Rob Manfred’s worst nightmare has come true. Tonight sees the start of a World Series which sees two teams from the bottom half of the payroll rankings face off. This comes in advance of fractious CBA negotiations, where the suggestion of a salary cap for competitive balance reasons, can be countered by pointing at this World Series. Never mind that the last World Series winner to be ranked outside the top ten was 2017. The small markets involved could also prove to be a ratings apocalypse. The current low for a World Series is our one in 2023, when the five games against the Rangers drew a rating of just 4.7%. The Dodgers-Yankees match-up the following year was more than half as much again (7.3%).
Still, maybe the draw of two teams never to have taste glory in its ultimate form will prove of appeal. Regardless, this will be the last major-league baseball we get to see for a while – given the looming lockout, probably longer than normal. So I suggest you take the chance to enjoy it while you can…
- Tampa Bay Rays @ Milwaukee Brewers (0-0): 5 pm, FOX