It's a small sample size, but the Red Sox appear to be capturing people's interest so far this season. The team's ratings on NESN are up 40 percent through nine games compared to last year, per the Herald's Jason Mastrodonato.
The Red Sox are off to an incredible start, winning eight of their first nine contests, including five one-run affairs. They scored six runs against the Rays in the bottom of the eighth Sunday to secure an epic come-from-behind victory.
NESN did not immediately respond to a request for comment to confirm the Herald's report.
Sunday's TV ratings in Boston represent a snapshot of the Red Sox' early-season popularity. They drew a 7.2 local rating, narrowly finishing behind the Masters (7.9). The Bruins drew a 5.5 and the Celtics clocked in at a 1.5 for their matinee against the Hawks.
Despite these strong ratings numbers, the Red Sox say they're slightly off their ticket sale pace. President Sam Kennedy told "Kirk & Callahan" last week they're down six percent in sales so far this season. But that might be more of a commentary on the frigid early April weather than anything else.
To state the obvious, the Red Sox will never reach what they achieved in popularity during the first two World Series runs of this ownership group. But the most recent ratings indicate that talk about the Red Sox floundering may have been overblown. Right now, they remain the clear No. 2 team in this market, and seem poised to remain relevant even amidst the Bruins' and Celtics' forthcoming playoff runs.
