Despite the usage of a pitch clock in this year’s All Star Game for the first time, the television ratings continued to tumble, as this year’s Midsummer Classic averaged a record-low 3.9 rating and 7.01 million viewers, down 7% from last year’s record-lows of 4.21 and 7.51 million. The MLB All-Star Game has now set a record-low in ratings with five of the past seven games (2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023).
Interestingly enough, there was not a lot of media coverage about the All Star Game’s low ratings, especially since most of that same media has been touting the implementation of the pitch clock. One would have thought MLB would have been promoting the use of the pitch clock for the first time in an All Star Game, but an internet search for All Star Game and pitch clock essentially showed almost no results. If the pitch clock is supposed to be the baseball elixir the game has needed for quite some time, shouldn’t half a season of a pitch clock and the chance to see it used with the best players have been a reason for viewers to tune in? Evidently not.
In addition to the lowest ratings, this year’s All Star Game also brought in the second lowest number of households at 5.95 million and tied for the fourth least in terms of ratings share. See this link for the All Star Game ratings dating back to 1967.
If the pitch clock was supposed to be the cure for what ails baseball, then after these All Star Game results we would likely then ask for different medicine. Better yet would be a real diagnosis of the sport’s troubles. Locally, baseball attendance and ratings do not have issues, but from a national perspective, the game is not what it used to be. In addition to the All Star Game’s issues, we see that the other nationally televised event, the World Series has trended downward throughout time. In 2022, World Series ratings were the worst in the history of the sport except for the Covid shortened year of 2020. Last year the World Series registered only a 6.1 rating and 11.78 million viewers. See this link for the World Series Game ratings dating back to 1967.
The moral of this story is that baseball is more of a local and regional sport at this point. That is nothing to be embarrassed about, since team valuations and overall revenue are at all-time highs, while so are television and player contracts. The world is in a different place and viewers have a myriad of entertainment choices, so it is unrealistic that an All Star Game would pull in a 26.8 rating and 20.5 million viewers such as back in 1980, or a World Series hitting a 32.8 rating and attracting 44.3 million fans to tune in like in 1978. Those days are over.
I think this article sums it up best when it states, ”That era is gone, like so many other eras of the sport. This one has to compete with other sports, other platforms, other shows. Reggie Jackson had no problem beating out Mork and Mindy, but asking Bryce Harper to take on The Watcher, House of the Dragon, Dahmer, Andor and The White Lotus is a different story.”
Expecting rule changes like pitch clocks and ghost runners to radically change the fortunes of baseball are unrealistic. Unfortunately, MLB has no interest in listening to reason, which the All Star Game ratings once again proved loud and clear.
1980 All Star Game
Baseball Purist 
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