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The 2024 World Series is, in some ways, the polar opposite of the 2023 World Series. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers had few stars, small national fan bases, and little name recognition. Despite playing in huge markets, Phoenix and Dallas, there was virtually no outside interest. And poor television ratings were an unsurprising result. 

Last year was effectively the lowest rated World Series ever. While it’s up for debate whether “smaller” national brands like the Rangers winning a championship is good for baseball or not, it’s a settled question that poor ratings are not good. Having the World Series be trounced in the ratings by a random, midseason NFL game is not what baseball or its media partners want.

This year will be different. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees are the two biggest national brands in baseball. They represent the two largest media markets. They have arguably the two biggest stars in the sport, with Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. In an era when baseball’s stars struggle to cross over into actual celebrity, those two are some of the few recognizable names for non-die-hard sports fans.

It’s a near certainty that ratings will be up, potentially bringing more fans back to baseball, while creating new ones. An epic, historic World Series matchup with the best talent in the sport could also help embed the sport with younger viewers.

So why is everyone still so mad about it?

Shohei OHtani NLDS ratings

Los Angeles, CA – October 14:   Shohei Ohtani #17 reacts as teammate Tommy Edman (not pictured) of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a RBI single against the New York Mets inning of game 2 of a National League Championship Series playoff baseball game at Dodger Stadium on Monday, October 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

Dodgers-Yankees World Series Is A Good Thing For Baseball

Reaction to the Dodgers and Yankees once again playing in the World Series has been resoundingly negative. Some fans are upset that two teams that rank near the top in team payroll have advanced. Some are upset that the World Series matches up the two top seeds in both leagues. Some are upset because they have particular animosity towards the Dodgers and Yankees in particular.

Even Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino has noticed, posting on X that the obvious reaction from the online discourse is that it’s impossible to make anyone happy. “I love baseball fans,” Pasquantino posted. “Unhappy it’s Dodgers Yankees for a multitude of reasons. But if it was a 3-6 seed to make the World Series the system would be flawed because the 1-2 teams lost because of the bye. I think we are simply proving that no one is happy with anything.”

He’s absolutely right.

There are die-hard baseball fans who will watch every playoff game and every World Series game, regardless of the teams involved. But as the 2023 ratings, and a run of disappointing national television numbers show, that die-hard community is relatively small.

Baseball has, for years, risked becoming a niche, regional sport. Fans will support their local team, and ignore the rest. Football has managed to avoid that, thanks mostly to gambling, a shorter season, and smaller time commitment throughout the week. But baseball doesn’t led itself to betting the same way the NFL does, nor does it have the luxury of playing most of its games on one day per week. So it has to rely on other factors to generate outside interest.

That’s where Dodgers-Yankees come in.

Pace-of-play changes instituted by Major League Baseball have helped regenerate key regular season metrics. Attendance and ratings were up in 2023 and 2024. But the 2023 World Series killed that momentum with an uninteresting matchup between two mediocre teams. Especially Arizona, considering the Diamondbacks were outscored in the regular season.

MLB’s push for more postseason games and teams led to that inevitable result. And given the randomness of postseason baseball, those types of underwhelming series are going to become even more common moving forward. Having the Dodgers and Yankees in the World Series is a welcome change of pace, allowing a broader national audience the opportunity to see, on a national stage, how the rule changes have sped up the game and made it more exciting. As well as showcasing some of baseball’s best players.

If this happened every year, then yes, it would be “bad” for baseball to some degree. But it doesn’t. It’s rare. And with the expanded postseason, it’s going to become even rarer. 

Pasquantino hit the nail on the head; the real issue is that fans will never be happy. There’s always something to complain about. The World Series should be a showcase, but not too much of one. Every fanbase wants their owner to spend more money to make the team better, but nobody wants to see owners who actually follow through on that strategy to have success.

Fans unhappy about the 2024 World Series won’t have to wait long for the likely return of a Detroit Tigers-Cincinnati Reds championship. And then they’ll find something to complain about that one too.