regular season. They usually involve teams playing against each other for practice. Since 1871, there have been over 17,000 exhibition games.
MLB Records
There have been some incredible records set over the years in MLB. Here are some of the most impressive ones:
- Most Wins: Cy Young, 511 wins
- Most Home Runs: Barry Bonds, 762 home runs
- Most Strikeouts: Nolan Ryan, 5,714 strikeouts
- Most Consecutive Games Played: Cal Ripken Jr., 2,632 games
- Most Hits: Pete Rose, 4,256 hits
MLB Attendance Records
MLB games have been attended by millions of people over the years, and some of the games have seen record attendance. Here are some of the most impressive attendance records:
- Most Attended Game: 115,300 people at Dodger Stadium in 2008
- Most Attended Season: 73.7 million people in 2007
- Most Attended World Series: 4.65 million people in 2009
- Most Attended All-Star Game: 79,544 people at Yankee Stadium in 2008
MLB TV Ratings Records
MLB games have also been watched by millions of people on television. Here are some of the records for TV ratings:
- Highest Viewed World Series Game: Game 7 of the 2016 World Series had over 23 million viewers
- Most Watched World Series: The 2016 World Series had an average of 22.2 million viewers per game
- Most Watched All-Star Game: The 2018 All-Star Game had 13.7 million viewers
- Most Watched Regular Season Game: The 2007 Red Sox vs. Yankees game had 9.4 million viewers
MLB Salary Records
MLB teams have spent billions of dollars on player salaries over the years. Here are some of the records for player salaries:
- Highest Paid Player: Alex Rodriguez, $27 million in 2007
- Highest Paid Team: New York Yankees, $208 million in 2016
- Highest Average Player Salary: Los Angeles Dodgers, $6.7 million in 2017
- Highest Average Team Salary: New York Yankees, $8.2 million in 2017
Conclusion
MLB games have been played for over 140 years, and there have been over 200,000 games in that time. The games have been attended by millions of people, watched by millions more on TV, and the teams have spent billions of dollars on player salaries. It is clear that MLB is one of the most popular sports in the world, and it is sure to continue to be popular for many years to come.