While Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps and made history by winning the home run derby on Monday, this year’s event certainly won’t be breaking records anytime soon.
Guerrero’s win made him one of the only members of a father-and-son duo to win the title, but the derby brought in its lowest crowds since 2018, Sports Business Journal reported on Tuesday.
Guerrero Jr. won the 2007 Home Run Derby with his father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., on Monday, hitting 72 home runs at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park to capture the 2023 champion. He went deep 25 times in the final to beat Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena, who hit 23 long balls.
ESPN and ESPN2 coverage of the event drew 6.11 million viewers, down 11 percent from last year’s derby, when Juan Soto beat Julio Rodriguez 19-18. ) won the championship. It was also the least-watched derby since Bryce Harper’s 19-18 final win over Kyle Schwarber four years ago.
ESPN’s broadcast viewership was 5.52 million, while ESPN2 had just over 600,000 viewers. ESPN has no chance to benefit from viewers in the Toronto market because Nielsen’s data only focuses on the United States.
Despite the smaller audience, the derby ended up being ESPN’s most-watched event of the summer and is likely to stay that way. It also attracted more viewers than the 2023 NBA All-Star Game (4.6 million viewers on TNT and TBS).
— On-site media