World Series recap: What MLB teams can learn from Phillies-Astros - Sports Illustrated

Defense matters
Velocity keeps rising, but there is less of it
Spin is in
Contact matters
The Astros are a better postseason team than the Dodgers
  They strike out less. Their offenses are similar, but Houston puts more balls in play.
  The Astros’ pitchers go deeper into games more often.

This year’s World Series is 2nd-least watched on TV

The Houston Astros’ six-game victory over the Philadelphia Phillies finished as the second least-watched World Series on television.

The six games averaged 11,784,000 on Fox, down 1.3% from the 11,940,000 for the Atlanta Braves’ six-game win over the Astros last year and ahead of only the 9,946,000 for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ six-game victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020.

Houston’s 3-1 win in Game 6 on Saturday night was seen by 12,549,000 viewers on Fox, down 11% from 14,140,000 Atlanta’s 7-0 victory over the Astros in last year’s finale, played on a Tuesday night. Including Fox Deportes and streaming, this year’s Game 6 was viewed by 12,871,000.

Game 6 was played opposite several college football games, including Alabama-LSU on ESPN, Clemson-Notre Dame on NBC and Florida State-Miami on ABC.

The Series finished with a 6.1 Nielsen rating and 17 share. The rating was the second-lowest behind the 5.2 for 2020, which had a 12 share. This year’s share marked a 1% increase from last year.

Dynasty! Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, Astros are an all-time team | ESPN

That part was novel, but much else looked familiar. For the third time in four seasons, the Major League Baseball season has ended in Houston. The Astros’ two titles have come in a six-season span, with the first the infamous championship of 2017. In each season between that title and this one, the Astros advanced to at least the ALCS, pushing their streak of appearances in that round to an amazing six.

Given these simple facts, one obvious question springs to mind: Are we watching baseball’s newest dynasty?

Javier, bullpen combine on no-hitter as Astros tie Series

Looking forward to hearing all the hot takes tomorrow about the Astros having momentum.

Earl Weaver had it right.

Rob Thomson & Framber Valdez discuss Twitter “sticky stuff” rumors.

Rob Thomson & Framber Valdez discuss Twitter "sticky stuff" rumors. pic.twitter.com/uNUK9Fpt0P

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 30, 2022

Astros win World Series Game 2 2022

“It was almost a mathematical must, actually,” said manager Dusty Baker, “because it’s tough when you lose the first two games at home.”

2022 World Series OMNICHATTER

Philadelphia Phillies vs Houston Astros

How World Series day games went extinct

So the following year, MLB expanded to two night World Series games — both on weeknights — but it sparked a backlash. As the Associated Press wrote a month after the 1972 World Series: “‘Television is calling the shots,’ argued some critics. ‘Baseball has sold its soul to the tube.’”

Kuhn pushed back on that narrative, telling the AP that he was “deeply disturbed at insinuations that baseball now jumps to the whip of television interests and that we have surrendered control of baseball.”

On the contrary, Kuhn said, it was baseball, not the networks, that had pushed for night games.

“I broached the subject to NBC,” Kuhn recalled. “They were skeptical and resistant. The World Series comes in the first 13 weeks of the new season for the TV networks. It is a time when they are trying to establish viewer habits. They didn’t want to interrupt their regular shows with a one-shot deal like the Series. We worked on them; they didn’t work on us.”

And, Kuhn bragged, “We beat out ‘All in the Family’ and other established shows on rival networks.”

Astros win ALCS 2022

Congratulations to Astros fans! Yankees fans, well, this is going to be another torturous off-season.

Phillies win NLCS 2022

Congrats to Phillies fans! What a HUGE homer by Harper! The 9th-inning Padres bunt, however, was not prudent.