Topline
More than 3.2 million people tuned into Fox to watch the New York Yankees game against the Boston Red Sox Thursday night—the highest TV rating for an MLB game this year—as fans try to see Aaron Judge tie, and possibly break, Roger Maris’ American League single-season home run record.
Yankees TV ratings soared this week as fans tune in to see if Aaron Judge breaks Roger Maris’ … [+]
Key Facts
Thursday night’s game against the division rival Red Sox topped the previous record this season between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds in the MLB’s “Field of Dreams” game, played on a cornfield in Iowa, according to Sports Media Watch.
Their game on Wednesday night on local channel Yankee Entertainment and Sports Network (YES) drew in an average of 600,000 total viewers in the New York area, with a peak of 756,000 between 9:30 and 9:45 pm, according to the Sports Video Group, making it the most watched non-Yankees-Mets game in four years.
The game also had the most viewers of any program in the New York area that night, and it drew in 105,000 unique viewers on the YES app.
Judge’s next home run will be his 61st this year, tying Roger Maris’ long-standing American League single-season record, although it falls short of Barry Bond’s all-time record of 73—a controversial record that baseball purists argue was accomplished with the help of performance-enhancing drugs.
Big Number
$8,898. That’s how much the most expensive available ticket on Vivid Seats costs for the Yankees game on Sunday against the Red Sox—a nosebleed seat on the third-base side. The most expensive listed on Ticket Master costs $7,881.
Surprising Fact
Fans in the outfield bleachers also have a chance of winning the baseball lottery if they catch Judge’s historic home run ball. That ball could be appraised at roughly $20 million, the Athletic reported. The fan who caught Judge’s 60th home run ball—which tied a previous record set by Babe Ruth in 1927—returned it to the team in exchange for a signed bat, baseballs and a photo with Judge.
Key Background
Maris set the American League record in 1961 while playing for the Yankees. Three other National League players have topped that number—Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire (Sosa did it three times and McGwire did it twice). All three have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, although McGwire is the only one who has admitted using them. Sosa outright denied ever having used them, while Bonds admitted to applying “creams” and “clear” substances, but claims he was unaware they were steroids.
Further Reading
Yankees Ticket Prices Soar As Fans Hope To See Aaron Judge Set Home Run Record (Forbes)
Words Fail To Describe The Fabulous Accomplishments Of New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge (Forbes)
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