World Series Game 1 resale values up from last year

Much has been made about the interest - or lack thereof - in the 2023 World Series, featuring the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks. Despite commentary about its potential nationwide viewership, there's no question that there's excitement in the Dallas metroplex and the Phoenix area.

David Rumsey of Front Office Sports reported that the average resale value for tickets to Game 1, which takes place Friday night at Globe Life Park in Arlington, is $1,273, a 9% increase from a year ago when the Houston Astros hosted the Philadelphia Phillies at Minute Maid Park. Resale prices for Monday's Game 3, which will take place in Phoenix at Chase Field, are averaging $1,080.

SeatGeek, which is the official ticket seller for Major League Baseball, provided some data to the site, and says that there's plenty of demand in both markets.

This counters a prevailing national narrative about the presumed interest in the championship series from a television point of view. Immediately after the Diamondbacks powered their way past the Phillies on Tuesday, social media lit up with sarcastic jokes about record-low Nielsen ratings for the Fall Classic. And while that very well could be true, the commentary lacks context.

Nothing on television, except for the NFL, has the ratings of the 1970s, 1980s or 1990s. (And even the NFL isn't immune to ratings drops.) Yet even compared to the last 20-plus of World Series viewership, the Rangers/Diamondbacks series may lack the easy hooks that people outside of those fan bases would latch onto. 

Neither team had been a contender for a sustained period in the last decade, in fact, both teams lost over 100 games just two years ago. Arizona had played sub-.500 baseball in the four years before their return to the playoffs, and Texas finished third, fourth or dead last in the AL West each of the previous six seasons. Just about all of the previous World Series participants had at least won their divisions and were in the mix of pennant races for years.

Arizona and Texas both have talented players who have been guided by good to great management - Texas's Bruce Bochy might as well write his Hall of Fame speech now if he hasn't already. However, neither team has that "big star" that a network like FOX would promote to the heavens.

Yet, the market sizes for both teams are mistakenly used as the main hurdle to great ratings. Dallas (7) and Phoenix (11) are big markets but aren't seen as powerhouses like Houston or Philadelphia. That said, some of the least-viewed World Series games ever featured teams in top-ten media markets, including New York and Los Angeles.

Baseball is a regional sport and has been for some time now. Even if the TV numbers don't come close to what many viewers are thinking about, fans in Texas and Arizona are going to watch this series and sell out their ballparks for a chance to witness history. In essence, that's all that should matter.