Christina Gough
Research expert covering sports and video gaming
The World Series - statistics & facts
The MLB World Series is a highly anticipated sporting event in the United States that draws in millions of viewers worldwide. This annual best-of-seven series determines the champion of the MLB, and its history is filled with impressive team and player records, as well as diverse fan opinions. However, public interest in the event seems to be waning in recent years, with the average TV viewership of the 2023 World Series hitting a low of under 10 million.
Team and player records in the MLB World Series
Throughout MLB World Series history, the American League has dominated, winning a total of 68 championships to the National League's 58. In terms of World Series championships by team, the New York Yankees lead the pack with 27 titles, followed by the St. Louis Cardinals with 11, and the Boston Red Sox with nine. However, while the Yankees dominated the early years of the World Series, they have found success harder to come by in recent years, with their last championship title coming back in 2009. A lot of the Yankees' success in the 1950s and early 1960s was down to the hitting power of Mickey Mantle. With a total of 18 home runs in the World Series, Mickey Mantle sits at the top of the list of MLB players with the most home runs in the championship. Mantle, who played as a center fielder for the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968, won a total of seven championship rings during his career.TV viewership of the MLB World Series
TV viewership is a huge aspect of the World Series, as it is broadcast on national television and generates significant revenue for the league. The 2023 World Series was contested between the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rangers emerged victorious in the fifth game of the series, with the deciding game drawing an average television rating of six. This marked the Rangers’ first ever win in franchise history, following their back-to-back World Series losses in 2010 and 2011.Fan opinions on the MLB World Series and playoff expansion
The MLB postseason is highly anticipated by fans each year, as the top 12 teams in the league compete for the ultimate prize. According to a November 2023 survey of MLB fans, over 38 percent of respondents believed the current playoff format was the ideal size, while just under quarter of fans wanted to see the playoffs reduced to just eight teams. Concerns have also been raised over the length of MLB games, which often last several hours, leading some to question whether they should be shortened to cater to modern-day attention spans. In a March 2023 survey of avid sports fans in the United States, around 54 percent believed that MLB games were too long. With the implementation of a 30-second timer between batters ahead of the 2023 season, it is clear that Major League Baseball is doing all it can to turn the tide on its dipping audience.
