Good morning! A fun note for anyone who is convinced that either (1) baseball is dying, or (2) the Dodgers are killing interest in the sport, necessitating the implementation of a salary cap: The 2026 World Series smashed ratings expectations across the board, and Game 7 was the most-watched baseball game in 34 years.
And note that the ratings success was not merely a function of expanded Canadian and Japanese audiences. In America alone, 16.1 million people watched each game on average, which was an increase
over last year’s dream Yankees-Dodgers matchup.
It is a blatant lie that forced parity and wage suppression lead to popularity, as anyone who has ever heard of college football or soccer can tell you. What consumer behavior actually shows us is that what people want from televised sports is (1) on-field excellence and, (2) well-known and compelling competitors. The Dodgers understand this and are willing and able to provide it. They are unambiguously good for the game and more teams — like the Boston Red Sox! — should act like them.
