In case you didn't notice, the Phillies are having a monster year for attendance.

I recommend the ESPN MLB Attendance Report, which has data for each team back to 2001.

Through yesterday, 61 games, the Phillies have an attendance total of 2,580,342, for an average of 42,300. ESPN calls this 97.2% capacity so they must be counting capacity as 43,519 (rounded). But the summer has been monstrous with frequent sellouts. For the last 11 games (going back to and including the Braves series at the end of July) the average attendance is 44,939 (source ESPN Phillies schedule).

Looking at average attendance per home game the order of first through fifth is Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Phillies and Cardinals. The Phillies recently overtook the Cards, but it's impossible for the Phils to overtake the Dodgers whose current average attendance is 45,391, well above the capacity of Citizens Bank Park.The Yankees and Mets both have ballparks with much greater capacity, although next year the Mets at CitiField will have a capacity more in line with that of CBP. The new Yankee Stadium will still be much larger.

Looking at average percentage of capacity the Phillies are once again 4th, but behind the Red Sox (104.1%!), Tigers (99.5%) and Cubs (99.1%). The nearest team behind them is the Yankees at 92%. Incidentally, the Yankees are on pace for a final attendance of 4,282,427, slightly ahead of last year. On the one hand, once school starts it may be harder to get people into the seats, but on the other there are only 16 games left at The House That Ruth Built.

The Phillies are on pace for 3,426,342, but if you project their last 11 game average out for the last 20 games of the year you get 3,479,122, clearly their best year ever. 2004, the first year of Citizens Bank Park saw 3,206,532 and the best year at the Vet was 1993 at 3,137,674.

Another interesting point: The ESPN page lets you see away attendance too. For every year of this decade until this one the Yankees were #1 in away attendance, but this year they are way down to #7. Above them are the Cards, Dodgers, Mets, Cubs and Red Sox, and so the Red Sox also win the overall attendance numbers by a fair amount. The Phillies aren't a major draw away, #17 out of 30. And in spite of their impossible dream year the Rays are #26 out of 30 at home and dead last away. That one I don't understand because they play a lot of games in New York and Boston where every game gets good attendance. Then again, Toronto and Baltimore are both below average.

I look at this and figure the Phillies must be awash in money. Am I wrong? Let's hope they invest in players.