Baseball is enjoying a renaissance, and Red Sox are missing out originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
By virtually every measure, baseball had a banner season.
Attendance is up. TV ratings are up. Streaming numbers are up. Youth participation is up. International viewing is up. Digital engagements are up.
Except for time of game, everything is up. Unless you’re the Red Sox.
We’re just down. Attendance fell by about 12,000 fans. NESN’s ratings, which weren’t that high to begin with, dropped five percent overall and 25 percent in the coveted 25-54 demographic. The NESN360 app is a glitchy mess.
With an uninspiring roster and an ownership group peddling the same platitudes for three straight years now, it’s easy for Red Sox fans to think baseball is struggling everywhere. But that would be false.
The playoffs are in full swing, and in cities like San Diego, New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, baseball rules.
The Padres are about to resume their rivalry with the Dodgers after eliminating the Braves on Wednesday before a rabid sea of San Diegans. The Mets extended their magical run on Thursday with a stunning victory over the Brewers. The Phillies, who boast the best home-field advantage and atmosphere in baseball, might be the overall favorites.
Elsewhere, the Tigers turned on the jets in August and haven’t looked back, dismissing the playoff-hardened Astros. Meanwhile, the Royals exulted in their sweep of the Orioles behind five-tool superstar Bobby Witt Jr. That leaves the Yankees, who believe they’re finally positioned to end their 15-year title drought.
All of this excitement, and none of it in Boston. The Red Sox used to reside at the center of the baseball universe, but now they’re some far-flung satellite like Pluto, in danger of being downgraded from a planet to whatever the astronomical term is for a celestial body that won’t spend on pitching.
Because we tend to direct our gazes inward — some would call it “provincial,” while others might choose “myopic” — it’s not necessarily clear that baseball is thriving as a whole. But it is. Has there been a greater “HOLY S***!” moment in any sport this year than Shohei Ohtani joining the 50-50 club with a 6-for-6 three-homer masterpiece?
Baseball has been delivering great moments all season, from Aaron Judge’s pursuit of 60 bombs, to Pirates phenom Paul Skenes firing 100 mph fastballs with Pedro Martinez-like command, to the Mets giving us two Game of the Year candidates in four days, culminating with Pete…