There are certain fallacies in sports that the internet has only amplified, despite a quick Google search proving otherwise. Just as a typical NBA or NFL offseason eliminates the idea that above-average free agents never sign with bad teams, the final television ratings for the 2025 World Series prove what we already know: Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers have not ruined baseball.
Preliminary Nielsen ratings (which include only the ratings service’s panel measurement) reported that Fox’s Game 7 World Series broadcast averaged 25.45 million viewers on Saturday night. Another 530,000 tuned in to see the Dodgers’ 11-inning, 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays through Fox Deportes and Fox Sports streaming.
The Hollywood Reporter shared that Game 7’s viewership peaked at 31.54 million viewers from 11:30-11:45 p.m. ET, and the 25.98 million viewers are the most for any MLB game since Game 7 of the 2017 World Series.
On the one hand, you might be reluctant to share those fans with the average X/Twitter and Reddit commenter, given social media users’ propensity for stubbornness. However, the numbers are the numbers, and they prove something that even the most dedicated baseball fans might not want to admit: If anything, the Dodgers might have saved Major League Baseball.
The Dodgers helped Major League Baseball complete an epic comeback
Before we go any further, let’s rewind to the fall of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic forced a shortened, 60-game season with an expanded playoffs. Most postseason games were played at neutral sites, and the World Series in Arlington, Texas, featured a limited capacity of roughly 11,500 people.
Fox averaged 9.785 million viewers per World Series broadcast that year, with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 6-2 Game 3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays drawing only 8.3 million viewers. Not only did that set a new World Series low, but it only rejuvenated the conversations regarding baseball’s presence in the national consciousness. Granted, there was plenty else going on in the world, but the point remains that in a time where people used Netflix or Xbox for an escape, they didn’t bother with the Fall Classic.
Think about where we are now. Ohtani and New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge are arguably baseball’s most high-profile, recognizable players dating back to Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire’s legendary 1998 home run chase. The Dodgers drew over 4 million fans this season, the first team to do so since the 2008 Yankees and Mets. Compare that to 2012, when the Philadelphia Phillies’ 3.5 million fans led baseball.
Six teams drew over 3 million fans, with the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves each adding over 2.9 million. Major League Baseball boasted that teams brought in over 71.4 million fans, and this was the first time since 2005-07 that the sport had three straight years of increased attendance.
To be clear, the current state of baseball isn’t perfect. Teams like the Rays and Pirates still refuse to spend in free agency, and all signs point to a work stoppage after next season. But the next time someone tells you that the Dodgers are killing baseball, show them the facts and the data. We might not always love what the math tells us, but math is never wrong — at least, when you do it correctly.