The Big Lead

The 2024 World Series is more popular in Japan than the U.S.

By J.P. Hoornstra

Oct 5, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) interact before playing the San Diego Padres during game one of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium.
Oct 5, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) interact before playing the San Diego Padres during game one of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
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Baseball's postseason viewership explosion has elicited the usual conspiracy theories about Major League Baseball's desire to see its two biggest domestic markets — New York and Los Angeles — represented in the World Series.

Conspiracy theorists had it wrong all along. If MLB was really pulling the strings (it isn't), all the league cared about was getting as many Japanese players in prime time as possible.

That's because the 2024 World Series, as measured by the traditional TV viewership metrics, has been more popular in Japan than the United States.

Through two games, the Dodgers-Yankees matchup has averaged 15.15 million in Japan and 14.5 million in the United States.

The disparity between the two countries increased from Game 1 to Game 2, in which Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto limited the Yankees to one hit — a solo home run by Juan Soto — for six innings.

For Game 2, the Japanese viewership exceeded domestic viewership by more than 2 million.

The data released by Fox Sports underscores the impact two Japanese-born stars can have on one World Series. Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (the highest-paid player in the sport) and Yamamoto (the highest-paid pitcher), have made the World Series must-watch TV across the Pacific.

This isn't the first time two Japanese players have appeared in the same World Series. In 2007, the Boston Red Sox rode the pitching prowess of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima to beat the Colorado Rockies. (Kazuo Matsui played for the Rockies that year, too.) In 2013, the Red Sox had Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa.

None of these pairs possessed the combined star power of Ohtani and Yamamoto, and the audience has reacted accordingly. It's not a stretch to say the two Japanese stars are redefining the way World Series viewership can be deemed successful.

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