2019 World Series on Track to for Worst TV Ratings of All Time

Anyone who says that baseball is a dying sport may have a point. According to data released by Nielsen, the 2019 World Series between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros is on track to be the least watched World Series of all time.

And with how exciting this series has been for the most part, that's not good news for the future of the game.

This year's Series was the first time in history each of the first six games was won by the away team, with the Nationals taking Games 1, 2 and 6 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, and the Astros more than returning the favor with a clean three-game sweep in Washington D.C.

However, that hasn't done much to prevent declining viewership across the board, as according to Nielsen, the first five games have averaged about 11.6 million viewers. The next least-watched series had previously been in 2012, when the Detroit Tigers were swept by the San Francisco Giants.

One hypothetical reason as to why this may be involves the fact that while the Nationals and Astros have large fan bases themselves, they pale in comparison to the media markets of places such as New York and Los Angeles. If the Yankees or Dodgers were playing in place of either team, it's guaranteed that the viewership would be much higher.

That's the price that must be paid in order for the two best baseball teams to face off against each other in October, even if no one outside of Houston and Washington D.C. is watching.