Since noon Monday, the major American sports networks have been all NFL all the time.
That’s understandable considering the country’s most prominent sports league entered the first week of free agency. Top players are on the move, and teams’ fortunes are changing by the minute.
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But good news emerged Monday for Major League Baseball coming out of the week of March 2-8.
ESPN reported ratings for four spring training games it aired last week were up 84 percent from 2025 and represented the highest ratings since 2008.
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ESPN senior baseball reporter Jeff Passan shared the news from the ESPN PR X account with the caption, “The baseball renaissance is real.”
According to ESPN, all four games rank as the top-rated spring training contests on ESPN since 2016.
The top-rated game was the Tuesday exhibition between Team USA and the San Francisco Giants, drawing 677,000 viewers. Team USA ace Paul Skenes started on the mound in his team’s 15-1 victory.
Team USA pitcher Paul Skenes against the San Francisco Giants during a spring training game at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Games on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday drew similar ratings between 468,000 and 486,000 viewers. The Atlanta Braves downed the Detroit Tigers, 5-2, on Monday; the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox, 4-0 on Wednesday; and the Cincinnati Reds outslugged the Los Angeles Dodgers 14-13 on Thursday.
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Although ESPN will no longer air “Sunday Night Baseball’ during the regular season — that package moves to NBC and Peacock — the World Wide Leader and partner ABC will air 30 games, according to The Athletic.
On March 25, the lone game on Opening Day between the Yankees and Giants will air exclusively on Netflix.
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