While the 99-day lockout pushed the start of MLB’s 2022 regular season out into the first full week of April, ticket sale information is coming forward, and with it, the top-selling teams show a club not normally at the top of the list.
Based on data from ticket reseller StubHub, the 2021 World Series Champion Atlanta Braves see the highest demand. While unsurprising to see a World Series winner have demand high the year after doing so, according to StubHub, Atlanta sees a 10% increase in demand over the New York Yankees who held the top spot on the list from 2018-2020.
StubHub did not calculate data for the 2021 season as ballparks were not yet at full capacity when the regular season started. They were able to calculate for the 2020 season given they had data ahead of game cancellations.
StubHub’s early ranking is based on ticket sales as of March 22 for 2022 MLB games.
Rounding out the top 5 in ticket sale demand are the Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, and St. Louis Cardinals. The Giants are the biggest mover here jumping five spots after winning 107 games last season. They rank four spots ahead of their NL West rival Los Angeles Dodgers. The San Diego Padres enter the top 10 for the first time.
Only two American League teams (Yankees and Red Sox) are in the top 10 by demand. The National League dominates the entire top of the list.
“Fans are eager for the return of baseball season, especially those in Atlanta celebrating the Braves’ first World Series win since 1995. Entering StubHub’s ranking of the top-selling MLB teams for the first time, the Braves are the most in-demand franchise going into the season and have dethroned the Yankees, who have traditionally held the #1 spot,” said Adam Budelli, spokesperson at StubHub.
StubHub's 2022 Top 10 In-Demand MLB Teams*
- Atlanta Braves - NL East
- New York Yankees - AL East
- Boston Red Sox - AL East
- San Francisco Giants - NL West
- St. Louis Cardinals - NL Central
- New York Mets - NL East
- Chicago Cubs - NL Central
- Los Angeles Dodgers - NL West
- Philadelphia Phillies - NL East
- San Diego Padres - NL West
*Ranking based on StubHub ticket sales as of 3/22 for 2022 MLB games.
For Opening Day, many of the same teams that see the highest demand see the highest average asking price. Based on data through March 14, the Red Sox at Yankees tops the list with an average sale price of $221. The Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals ranks #2 by average sale price ($191) followed by Arizona Diamondbacks at New York Mets ($165), and Arizona Diamondbacks at New York Mets ($165).
StubHub’s Top 10 In-Demand MLB Home Openers of 2022*
- Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees on April 7 ($221)
- Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals on April 7 ($191)
- Arizona Diamondbacks at New York Mets on April 15 ($165)
- Cincinnati Reds at Atlanta Braves on April 7 ($229)
- Miami Marlins at San Francisco Giants on April 8 ($265)
- Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers on April 14 ($315)
- Atlanta Braves at San Diego Padres on April 14 ($169)
- Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox on April 15 ($115)
- Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies on April 8 ($166)
- Oakland Athletics at Philadelphia Phillies on April 8 ($113)
*Ranking based on StubHub ticket sales as of 3/14 for 2022 MLB home-opening games. Parentheses indicates average ticket price.
Beyond home openers, the rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox continues to have the hottest interest. According to StubHub, games between the Red Sox and Yankees are seeing nearly 400% more ticket sales than those between StubHub’s second best-selling rivals, the Dodgers and Giants. The Cleveland Guardians and Cincinnati Reds rank as the third most in-demand rivals of the season.
“The Red Sox-Yankees matchup on April 7 is the best-selling Opening Day game on StubHub. Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the Marlins face the Mets on July 9 in our #1 most in-demand MLB game of the year, excluding season openers,” said Budelli. “The Mets, Giants, and Braves dominate StubHub’s ranking of the highest-selling games, with each team playing in two of our top 10 games.”
StubHub's Top 10 In-Demand MLB Games of 2022*
- Miami Marlins at New York Mets on July 9 ($126)
- St. Louis Cardinals at San Francisco Giants on May 7 ($164)
- Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees on August 21 (Paul O'Neill Jersey Retirement) ($102)
- Chicago Cubs at San Francisco Giants on July 30 ($161)
- Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals on October 2 ($117)
- Colorado Rockies at New York Mets on August 27 ($115)
- Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves on June 25 ($127)
- New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox on July 9 ($249)
- New York Yankees at St. Louis Cardinals on August 6 ($134)
- Miami Marlins at Atlanta Braves on April 22 ($89)
*Ranking based on StubHub ticket sales as of 3/14 for 2022 MLB games, excluding season and home openers. Parentheses indicate average ticket price.
Other points of interest:
- StubHub is seeing more MLB ticket sales from California than any other state (CA accounts for 17% of all sales in the U.S. this season.)
- The state of New York has the second-highest amount of MLB ticket sales this season, accounting for 12% of total sales.
- Together, New York and California account for nearly a third (29%) of all MLB ticket sales.
- Illinois, with the Cubs and White Sox, is seeing the third-highest amount of MLB ticket sales of any state, accounting for 8% for total sales in the U.S. on StubHub.
- The Dodgers boast the #1 most committed fanbase of any MLB franchise, based on StubHub’s ranking of teams with the highest percentage of fans buying tickets to more than one game in the past five years (31% of Dodgers fans have purchased tickets to multiple games).
