THE FIRST 鈥渟wing-off鈥 in Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game history wasn鈥檛 enough to save the Midsummer Classic from a 3% ratings drop.
Tuesday night鈥檚 game averaged a 3.8 rating and drew 7.19 million viewers on Fox, according to Nielsen, down from 7.44 million last year and the second-fewest on record for the event. It was 3% better than the record low of 7 million who tuned into the 2023 MLB All-Star Game.
MLB鈥檚 All-Star event still draws far better than its counterparts, with this year鈥檚 NBA All-Star Game and the NFL鈥檚 Pro Bowl Games each averaging 4.7 million viewers. Monday night鈥檚 Home Run Derby drew 5.73 million viewers on ESPN.
The All-Star Game itself peaked with 8.1 million viewers in the 9:15 p.m. ET quarter-hour, per SportsMediaWatch.com, making it the most-watched program on Fox since the Super Bowl. It also featured the first 鈥渟wing-off鈥 to determine the All-Star Game winner.
Each player got three swings. Rooker launched two over the fence, while Stowers went 1-for-3. Arozarena then hit one, before Kyle Schwarber sent all three out to give the NL a 4-3 running lead entering the final round. Aranda then went 0-for-3, clinching the bizarre National League victory 鈥 technically a 7-6 win 鈥 the league鈥檚 second All-Star Game triumph in three years after dropping the previous nine.
A rule change in 2022 provided what was left of the 41,702 fans with a spectacle they likely weren鈥檛 expecting.
鈥淚t was interesting,鈥 Schwarber said after being named the Phillies鈥 first All-Star Game MVP since Johnny Callison in 1964. 鈥淓xciting, fun. There鈥檚 a lot of guys who deserve this (trophy), but I鈥檓 glad it鈥檚 going home with us to Philly.鈥 鈥 Reuters
