Blue Jays leading the American League in attendance

 A brutal start to the season, injuries, and a turn around in May did not stop fans of the Toronto Blue Jays from attending their home games at the Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays are among the league leaders when it comes to attendance this season.

Yes, the header above is true. The Toronto Blue Jays are well on their way to eclipsing last season’s total attendance of 3,392,299- when they ranked third in the league, and an AL-best.

The success of the Blue Jays in the last two seasons has evolved into something greater that fans haven’t seen in many years. Toronto became the first American League team to reach one million visitors during their 10-game homestand.

As of June 7, the Blue Jays rank third in the league in average attendance (38,408), as well as in total attendance (1,190,659).

According to ESPN, the Chicago Cubs (1,155,677) and the San Francisco Giants (1,125,844) round out the top five. Only the St. Louis Cardinals  (1,245,830) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (1,385,013) rank ahead of the Blue Jays in total attendance.

During their recent homestand, the Blue Jays had a total attendance of 416,407. The club could see similar numbers when they open up another 10-game homestand in August.

More from Jays Journal

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

The Los Angeles Angels (1,084,393) and Texas Rangers (1,005,532) are the only other American League teams to surpass one million in total attendance. Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox (955,487) and the New York Yankees (927,897) have yet to surpass the mark- even though they have better records than the Blue Jays.

For the time being, the Houston Astros, who are arguably one of the best teams this season, rank 13th with 844,312 total attendance.

For a team that went to the World Series last fall, the Cleveland Indians are near the bottom when it comes to attendance. Cleveland’s sparse crowd has them ranked 27th with 550,012 total attendance. The Arizona Diamondbacks have the same record as the Dodgers but they rank 22nd in attendance with 682,703.

With 3.39 million fans attending their home games last season, it was the first time the Blue Jays surpassed three million in attendance since they last won the World Series in 1993.

With all of the events that have occurred since Opening Day, it’s tremendous to see Blue Jay fans stand behind the team through thick and thin. Even after the turn around in May, the Blue Jays still remain 2 games below .500, and are currently last in the AL East. Despite that, there is optimism in Toronto, proven by the lack of empty seats at the Rogers Centre.

Next: Blue Jays' Devon Travis headed to the DL

The Blue Jays will return to the Rogers Centre on June 13 when they open up a two-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.