By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) – The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series is a timely boon for MLB, according to sports analysts who say the cast of high-profile players from marquee franchises has global appeal and could generate unprecedented TV ratings.
One year after the World Series drew record low viewership, Japan’s Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the Yankees are battling on the sport’s most prominent stage in what has become must-see TV.
“Dream matchup. You’ve got maybe the two best individual players in the game with Shohei and Aaron Judge,” said Victor Matheson, a specialist in sports economics who teaches at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts. “We have these great, historic and marquee teams.
“Kind of the nice thing for baseball is that there are more lovers of the Dodgers and Yankees than any other team. There’s also more haters of the Dodgers and Yankees than any other team. So at least everyone has an opinion about these teams.”
The matchup is a far cry from last year’s clash between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks which notched the lowest viewership totals of any World Series since Neilsen first began publishing ratings in 1963.
This year, however, presents a vastly different story as the Yankees and Dodgers franchises are steeped in tradition, reside in Major League Baseball’s two biggest markets and boast star-studded rosters.
“It’s exactly what baseball needs and it’s injected a lot of juice into the postseason,” said Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing analyst based in San Francisco.
“And the fact that you got Ohtani against Judge, it’s not just that it’s these two venerable franchises but you’ve got the two greatest players making it into the World Series so that adds a whole other level to it.”
The interest was also noticeable at the box office as ticket resale platform StubHub said last week it was on track to be its best-selling World Series in history with sales already ahead of last year’s matchup between Texas and Arizona.
The Dodgers have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven World Series, which now shifts to New York starting on Monday.
Baseball historian Peter Golenbock said the teams’ broad reach – with New York and Los Angeles transplants scattered across the United States – and rich history added to the allure of this World Series.
In addition, Ohtani — who injured his shoulder in Game 2 — and Judge, hot favorites for MVP in their respective leagues and the only two players to hit more than 50 home runs this year, kick the Fall Classic into another stratosphere.
“It’s something that will draw fans – perhaps more than any other World Series ever,” said Golenbock, author of “Whispers of the Gods: Tales from Baseball’s Golden Age, Told by the Men Who Played It”. “You’re going to see the best of the best.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Additional reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Ed Osmond)
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