The 2026 MLB season is now in the rearview -- at least for the Nationals. While we've settled into the division series', the Nats are once again watching October ball, from home.
There was a lot to be excited about this year -- new baseball operations team and new manager, All-Star appearances for CJ Abrams and James Wood, the emergence of Cade Cavalli, and even seeing competitive baseball from a Washington team in the playoff hunt in July.
That is what makes this next thought a little baffling.
The Nationals have recorded their lowest home attendance since 2010
According to ESPN, 1,839,116 fans streamed through the gates at Nationals Park this season. That's the 8th-worst in all of Major League Baseball.
Finishing one spot higher than their DMV neighbor Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, Washington filled less seats that chronically rebuilding and losing teams the LA Angels (2.63 million) and Colorado Rockies (2.24 million). Washington averaged 22,705 fans per game -- that's roughly 55% of seats filled every game.
Yikes.
Why did this happen?
It's hard to put a finger on the exact reason. Washington played 81 home games -- not all teams did. Baltimore would likely have jumped them on this list, but only hosted 80 games at Camden Yards this season. If that one missing game had been played, and roughly 10,000 fans attended, the Nationals would've dropped another spot.
Of the 22 teams that finished the Nationals in attendance, I was able to figure it out with 3 different buckets of where they fell:
1. Made the Playoffs: Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Cleveland Guardians, and Chicago White Sox.
2. Expected (and fringe) Postseason Contenders: Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
3. Big TV Market or Storied Franchise with Large Fan Base: San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Cincinnati Reds.
... and then there's the Colorado Rockies, who somehow managed to fill Coors field game after game to watch a 58-win team.
Why are the Nationals so far down? Where would they fit into the above categories?
The famous quote "If you build it, they will come" feels appropriate here. If teams spend, fans come to games. The Nationals (and the Lerner family, ahem) know this -- in the 2010s, Washington was routinely a top-10 spender in baseball, and consistently showed attendance north of 2 million as proof.
Did some teams overachieve expectations and make the playoffs? Sure -- kudos to the Chicago White Sox.
Did some big-spenders miss the playoffs entirely? Yep -- what happened to the Mariners and Blue Jays?
I think there is a correlation to be observed between the number of playoff teams that are considered "Big Market" franchises, with high payrolls. Washington is a top-10 caliber sports market -- why are they not spending like the others? I digress -- we've had, and will have this conversation a lot more during the impending lockout.
In short, I firmly believe that if the Nats spend signficant resources to better the on field product and make a push for the postseason, attendance will go up. How do I know? The Lerner's have done it before.
Win more games, push for the playoffs, and I promise you that Navy Yard can be lively and full of Nationals fans once again, night in and night out.
What do you think? As always, leave your thoughts in the comments below or find me on X, (@andrewpindc).
Add us as a preferred source on Google