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From the mid-70s to the turn of the century, the MLB World Series hovered around 20-30 million viewers yearly, even reaching over 44 million viewers in 1978, but ever since 2004, the MLB World Series has only reached over 20 million viewers once in 2016, even reaching as low as only a little over 9 million viewers in the shortened 2020 season, but, this season, the average attendance at games is up 9% from last season according to MLB, proving that there is potential for a resurgence in popularity.
Baseball was once America’s favorite pastime, but now, the sport is barely more than an afterthought for most Americans. The controversial pitch clock rule that was implemented at the beginning of the 2023 season addressed one of the biggest complaints with baseball shortening the average game length by nearly 30 minutes. The league has also made the bases bigger, increasing stolen base numbers around the league and allowing Ronald Acuna Jr. to become the first and only player in history with 40+ home runs and 70+ stolen bases in a single season. These changes have resulted in more viewership from old and new fans alike. ESPN reported in June that the average nationally televised game viewership was up 7% from the previous season.
The 2023 playoffs have been a roller coaster for fans. Every team with 100 or more wins got eliminated from the playoffs before the LCS(League Championship Series) and teams like the Orioles quickly turned around from losing over 100 games just 2 years ago, to winning over 100 games this year. A few weeks before the playoffs, the Rangers were in a highly competitive, all out battle for the top seed in the American League West, between them, the Astros, and the Mariners. It came down to the wire but eventually, the Rangers clinched the wild card. They upset both the Rays and the wildly improved 101 win Orioles in back-to-back series, which brought them to a 7 game series with their division rivals, the Astros, a team that they have had multiple hard-fought battles throughout the season, but the Rangers pulled through with the heroics of Corey Seager and most importantly, Adolis Garcia breaking a handful of playoff records to keep the Rangers World Series hopes alive.
On the other side, the Diamondback’s run has been highly unlikely. Early in the season, the Diamondbacks shocked everyone by making their way to the top of their division over powerhouses like the Padres. Then, in August, they fell into a slump. The playoffs at that point seemed like a dream, but by the end of September, they pulled through with a bit of good luck and other teams in the division slumping. They started their postseason by sweeping the Brewers in 2 in the wildcard series, then upset the 100 win Dodgers by sweeping them in 3 games, absolutely embarrassing them. Next, they had to face the red hot Phillies, fresh off of beating the WS favorite Braves. The atmosphere in Philadelphia was electric, but by the end of the series, the Phils bats cooled down and the Diamondbacks won 2 straight with the help of Ketel Marte extending his record breaking playoff hitting streak to 16 to stamp their ticket in the World Series.
The 2023 World Series has been great. Game 1 of the World Series was the least viewed start to any World Series ever, including the Covid-19 shortened year, but this doesn’t tell the full story. Game 1 ended with an 11th inning walk-off homerun from Adolis Garcia after the game was tied by Corey Seager with a blast of his own. Every other game since then has been electric as well and Ketel Marte has extended his hitting streak to 20. Although the numbers might not show it, right now is a perfect time to start watching baseball. There is an influx of new, exciting and flashy players who are drawing plenty of new eyes to the league. The sport is also growing internationally in places like Japan with a new league with former MLB players starting in Dubai.
