Record Low All Star Game TV Rating

Major League Baseball’s All-Star game has earned its lowest-ever television rating.

The National League’s 3-1 victory Tuesday night on Fox earned a 7.5 fast national rating and 13 share. That’s down 16 percent from the 8.9/15 for last season’s game, a 4-3 win by the AL.

Here’s the story.  From the comments:

Has the end of the steroids era ruined baseball? Pitchers dominating the game again. True aficionados of the intricacies of the game are happy. The home run heydays brought the adrenaline junkies to the parks but as bb king put it ” the thrill is gone “. Personally, I enjoy a good pitchers duel but it turns the game into soccer. If that’s what turns you on, fine. The US of A doesn’t get off on that. That’s not a complaint and not a criticism nor is it a boast or brag. It’s just callin’ it like I see it. Good defense and pitching doesn’t put fannies in the seats, it just wins championships.

I’m not so sure about the last sentence, but my interest in watching baseball is down this year.  Most of that has to do with the Cubs being so god-awful to watch this year, but there is a part of me that gets bored with 2-1 and 1-0 scores.  I appreciate good pitching and defense, but this economist especially digs the long ball.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that having the home team in the World Series being determined by the winner of the All Star game was a hoaky gimmick in the first place IMHO.  Now it seems like last week’s doughnut – hard and stale.

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Author: Phil Miller

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5 thoughts on “Record Low All Star Game TV Rating”

  1. Thought it was an excellent game…the kind a real fan enjoys. I’m not surprised by the lower rating. The NFL and everything associated with it has supplanted the interest that baseball used to generate. This is the kind of era that people who have said there are too many Major League franchises were talking about. In 3 years there will be at least 4 fewer tems..Sound outrageous?? Wait..it’s coming.

  2. Agree with the assertion that the low scoring games are harder to sit through. But if that’s the price to pay for ending the steroid era, so be it. Besides, as a Washington Nationals fan, I get to watch plenty of high scoring games (with the runs being scored by the other team, that is).

  3. Baseball is going through a phase where it has few young marketable stars. The talent is as good as ever, but the personalities are not. The Griffey Jr.s, Randy Johnsons, John Kruks, Reggie Jacksons and other long-remembered personalities have been replaced by tight-lipped efficient players who are just not interesting except for the true baseball fans. Maybe if just one of them had put his batting helmet on backwards – nah, that’s just too silly nowadays.

    Not many viewers will turn to the game, see the score at 1-0 in the sixth, and stay tuned for long. I can’t explain it, but the pitching is dominating the hitting – heck, even the home run derby was dominated by bullpen pitching coaches.

  4. Agreed with the all-star game effecting home field for the world series. Bug Selig just doesn’t strike me as the guy who knows how to market baseball and grow the game — certainly not a David Sterns or Pete Rozelle/Paul Tagliabue type of leader.

  5. I don’t think the lack of offense is what drove people away. Rather, it’s the entire charade that surrounds the All-Star game. 34 player teams, but really much larger because of the “injuries” so it gets ridiculous. Some absurd players are in the game that shouldn’t be, and it makes it way less special.

    Also, the whole “play to win” that the MLB fruitlessly pushes on its fans is annoying. It’s also not true–you don’t put 34 different players in a game you are “trying to win.”

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