According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen adjusted for time zone differences, Game 6 of the Fall Classic on Fox averaged a 7.4 rating/21 share in adults 18-49 and 22.3 million viewers overall -- the best numbers for any World Series game since the 2004 series between Boston and St. Louis. And overall, this year's World Series averaged a 6.2 rating in adults 18-49 and 19.4 million viewers overall, gains of more than 40% vs. last year's Philadelphia-Tampa Bay matchup and the best since 2004.
As a baseball fan, I'm glad to see the ratings are trending upward. No doubt having the Yankees in the final helped attract more viewers over last year's Rays/Phillies World Series. Undoubtedly, this is good news for Major League Baseball. My only concern is if having the Red Sox or Yankees in the World Series is the only answer this could spell trouble down the road. The amount of fans who love or despise either the Sox or the Yanks has grown exponentially since 2004 and they are the marquee teams of the league. But if casual baseball fans won't watch the Series unless either one of them are involved, the ratings will suffer and so might the league. Baseball is not the sport of choice for this generation and commissioner Bud Selig needs to improve the product instead of rolling the dice and hoping the Sox or Yanks makes it to the big game every year. Selig's failure to make the game more relevant to today's youth could very well be the downfall of the Fall Classic. I'm one who hopes it isn't.
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