As MLB heads into a lockout, the owners will point to the Los Angeles Dodgers as the reason for a salary cap, but the latest Fox viewership numbers for the NLCS suggest the opposite.
Dodgers are generating high viewership totals
According to Fox’s numbers, the network averaged 7,533,000 viewers per NLCS game across Fox and FS1. This was the highest average viewership for an LCS on any network since 2015.
Even with the series essentially over, Game 4 averaged 6,135,000, showing the Dodgers’ baseball villain draws attention no matter their chances of winning.
With the Dodgers bringing so many eyeballs to the sport and to Fox Network as a whole, the question is whether they’re helping the sport or hurting it.
The narrative around the Dodgers and “Ruining Baseball”
The moniker “The Dodgers are ruining baseball” has gained prominence during the franchise’s current dynasty, which has won three titles in six years while leading the league in payroll.
With spending rivaled only by the Mets, the Dodgers have addressed every weakness by signing stars like Tanner Scott, Edwin Diaz, Kyle Tucker, and Freddie Freeman over the last five years.
While the team has done a ton of other work, these big-time signings have stolen the headlines and energized fans in smaller markets who believe spending should be limited.
As the collective bargaining agreement ends in December, owners will work hard to point to the spending and success of the Dodgers as something that is ruining the sport.
However, people are more than willing to watch the Dodgers play, as the ratings show, no matter how they did.
Fox saw a crazy viewership total in 2025 from the Dodgers’ World Series win, and now, the 2026 three-peat attempt broke records, showing just how strong the sport is right now.
Additionally, two “small” market teams will play in the World Series, with the Brewers locked in and the Cleveland Guardians or Tampa Bay Rays waiting in the wings.
The owners will try to blame the Dodgers, but the reality is that the Dodgers offer the sport and smaller markets a ton of benefits, and they serve as a villain people want to see lose.