The 2023 MLB All-Star Game was eventful, led by outstanding talent and ended on a sweet note. The reviews weren’t that good.
According to Sports Media Watch, this season’s Midsummer Classic averaged a record-low 3.9 and 7.01 million viewers, down 7 percent from last year’s record lows of 4.21 and 7.51 million. The MLB All-Star Game has now reached record low ratings for five of its last seven games (2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023).
At this year’s edition of the game, the National League ended its nine-game losing streak with a 3-2 win at Seattle Mariners’ T-Mobile Park. The exploits came in the eighth inning when Colorado Rockies catcher Elias Díaz hit a two-run home run to take a 3-2 lead.
Elias Díaz just turned this #AllStarGame on its head! pic.twitter.com/a676EZsZ53
— MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2023
Díaz, who played his first All-Star Game of his career at 32, was named the game’s MVP.
The previous few days also saw a highly publicized MLB draft in Seattle, with the Pittsburgh Pirates defeating LSU phenom Paul Skenes with the first pick and Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a home run derby pick. followed in his father’s footsteps.
It was an entertaining week in a season that saw early attendance gains in the first year due to faster pitch clock play, but that didn’t seem to translate to national attendances. It should be noted that MLB is not unique when it comes to lower All-Star ratings.
Can MLB do anything about the All-Star Game?
The MLB All-Star game is unique among All-Star games in that, for lack of a better term, it’s the only one that actually works.
The NFL’s Pro Bowl suffered for decades because everyone involved was reluctant to play a game that is dangerous every time a player steps onto the field, while the NBA and NHL All-Star games lacked any incentive to try out the defense. All three leagues have tinkered with the formula — or, in the NFL’s case, simply abandoned hosting a game — but with little success judging by ratings.
MLB has never had these problems because a) throwing an extra inning isn’t a big deal for pitchers and often coincides with their pitching day (American League starter Gerrit Cole described his outing Tuesday as “Lots of adrenaline for a bullpen day”) and b) no batter wants to pitch out and no pitcher wants to give up a home run nationally.
The 2023 MLB All-Star Game was fun. There was still a drop in ratings. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The MLB All-Star Game has always been the top All-Star game in current competition, but that’s now a double-edged sword if the league finds the ratings unacceptable. You can tinker with it, but no mechanic can fix a car if the real problem is a bumpy road.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred can certainly try, though any major change risks cheapening a game that has more legitimacy than any of its competitors.
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