LOS ANGELES — Commissioner Rob Manfred had just started working with Major League Baseball in 1988. He remembered sitting in his New York home watching Game 1 of that World Series, mesmerized by Kirk Gibson’s dramatic walk-off home run that will forever live in Los Angeles Dodgers history.
Here he was Friday night, this time seeing the sequel in person, with Freddie Freeman hitting a walk-off grand slam at practically the same time, 8:38 p.m. PT., the ball landing in virtually the same spot in the right-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium, giving the Dodgers a 6-3, 10-inning victory over the New York Yankees.
The FOX TV ratings drew 15.2 million viewers, the largest Game 1 audience since the 2017 World Series between the Houston Astros and Dodgers and a 62% increase over last year’s Arizona Diamondbacks-Texas Rangers opener. The audience peaked to 17.8 million from 11:30 p.m. ET to the end of the game.
“The ratings were really good,’’ Manfred said. “… I see this matchup as an opportunity to kind of amplify everything we’ve been working on for the last few years. You know, focus on the players, trying to grow the game into a more national product, international growth, young people.
“You know, you get a stage like this, it’s an opportunity to take a step forward.’’
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MLB expects to have TV ratings from Japan on Monday, and fully anticipates great numbers.
“We’re hoping we get really good numbers,’’ Manfred said. “They’ve been great so far in the postseason, and we’re hoping we can get another good one. You should with that game.’’
Meanwhile, Manfred said he has no updates on the Tampa Bay Rays’ stadium situation after Tropicana Field was damaged by Hurricane Milton. It’s still unknown where they will play at the start of the 2025 season, but he hopes to have an answer by late December.
“I think by Christmas they got to have a pretty good plan in place,’’ Manfred said, “and there’s a lot to that. Once we get past Game 7, we got to really get focused where we’re going to be and the logistics worked out.’’
Yet, for now, Manfred said, there are no concrete answers.
“They’re still in the damage assessment mode,’’ Manfred said. “They’re trying to figure out how bad the damage is. That needs to get done. Obviously, it was not just the roof, there was damage internally as well. We won’t know exactly what will happen until they complete that process. … Until they tell you exactly what’s wrong with it, it’s just a guess as to how long it’s going to be.’’
The Rays could wind up playing in a minor-league ballpark or spring training facility, if need be, or even occasionally share the Miami Marlins ballpark.
“We can make it work in a minor-league park,’’ Manfred said. “I think there’s some flexibility in terms what we do with the big-league schedule, too.’’
MLB already is playing in one minor-league ballpark with the Athletics relocated to Sacramento, California, for the next three years, where they will play on grass instead of artificial turf.
“We got consensus with the players that given the circumstances,’’ Manfred said, “that was the best playing surface. And, you know, grass can be replaced. That’s a question of relatively modest investment in order to make sure that it’s the best place for the players to be playing.’’
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