ESPN’s presentation of the 2023 Home Run Derby won the night despite being down from last year. According to Sports Media Watch, the 2023 Derby scored an average of 6.11 million viewers on Monday night.
6.11 million viewers would be down from last year’s 6.88 million viewers who watched the event from L.A. But the Derby still led the primetime slate on Monday night. Among others, it topped the red-hot WWE Monday Night Raw, which held strong itself with an average of 1,809,000 viewers.
The event went on without any hitches at all. Its first round was jam-packed with excitement in Seattle at T-Mobile Park. Adley Rutschman helped to steal the show early, and then Seattle Mariners superstar Julio Rodriguez made his mark with 41 first-round home runs.
The Derby came down to a dramatic conclusion between Randy Arozarena and Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. Like his father in 2007, Vlad Jr. won the event with 25 home runs in the final round.
Unlike many other All-Star festivities, the Home Run Derby does have an inherent draw. Home runs. It sounds simple to say, but the home run is one of the most exciting plays in sports. If not the most exciting. At the end of the day, baseball fans want to watch home runs get hit and go really dang far. While we aren’t getting the tape-measure shots that the Steroid Era had, Monday night in Seattle was still great fun.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022