I personally believe that TV viewership of the World Series is indicative of fan interest and manifests the health of the game. If so, baseball is dying a slow and untimely death, and Rob Manfred is standing on its neck! In 1961, the American League established the 162-game schedule. As a result, the National League followed suit in 1962. Before that, teams played 154 games. Then, when it was all over, the winners of each league played each other for the World Series.
This year, an average of fewer than 9 million viewers watched the World Series, and the low ratings of the MLB’s 2023 championship event make it the least-viewed World Series of all time.