Can Shohei Ohtani Carry Playoff TV Ratings? MLB Sure Hopes So

Dodgers phenom Shohei Ohtani, already MLB’s biggest star, had a game for the ages on Thursday, burnishing his legend and becoming the league’s first player with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. Ohtani reached the mark with a historic offensive onslaught that included three homers, six hits, two steals, and 10 runs batted in during a 20–4 rout of the Marlins. 

Now, Ohtani’s milestone will have significant business ramifications in both the short- and long-term.

Within minutes of Ohtani hitting his 50th homer, MLB’s online shop offered a wide range of 50/50-themed merchandise, including T-shirts, water bottles, flags, signs, pennants, and several options for commemorative coins. The wide-ranging product push builds on Ohtani’s standing as MLB’s most popular player jersey among fans, as well as an exclusive deal struck recently with Topps. MLB’s YouTube channel, meanwhile, logged a league record nine million views Thursday, driven heavily by Ohtani highlights.

Ohtani now has 51 homers and 51 steals, making a 55/55 season or even a 60/60 one theoretically possible with nine games left in the Dodgers’ regular-season schedule. The home run ball for Ohtani’s 50th homer, meanwhile, was caught by a fan, and not returned to the team. Estimates of its value in the collectibles market have surpassed $1 million. 

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The bigger implication of Ohtani’s exploits is that the Dodgers also clinched a spot in the National League playoffs with the victory Thursday. Holding a four-game lead in the NL West, the Dodgers missing the postseason was not a significant concern, and this is the team’s 12th straight playoff berth, extending a franchise record. But it’s now assured that Ohtani will make his first playoff appearance. The Japanese superstar played six losing seasons with the Angels before signing a record-setting, 10-year contract with the Dodgers worth $700 million last December. 

If current seedings hold, the Dodgers will get a bye to the Division Series as one of the top two teams in the NL. That’s bad news for Disney-owned networks including ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC, which have exclusive rights to the wild-card series. But it’s good news for Fox networks, which have the NL Division and Championship Series this year in their annual MLB postseason rights rotation with TNT Sports, which will carry the second and third rounds on the AL side. 

Yankees superstar Aaron Judge lifted his own team to the postseason, with New York clinching its playoff berth Wednesday. Collectively, that’s a huge boon for the league as MLB played last year’s postseason without each of its top two stars. 

Along similar lines, the NHL found out in June what can happen when its biggest star plays deep in the playoffs, posting its best viewership in five years for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, in part featuring Oilers center Connor McDavid. 

“This game has been around for a long time, and to do something that’s never been done, he’s one of one,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani’s exploits. “[There] couldn’t be a more talented player. He couldn’t be more humble. … It was a win for Major League Baseball.”

League commissioner Rob Manfred agreed, making a somewhat rare move to issue a statement regarding an on-field achievement, saying in part, “We are proud that he continues to take our game to new heights.”