All-time classic Yankees-Dodgers World Series Game 1 was a TV ratings bonanza

The star-studded Yankees and Dodgers colliding in the World Series was supposed to deliver a thrilling best-of-seven finale to the MLB season, and that’s exactly what happened in Game 1 with Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam.That hype — combined with the viewership potential that New York and Los Angeles provided — translated to Fox’s television ratings, too.Game 1 collected 15.2 million viewers Friday night — peaking at 17.8 million viewers starting at 11:30 p.m.— during the Dodgers’ 6-3 win, making it the most-watched World Series opener since the 2017 showdown between Los Angeles and the Astros and reflecting 62 percent increase in Game 1 audience from last year’s Fall Classic between the Diamondbacks and the Rangers, according to the network.The Yankees-Dodgers audience was greeted with a thrilling finish for Game 1, too.After the Yankees took a one-run lead in the 10th inning, Jake Cousins walked Gavin Lux before Tommy Edman reached on an infield single, prompting Yankees manager Aaron Boone to insert Nestor Cortes — a starter who hasn’t pitched in a game since Sept.

18 while recovering from a left elbow flexor strain — to face left-handed hitter Shohei Ohtani.Cortes retired Ohtani, courtesy of a highlight-reel catch from Alex Verdugo, but after Boone opted to intentionally walk Mookie Betts, Freeman connected on Cortes’ next pitch and sent it 409 feet over the right-field fence to secure the win.That led to an iconic call from Fox play-by-play broadcaster Joe Davis, who reference longtime Dodgers voice Vin Scully and his call of Kirk Gibson’s iconic homer in the 1988 World Series with a “she is gone” line as the ball cleared the wall — before adding, “Gibby, meet Freddie” as Freeman neared first base.Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+.

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