Random take Tuesday

Game 1 of the 2024 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees was seen by 15.2 million viewers on Fox television.

That number was up 62 percent from last year’s Game 1 when 9.35 million watched the Diamondbacks and Rangers. It was the most-watched World Series opening game since Astros-Dodgers was seen by 15.33 million in 2017.

A Baseball America article called the audience “massive” and noted that often the World Series total average viewership for the series exceeds the Game 1 number.

Said BA: “While 2016’s 22.8 million average viewership is unlikely to be exceeded, an average of 15 million viewers would blow away any recent World Series. Last year’s Rangers-Diamondbacks World Series averaged an all-time low 9.1 million viewers per game, and there hasn’t been a World Series to top 12 million in average viewership since 2019. A 15-million average viewership would rank as the third highest since 2010, which is impressive given TV viewership for anything but football has dwindled dramatically in the past decade-plus thanks to the demise of cable TV and the rise of streaming services and social media.”

According to Sports Media Watch, Game 2 on Saturday averaged 13.44 million viewers on FOX (13.8 million across all Fox Sports platforms). That was the largest audience for Game 2 since Dodgers-Red Sox in 2018 (13.51M) and a 65% increase from last year’s record-low 8.15 million for Diamondbacks-Rangers.

This note is also quite positive. According to MLB, younger audiences are leading the significant viewership gains for this year’s World Series. The first two games of the World Series registered a 93 percent increase in viewership within the 18-34 year-old audience in the U.S. Compared to last year’s WS, the 18-34 year-old group is drawing the largest increase of any of the demos. 

Another international note: When I wrote about some props the O’s international program has gotten recently here yesterday, I noted that under Mike Elias and Koby Perez, the O’s have now signed five players to seven-figure bonuses.

* Luis Almeyda signed for $2.3 million on 1/15/23.

* Braylin Tavera signed for $1.7 million on 1/15/22.

* Samuel Basallo signed for $1.3 million on 1/15/21.

* Emilio Sanchez signed for $1.3 million on 1/15/24.

* Maikol Hernández signed for $1.2 million on 1/15/21.

Almeyda, age 18, is not ranked in the MLBPipeline.com top 30 that was cited here yesterday. He played in the Florida Complex League in 2024, and over 53 games, hit .200/.337/.316/.653.

Tavera was ranked No. 16 by MLBPipeline. He played in 87 games this season with 84 for Low-A Delmarva. He batted .173/.296/.213/.509 for the Shorebirds.

Basallo, just about any O’s fan is quite aware of by now. This season he produced a .790 OPS over 127 games between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. He seems quite likely to make his way onto the Orioles’ roster at some point in 2025.

Sanchez, age 17, is ranked No. 17 O’s prospect by Baseball America and No. 24 by MLBPipeline. In 48 games in the Dominican Summer League, he hit .212/.416/.281/.697 with 48 walks to 35 strikeouts and he had a 23.6 walk rate.

Hernandez was unranked by either outlet. He has struggled to hit in now what is parts of four seasons with the Orioles, mostly in short season ball, although he played 62 games this year for Delmarva. In those games with the Shorebirds, he hit .179/.282/.244/.526. In 196 career games since 2021, he has a .182 average and .549 OPS.

Does Judge get going in Game 3?: That was the question heading into the World Series game last night about Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.

So dominant in the regular season, Judge went 2-for-13 in the American League Division Series, 3-for-18 in the AL Championship Series and was 1-for-9 with six strikeouts in the first two games of the World Series.

During his regular season dominance, Judge hit six homers with and an OPS of 1.451 in 12 games against the Orioles. But in the playoffs, he has been chasing pitches and also missing what seem quite hittable pitches in the zone. It has to be a very strange sight for any O’s pitcher or fan.

Yankees lose again: They did not score until the ninth inning and no, Judge did not get going, as the Dodgers beat the Yankees 4-2 to take a 3-0 lead in games in the World Series. Swept by the Orioles in 1966, the Dodgers can complete a four-game sweep tonight in the Bronx.

Judge went 0-for-3 with a walk and strikeout, and nothing got better for him last night.

In MLB history, teams taking a 3-0 lead in a seven-game series have gone 39-1. The only club to lose was actually the Yankees, against Boston in the AL Championship Series in 2004. Current Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was on that Boston team.