SOX STOCK ROCKS WITH THEIR FOURTH TITLE THIS CENTURY
Feat puts Boston club in same rarefied air as New England Patriots and L.A. Galaxy
BULLS OF THE WEEK
The biggest winners of the week in the business of sport are John Henry, Thomas Werner and the ownership of the Boston Red Sox, who won the World Series in five games last Sunday night.
After 86 years of mediocrity, the Red Sox have now won four titles in as many trips to the World Series these past 15 years.
Since 2004, only their friendly neighbourhood New England Patriots of the NFL as well as Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy can match that with four Super Bowl championships and four MLS Cups, respectively.
Over that span only six other major league franchises among the 146 in North America can come close by boasting three championships: the San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks.
Boston has nine World Series wins in its 116-year Major League Baseball history, tied for third all time with the Athletics franchise (five in Philadelphia and four in Oakland) and behind only the New York Yankees (27) and St. Louis Cardinals (11). They are one of only 10 franchises in North America to reach or exceed that plateau of nine, joining the Yankees, Montreal Canadiens (24), Boston Celtics (17), L.A. Lakers (16), Green Bay Packers and Toronto Maple Leafs (13), Detroit Red Wings and Cardinals (11) and Chicago Bears (nine).
Not surprisingly, the four titles in 15 years have propelled the Red Sox into the stratosphere of sport business. Forbes Magazine ranks them as the fifth-richest team in baseball at a franchise valuation of $2.8 billion, behind only the $4-billion Yankees, $3-billion L.A. Dodgers, $2.9-billion Chicago Cubs and $2.85-billion San Francisco Giants (all figures in U.S. dollars).
That’s not bad for a team that Henry and Werner bought for $380 million in 2002. The Red Sox are now the 15th-highestvalued brand in North America and 19th in the world.
BEARS OF THE WEEK
After a 108-win regular season and 119 wins overall in 2018, the Red Sox are the hottest brand in North American sport this week. Yet while Boston is feeling so bullish, the Dodgers in particular and Major League Baseball in general are bearish after an attractive World Series matchup was cut short at five games.
That capped U.S. television audiences at 14 million for the deciding game last Sunday and prevented Major League Baseball and its broadcast rights holders from entering the hallowed ground of Games 6 and 7. It was an opportunity missed for MLB with two heritage brands with national followings in the mix.
For the Dodgers, it’s gut-check time. After coming away emptyhanded in back-to-back World Series appearances, do they have it in them to get back to the big dance next October and become a third-time lucky proposition? They haven’t won a World Series title since 1988.
For Major League Baseball, it’s time to reflect on how it navigates the future after a disappointing post-season when it comes to TV ratings and news buzz.
An average U.S. audience of 14 million viewers is nothing to sneeze at, but it’s another indication that baseball has fallen to third place behind the NFL and NBA. That’s after a four per cent drop in attendance this year, to its lowest level since 2003.
The Sport Market on TSN 1040 rates and debates the bulls and bears of sport business. Join Tom Mayenknecht Saturday from 7 to 11 a.m. for a behind-the-scenes look at the sport business stories that matter most. Follow Tom Mayenknecht at twitter.com/TheSportMarket