Chicago Cubs: World Series and WBC bringing back baseball

Once considered “America’s Game,” baseball took a backseat to other sports. But after a record-breaking World Series win by the Chicago Cubs and a popular start to the WBC, is baseball back?

For centuries, the game of baseball was called “Our National Pastime.” It was the game we grew up playing in the sandlot down the street. We collected baseball cards. Some of us were members of the Mark McGwire fan club after he clobbered 49 home runs in 1987. The names of baseball immortals flowed in arguments like bullets in the battle of Gettysburg.

However, something changed. We moved from a nation of radio and bicycles to HD LED flat-screens and increasingly quick internet speeds. The purity in the strategy of baseball gave way to the entertainment of football. The love of a long ball from Juan Gonzalez left with for long passes from Peyton Manning. Discussions and investigations into performance-enhancing drug use clouded our hearts and minds. Football became king of the screen.

But is that changing? This what the question that came to my mind as I was listening to Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio yesterday morning. The discussion circled around Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott‘s antics in a St. Patrick’s Day parade. With the pressure by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on performance off the field due to players arrested for domestic violence or DUI, the unfortunate exposure Elliott has brought to the NFL only brings more focus. Is now the time for Major League Baseball to become the game America loves?

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The NFL ratings

Baseball is a game of numbers, situational play. Taking advantages of the opportunities created by your team or by error of the opponent. It is the brilliant match of one-on-one and team play rolled into a single sport. Where else to you see matchups like Jake Arrieta versus Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw against Kris Bryant? The Chicago Cubs’ defense against the Cleveland Indian’s offense? Both aspects of the game equally important in one event. Sure, we talk of Aaron Rodgers against Matt Ryan in football, but they never truly face each other on the field of play.

Football has been king in ratings for the last several years. NASCAR puts up a great fight, but until they find a way to pit two race teams against one another in a 16-game event on a single weekend, football will be on top. However, the American need to more – NFL RedZone, Fantasy Football, social media – in combination with off-the-field issues, has knocked the king down a few pegs. Sunday broadcasts of NFL games declined by 19% overall, with Monday Night Football decreasing by 24%.  And, Thursday night games were just brutal this year.

MMBQ.com asked fans why this happened, and their responses were gold. My favorite came from Hans in California.

It’s kind of ironic that the NFL went hard after the casual fans and got exactly that; casual fans who won’t bother with a three-hour broadcast. The game is still popular, but the gravy train that drives the revenue, network broadcasts, is on the way down. And they’ve got no one to blame but themselves.

In the game of numbers, baseball is winning again. Maury Brown, a writer for Forbes magazine detailed the rise of baseball ratings in 2016 in the article “Baseball is Dying?”. Here is a hint: The Chicago Cubs helped.

By the Numbers

We know Game 7 of the World Series was an instant classic. The Chicago Cubs running out to a large lead, all signs pointing to the curse ending. Then the Indians charging back, and Cubs fans all around the world feeling the anguish of hope crushed. The Goat. Batman. The Black Cat. Every feeling, every losing memory rushing over us like an 18-wheeler about to squish a squirrel. Yet, the Cubs came back and won

That game alone drew a 25.2 rating and a 40 share according to Nielsen Media Research, the highest rated World Series game since 2001. It was the second most watch event in 2016, trailing the NFL championship game. And, as a series, it was the second highest rated in the last 15 years. Of course, having two passionate fan bases on the brink of ending epic championship droughts played a large part. For context, in another Game 7 with a team coming back from a 3-1 deficit, the Cubs-Indians game was a 33% increase over the Cleveland Cavaliers win over the Golden State Warriors.

Gaining ground

Additionally, Game 5 of the World Series produced huge numbers. In a game that would either curse the Cubs for another year or elongate the series, the importance was clear. That drama alone helped pull a better rating than the Dallas Cowboys versus the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night game. Head-to-Head, broadcast-to-broadcast, baseball beat the “America’s Team” and “America’s Game” in prime time.

And, while it is not the World Cup, the World Baseball Classic features the international energy and love for the game of baseball. Even Marlins Park in Miami was at capacity during games. Crowds are emboldened to cheer and dance. I witnessed a fan with a saxophone in the stands. In Japan, over 32% of the country tuned into watch the extra inning affair between their team and the Netherlands. As a whole, however, the WBC ratings are down in the US, but it is partly due to games being on MLB Network, a channel in just over 2 million homes in the country.

The Experience

I am lucky. In my lifetime, I attended games at Turner Field and Busch Stadium. While living in Atlanta, I went to Predators and Hawks games. My wife and I even attended the Thanksgiving Day Game between the Falcons and the Indianapolis Colts. Plus, in college, I marched halftime for a St. Louis Rams game against the Carolina Panthers. Now, I love sports. All sports. But there is nothing like a baseball game.

The green grass covered in the light of the summer sun. The smell of hotdogs, pretzels and other concession are the aroma that draws the boy that played stick ball back to life. The pop of the catcher’s glove on a heater down the middle of the plate. The crack of the bat on a mammoth home run. Sitting in the bleachers with a friend, hearing the vendors call out “Cold beer here!”

Maybe I am sentimental, but the fact that my daughter loves the Chicago Cubs makes me smile. We walked the warning track in Wrigley before a game in 2014 for Girl Scout Night. And then saw Anthony Rizzo in the cage underneath the outfield bleachers. We took the train, walked Wrigleyville, and she was in love. Now, she asked questions about strategy during games. My wife even woke her up to watch the final outs of the World Series.

Next Step

Why that story? Major League Baseball is growing a fan base. Young boys and girls energized by the game, drawn to spend time with their mother or father, eat Cracker Jacks and cheer. In all the events I have attended, only baseball felt like home and not entertainment.

So, Commissioner Rob Manfred, you are in a great time of leadership for the game of baseball. Ratings are improving and the game is better. The era of issues is turning into an opportunity to build the future. The game is in your hands, and my daughter is watching.