The Red Sox need to win more games this month if their playoff run is going to be a success. But they’ve already accomplished one feat: disproving the tired narrative that nobody cares about them.
I know this column may come across as sponsored content, considering we are the Red Sox’ station. But there are facts and figures that support my thesis — in addition to the raucous scene we witnessed at Fenway Park Tuesday night.
Let’s start with the ratings. The Red Sox’ enthralling win over the Yankees delivered a 19.8 rating in the Boston market, making it the most-watched Red Sox game on ESPN platforms since 2009. That’s not insignificant, considering the Red Sox have won two World Series titles since then, and played many marquee affairs on the WorldWide Leader.
For comparison’s sake, the contest drew an 11.2 rating in New York.
The Red Sox experienced a ratings renaissance all season long — especially among younger viewers. The Red Sox drew their highest TV ratings among adults 18-34 since 2011, and numbers were up across the board. Their season finale against the Nationals garnered a 7.7 household TV rating -- their highest mark all season. Saturday's affair was the second highest at 7.2.
If you field a competitive team, they will come.
The cackling about the Red Sox’ torpedoing TV ratings has always been misleading. They remain a bigger draw than the Bruins or Celtics, even during mediocre campaigns. Two years ago, the Red Sox averaged a 5.25 rating on NESN, making them one of the top five most-watched teams in the sport — despite their woeful underachievement and David Price’s dour demeanor. Back in 2018, the Red Sox averaged a 7.26 rating on NESN.
Those numbers stifle the Bruins and Celtics. The B’s enjoyed an incredibly successful regular season and were one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Yet, their average rating on NESN was 4.19.
When the Celtics made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2019-20, their average TV rating was 2.87. That is a pre-Covid number, by the way.
It is true that solely relying on TV ratings is an antiquated way to gage interest in 2021. With an astounding 50.4 million people projected to cut the cord by the end of this year, streaming and social media engagement numbers also must factor in. The NBA dominates in both categories: the league’s 56 million Instagram followers generated 6.55 billion views this season, which is twice the following of the NFL, NHL and MLB combined. The NBA also garnered nearly 9 billion views on YouTube, as many as the three other major American leagues combined.
That trend holds true in Boston. The Celtics boast 5.7 and 3.7 million followers on Instagram and Twitter, respectively, while the Red Sox have 2 and 2.1 million followers on those platforms. Demographics almost certainly play a big role in that.
But when it comes to people sitting down and watching games, the Red Sox still rule. People are more willing to dedicate hours of their time to watch the Red Sox than Celtics or Bruins.
That’s worth something.
Though it’s anecdotal, Tuesday night’s game also factors into the conversation. That was a great TV event, complete with a wild crowd and primetime start. Fenway Park hasn’t been that loud since at least 2013, and maybe even 2004.
There was widespread consternation this year about the team’s shabby attendance numbers. The Red Sox ranked 11th in attendance, drawing an average of 21,300 people per game. But there is one big caveat to that number: Covid-19.
A look at MLB’s attendance figures indicates that regional Covid restrictions and attitudes impacted whether people went to baseball games. The Braves, Cardinals, Rangers and Astros were all in the top six, while the San Francisco Giants, who won 107 games, ranked 12th.
Are there any cultural differences between the Bay Area and Texas?
Boston, of course, is closer to the former. Fenway Park wasn’t even open to full capacity until Memorial Day Weekend.
But it was packed Tuesday night. As our Rob Bradford put it, Fenway Park came to play. “I never heard a crowd like that before tonight,” catcher Kevin Plawecki told him.
All season long, there was a noticeably younger crowd at Fenway, and that held true Tuesday.
Look, the Red Sox are never going to sniff the Patriots, and baseball’s aging demographic continues to be a huge concern. But right now, their popularity may be at its highest level in years.
Whittling fan bases don’t show up like they did Tuesday.
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A-Rod’s biggest problem: Ripping on Alex Rodriguez has become one of my favorite pastimes, and it’s largely because of this one dichotomy that I can’t wrap my head around: how can one of the greatest players of all-time seemingly know nothing about baseball?
We can talk about A-Rod’s steroid use, lying and lawsuits; but the fact is, few players have ever possessed his ability. He was at the center of baseball’s biggest storms, including the ’04 Red Sox-Yankees rivalry.
Yet, he can’t even tell us why he hasn’t spoken to Jason Varitek in 17 years. “I love Boston,” he said again Tuesday when the topic was broached.
With Matt Vasgerisan on the way out, ESPN wants to remake its Sunday night booth around Rodriguez, reports the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand. Here’s hoping somebody else can extract any baseball knowledge out of A-Rod’s perfectly moisturized head, assuming there’s anything there.
Belichick coverage must change: The Patriots traded Stephon Gilmore to the Panthers Thursday for a 2023 sixth-round pick. It was another example of Bill Belichick squandering an asset. As WEEI’s Ryan Hannable writes, the Patriots have let three Hall of Famers — Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Gilmore — walk over the last two years. They’ve gotten nothing in return for them.
Even go back to Jimmy Garoppolo. Belichick waited too long to trade him, and netted a lone second-round pick for his services.
The days of Belichick swapping Deion Branch and Richard Seymour for first-round picks are long gone, as are the days when players would willingly accept low-ball contracts. The Patriots are coming off a 7-9 season and spent $170 million in free agency. Now, they are just like everybody else.
Belichick should no longer receive the benefit of the doubt.
Belichick is screaming ‘fake news:' Belichick’s subtle assault against Seth Wickersham’s upcoming Patriots book continued this week, when he told “The Greg Hill Show” he doesn’t think he’s ever spoken to the investigative journalist.
The next day, Wickersham tweeted a passage from the book in which he quotes directly from a conversation with the Hoodie himself.
Belichick has directly addressed the book a couple of times, dismissing it as “second, third and fourth-hand” sources last week. He also flatly denied the assertion that he didn’t want to meet with Brady in person when he left.
So yeah, keep all of this in mind the next time somebody says Belichick doesn’t care about the media. He wants the narrative to go his way, just like everybody else.
