TV audiences reject America's pastime

Even at the pinnacle of its season with the World Series now underway, Major League Baseball is facing the harsh reality that it is no longer America's pastime. Throughout the 2001 playoffs, regular-season football games continue to attract larger television audiences than what baseball has to offer during the postseason.

For example, in a less-than-stellar matchup of winless teams two weeks ago featuring the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, ABC's Monday Night Football scored a 10.7 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, while the decisive Game 5 of the New York Yankees-Oakland A's Divisional Series scored just a 10.1.

Even the League Championship Series couldn't spark enough attention from viewers to make a dent in football's stronghold. Last week's MNF game that pitted the New York Giants against the Philadelphia Eagles received a 9.9 rating, edging out an 8.4 rating attained by Game 5 of the Yankees-Mariners American League Championship Series. The 9.9 rating was the second lowest in MNF history.

Any direct competition between MNF and the World Series should lead to similar outcomes. Baseball hasn't defeated MNF in 10 head-to-head battles since the Atlanta Braves beat the Yankees in Game 2 of the '96 World Series.

Despite several opportunities, baseball has yet to make the Nielsen's Top 20 rated shows list during the postseason. Comparatively, the NFL has had every Monday night game reach the Top 20 during the same time span. Of course, when combining the audiences of Games 4 and 5 of the each League Championship Series (viewed on the same night), baseball did manage to break into Nielsen's Top 10 with a rating of 12.3.

But the NFL's dominance hasn't only occurred on Monday night. In the latest ratings (for Oct. 15-21), FOX's NFL Sunday-Post Game show grabbed a larger audience than every other baseball game aired during the week, with the exception of Game 5 of the ALCS. At the lowest point during the playoffs, Game 1 of the Cleveland Indians-Seattle Mariners Division Series only mustered a 3.2 rating, the worst ever for a Divisional-Series game.

On the bright side, FOX reported that ratings went up for both the Divisional and League Championship Series when compared to last season. The Division Series rose 6 percent, and the LCS rose 2 percent.

To deal with baseball's declining popularity, some discussion of contracting teams has emerged, according to recent reports, but Commissioner Bud Selig denies the rumors. Specifically, the Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins are speculated to be among the franchises being considered. Whether contraction takes place or not, professional baseball confronts an uphill battle if it hopes to once again become America's pastime.