ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Minor League Baseball™ clubs attracted 6,401,632 fans through the end of April, an increase of 11.2 percent over the same time period last year. The total number of fans is the second highest since 2000 and only less than the 6.7 million people MiLB™ drew through April in 2008, when the industry set its season attendance mark of 43.2 million patrons.

"Minor League Baseball clubs work extremely hard in preparing for their seasons, and the 6.4 million fans who visited our ballparks through last month is a testament to their efforts," Minor League Baseball president, Pat O'Conner, said.

"Additionally, our clubs have kept their prices at a level where our industry is, once again, one of the more affordable family entertainment options," added O'Conner. The average cost for a family of four to attend a Minor League Baseball game this season is $61.23. The cost includes two adult tickets, two child tickets, four hot dogs, two sodas, two beers, a program or scorecard and parking.

The 11 full-season leagues and 136 clubs averaged 3,752 fans a game through last month.

In raw numbers, this year's attendance was 645,085 more than last year through April. Carmen and Aguascalientes, two new Mexican League clubs, attracted a combined 147,816 fans.

The following clubs led their league in average attendance through April:
Pacific Coast, Round Rock (7,583)
Mexican, Monterrey (11,878)
Eastern, Richmond (6,000)
Southern, Pensacola (4,823)
Texas, Frisco (6,745)
California, Lake Elsinore (3,923)
Carolina, Winston- Salem (4,417)
Florida State, Daytona (2,732)
Midwest, Dayton (8,513)
South Atlantic, Greensboro (5,279)