Dodgers-Yankees ratings show why MLB continues to play the hits

As someone who grew up following a franchise that received revenue sharing (RIP Oakland A's), and covered a large-market franchise for more than a decade for a daily newspaper, I can appreciate complaints from both sides of the squabble about which teams are granted the lion's share of live national media broadcasts.

Everyone has a legitimate reason to gripe. Anyone who's accustomed to watching the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees on their local regional sports networks, for example, were out of luck this weekend. National broadcasters picked up each of the three games for the World Series rematch: Apple TV+ on Friday, Fox Sports on Saturday, ESPN on Sunday.

MORE: Trash, or just talk? Dodgers veteran defends 'trying to kill' the Yankees attitude

For fans of teams whose records merit a national media spotlight, but play in smaller markets — I'm looking at you Seattle and Milwaukee — nothing is more cringeworthy than three consecutive Dodgers-Yankees games on national television.

Bad news for the complainers arrived Tuesday. Not only was Sunday's game on ESPN the highest-rated Sunday Night Baseball game in seven years, the Dodgers' 18-2 snoozefest on Saturday was well-received by Fox viewers, too.

Per Fox, the 2.2 million viewership average for the middle game of the series represented a 16 percent increase from last season's average of 1.9 million. That's perhaps less than what the network was hoping or expecting from a game featuring the nation's two largest media markets, but the point remains: even a bad Dodgers-Yankees game is good for above-average viewership numbers.

It helps, of course, that the Dodgers and Yankees are the defending pennant winners, and their rosters then and now featured the two best players of their generation: Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.

Far from disappointments, the two teams have followed up their World Series appearance with strong starts in 2025. One Dodger told The Big Lead on Friday that he wouldn't be surprised to be playing the Yankees in October again.

Even if that prediction falls short, the Dodgers and Yankees will find themselves on national television again. That was true before the ratings were revealed Tuesday, and it's even more now. The most reliable cash cow in baseball did not disappoint, even if Ohtani himself couldn't stay awake for the duration of every game.

Home/MLB