It’s likely Alex Cora’s complaints stemmed more from an annoyance on behalf of his own middling club than a genuine concern for what’s best for baseball fans.
Regardless, the Red Sox manager may not quite have the pulse of MLB fans he believes he does.
Days before the Red Sox and the Yankees faced off on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball for the second consecutive week — this time in the second leg of a day-night doubleheader at Fenway Park, in which the punchless Yankees were swept, 6-2 and 4-1 — Cora took a moment to scold the network’s decision to repeat the same matchup.
“Back-to-back Sunday night games, with all due respect to ESPN, come on,” Cora told reporters. “There’s other teams out there, and people want to watch them. For how good ratings are going to be on Father’s Day, Red Sox-Yankees, but back-to-back weekends, you probably are going to do something else with your parents, your family, because you just saw it last weekend.”
Yes, there were other intriguing games ESPN could have chosen: Dodgers-Giants and Padres-Rays were among the options.
And yes, much like last week’s Subway Series, this Yankees-Red Sox series carried as little juice and buzz as the famous rivalry has ever delivered.
The Yankees entered in a disappointing third place in the AL East — they’re now tied for the third wild-card spot, with the Astros, at 39-33 — while the Red Sox sat in last place.
There is no Aaron Judge — the Yankees superstar remains on the injured list due to a sprained toe. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who’s had his fair share of notable moments in the rivalry, did not pitch in the series.
But no, Cora, fans don’t want to see other teams. The numbers don’t lie — Yankees-Red Sox is still MLB’s premier matchup, no matter the state of the clubs.
Last week’s Sunday Night Baseball Matchup — a 3-2 Red Sox win in extra innings — drew the largest average audience for ESPN of any Sunday Night Baseball game this season. It averaged 1,942,000 viewers and peaked at 2,584,000 viewers at the end of the game, according to Nielsen.
Last year, the four most-watched Sunday Night Baseball Games were Yankees-Red Sox games, according to Nielsen, drawing 2.47 million, 2.20 million, 2.17 million and 2.16 million viewers, respectively.
Yankees-Red Sox games on Sunday Night Baseball over the past three seasons have averaged 1.9 million viewers — 30 percent more than any other matchup, according to The Athletic.
On top of that, there is more scarcity this season — the two teams play each other 13 times under the new MLB scheduling rules, down from 19 times in previous seasons — which helps build anticipation.
When they met last week for the first time this season, it marked the latest the teams opened their season series since 1996. They won’t meet again until mid-August.
Could you blame ESPN? Or should the blame lie on scheduling Yankees-Red Sox in back-to-back weeks?
When the Yankees and Red Sox play over any weekend, ESPN assuredly is going to choose it as the Sunday Night Baseball game, regardless of other compelling matchups.
It’s simple to see why Cora is peeved, though.
All MLB clashes on Sundays are day games outside of the featured matchup, meaning ESPN holds significant power over teams’ schedules. Teams often use their early finishes on Sundays as a getaway day to travel or somewhat reset before a new series.
The Red Sox had to travel back home from New York after last Sunday night’s game ahead of a Monday night clash against the Rockies. The Yankees had last Monday off.
After this weekend’s edition of the rivalry, the Red Sox have to fly straight to Minnesota to start a series against the Twins while the Yankees are again off on Monday.
Cora is justified in his schedule grievances and the potential disadvantage at which it has placed his team.
But ESPN is justified, too, in wanting what’s long been — and still is — the biggest matchup of them all.
Read more:
⚾ Mets take crushing loss to Cardinals after Pete Alonso makes early return from injury
???? NBA blockbuster: Bradley Beal getting traded to Suns for Chris Paul
???? Breanna Stewart turns in another historic performance in Liberty win
???? Zac Jones isn’t afraid of the work that comes with ‘make-or-break’ Rangers shot
Rickie Fowler’s agonizing wait to win his first major continues.
And Rory McIlroy’s wait to win another major does, too.
Instead it was Wyndham Clark who prevailed Sunday evening at Los Angeles Country Club to win the 2023 U.S. Open.
“I feel like I belong on this stage,’’ Clark said after winning in just his seventh career major appearance. “Even two, three years ago when people didn’t know who I was, I felt like I could still play and compete against the best players in the world. I felt like I’ve shown that this year.”
After entering Sunday tied with Clark atop the leaderboard at 10-under, Fowler stumbled with bogeys on three of his first seven holes while Clark moved to 12-under.
The popular Fowler, 34, had long knocked on the door, finishing in the top 3 in all four majors, and after a career lull, surged to the front with a record-setting first-round 8-under 62. Instead of a new career highlight, he finished tied for fifth, and still finds his knocks going unanswered.
McIlroy, 34, the face of the PGA Tour, was the runner-up, and remains without a major title since 2014 heading into next month’s British Open.
The onus is now on you, Gregg Berhalter.
Not the aggrieved players.
The United States men’s national team re-hired Berhalter — who led the Americans to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup as well as 2021 Nations League and Gold Cup titles — as manager for the 2026 World Cup cycle.
It marked a surprising twist to the USMNT’s managerial search after Berhalter’s contract had expired and he had been embroiled in a messy drama that pitted him against one of the team’s most acclaimed young players, Gio Reyna, and Reyna’s family.
A majority of the USMNT roster, including star forward Christian Pulisic, reportedly supported Berhalter, helping lead to his return.
But his strained relationships with two of the most important players in USMNT’s plans — the 20-year-old Reyna and 20-year-old Ricardo Pepi – that likely will dictate how Berhalter’s second tenure unfolds.
Pepi surprisingly was left off the 2022 World Cup team as Berhalter opted instead for lower-ceiling forwards Jordan Morris and Haji Wright.
At his re-introductory press conference, Berhalter said he had not spoken with Reyna or Pepi since the World Cup — more than six months ago — and admitted he has “work to do” to repair his relationship with Reyna.
For this young U.S. team to achieve its gaudy ambitions, Berhalter, Reyna and Pepi must all find a way forward together.
Reyna played an integral role helping his club team Borussia Dortmund finish second in the German Bundesliga, scoring seven goals and providing two assists. He also provided two assists for the German power in the Champions League, and has attracted interest from some of the most elite teams across Europe.
German team FC Augsburg bought Pepi from FC Dallas last year for a reported $20 million fee, marking the most expensive transfer for an American MLS player to a European club.
He spent this past season on loan at FC Groningen in the Netherlands, where he impressed with 12 goals and three assists, and like Reyna, he has caught the eye of top-tier European teams. He played a crucial role during the USMNT’s World Cup qualifying prior to being left off the roster.
Since the World Cup, they’ve both received significant playing time in friendlies under interim managers Anthony Hudson and BJ Callaghan. They both excelled in the USMNT’s dominant 3-0 win over Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal last Thursday, with Pepi scoring the third goal off the bench.
In Sunday night’s final, Reyna assisted both goals — by Chris Richards and newcomer Folarin Balogun — to key a 2-0 win over Canada.
The U.S. attack has looked dynamic with Pepi at striker and Reyna at attacking midfielder. It’s likely a combination that will be featured often in the future.
But in order to see more and more of that combination, there is “work,” as Berhalter put it, to be done.