With Japanese countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish matching up throughout the National League Division Series (NLDS), a record number of international eyes were on the Padres’ 10-2 win.
Thirteen million people in Japan watched the game, dwarfing the viewership in the United States by four times. The remarkable 13 million viewership is good for over 10% of the individuals in Japan.
The main showdown of the night, Darvish against Ohtani, did not disappoint, with Darvish besting Ohtani in all three of their matchups, including one strikeout amongst the right-handers seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball.
Even more eyes likely tuned into the series’ game five matchup, Darvish vs Japanese-born Yoshinobu Yamamoto, however, viewership stats are not yet known.
10.6% of individuals (13 million people) watched game 2 of the NLDS in Japan…
Despite playoff viewership increasing 41% in the U.S. and this series being the most watched comparable LDS in FS1 history…
Nearly 4 times as many people watched in Japan than in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/WHxpjl4Gl8
— Baseball Doesn't Exist (@BaseballDoesnt) October 14, 2024
This trend is the same domestically as well. According to ESPN, playoff viewership across the board is up 14% compared to previous years. With large market teams remaining, expect this number to continue to grow.
It’s a good time to be a baseball fan.
