The 2008 World Series features two teams that the majority of America did not expect nor want to see in baseball's big event. ESPN and FOX can pretend that the match-up in this year's World Series is the best thing that ever happened to them, but when ratings drop to all-time lows in Game 2 and 3 because the Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago markets tune in to the World Series (of Poker), the FOX network will pray for a deciding Game 7 to salvage its bank accounts.
The Tampa Bay Rays stopped being a surprise/underdog over 100 games ago when they swept the Major League leading Chicago Cubs. Over three months later, Major League Baseball still attempts to force upon America a notion that Tampa Bay is an anomaly. Sports fans claim to root for the underdog, but numbers show that fans watch big market teams.
Ratings dropped to all time lows in 2006 when the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Detroit Tigers in a swift five-game series. No game was watched by more than 18.1 million people. One year ago during a Fall Classic featuring the Boston Red Sox and the underdog Colorado Rockies, Game 4 barely broke 20 million viewers.
Baseball needed Manny vs. Boston. Casual fans want drama, and what's more dramatic than bringing your new girlfriend to your ex-girlfriend's party? The Rays and the Phillies are two good teams with great coaches, pitching and hitting. But the problem lies in the lack of star-power. Rookie third baseman Evan Longoria and first baseman power hitter Ryan Howard are not Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Phillies No. 1 starter Cole Hamels and Rays ace Scott Kazmir do not compare to Josh Beckett and Carlos Zambrano.
Professional athletes make millions of dollars because they are the components that make professional sports flourish (athletes who don't play for the Tampa Bay Rays, that is). The Rays' entire roster, combined, makes less than Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees. This is because the Yankees have star power and fans; even the casual fans tune their televisions to the YES network at 7:30 p.m. every day.
The Rays' players simply don't sell seats. Many fans who make the trip to Tampa will be sitting in cobwebs as Tropicana Field unveils its outfield upper-deck for the first time. The bright side: Overspending on players might fall as two teams outside of the top 10 in player spending play for the title.
Keep your televisions tuned to FOX (while you do something more interesting) over the next couple weeks for World Series 2008 -- a four-game sweep by the second-lowest paid team in the game.
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"The Rays' entire roster, combined, makes less than Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees." It might be fun for people to say that but it's not true.
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What's the point of this article? That the Phillies and Rays shouldn't be in the WS because they don't draw large audiences? That the WS is going to be boring because the Rays don't have a large salary? I don't think anyone except FOX cares about the ratings, and it remains to be seen whether it will be boring or not. So far, with the series tied 1-1 and both games decided within 2 runs, it hasn't disappointed.
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Mike is right. A-Rod earned $28 million this year, and the Rays payroll is $48 million (2nd lowest in the majors). As for the rest of the article, I totally understand the Major League Baseball is as much (if not, more) of a business than a game. It totally makes sense that large market teams in the WS lead to large viewer ratings because there's more fans of big market teams like the Yankees and Cubs than the Rays and Marlins. However, this doesn't imply that this is a World Series not worth watching. I wish I was in Vegas in March betting that the Rays would be in the World Series (I'd bet on the Phillies too for that matter). What makes sports worth watching is that what appears to be the probable outcome isn't what usually happens. Otherwise, why would sports be worth watching if the big market teams win ALL the time. Why would I invest money through tickets, merchandise, and TV on a team that I know won't win. With that said, GO RAYS!
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You could say, with endorsements and stuff that he does make more than 48 million
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