Two For Tuesday: Fox, TBS See Overnight Gains For MLB LCS Telecasts

Fox earned a 4.1 overnight for yesterday afternoon’s Red Sox-Tigers ALCS Game 3 from 4:00-7:45pm ET. That compares to the net’s 3.1 overnight for Giants-Cardinals NLCS Game 3 on a Wednesday afternoon last year, which also started at 4:00pm, but had a weather delay from 6:45-10:00pm before concluding at 10:45pm. Yesterday's Red Sox-Tigers game peaked at a 6.2 rating during the end of the game from 7:30-7:45pm. The telecast earned a 26.7 local rating in Detroit and a 20.8 rating in Boston. Through three ALCS telecasts, Fox is averaging a 5.0 overnight, up from a 4.0 rating through the net's first three Giants-Cardinals NLCS games last year, and also up from a 4.9 overnight for the first three games of the Rangers-Tigers ALCS in '11. Meanwhile, TBS earned a 4.4 overnight for Cardinals-Dodgers NLCS Game 4 last night, up 7% from the net’s series-clinching Tigers-Yankees ALCS Game 4 last year, which aired on a Thursday night. Cardinals-Dodgers Game 4 is also up 5% from 4.2 overnight for TBS’ Cardinals-Brewers Game 4 in ’11, which aired on a Thursday night. Last night's game earned a 31.1 local rating in St. Louis and a 12.4 rating in L.A. The local figure in L.A. is tied with Game 1 from the series as the best for any MLB telecast in the market since Game 7 of the '11 Cardinals-Rangers World Series. The figure also marks the best local rating for any Dodgers game since Game 4 of the '08 NLCS (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).

INSTANT ELECTRICITY: Dodgers RF Yasiel Puig has come under fire for celebrating an apparent home run in NLCS Game 3 that stayed in the park. He ended up with a triple. SportsNet N.Y.'s Chris Carlin said he has "no problem" with Puig's actions. Carlin: "This game needs some infusion of electricity, and that's what Yasiel Puig brings." SNY's Adam Schein said, "Baseball needs this kind of ballplayer." He added Puig is "so great for the game, so great for the kids of the next generation" ("Loud Mouths," SNY, 10/15). SI's Jim Trotter said, "This guy brings a level of excitement back to the game. The casual fan now has something to watch. He brings an energy and an entertainment value” (“Rome,” CBSSN, 10/15). ESPN's Marcellus Wiley: "The culture of baseball needs a revision right now to keep up with the sign of the times, which is happening in football, which has happened in the NBA. Spirit, personal expression, celebrating successes are things that fans gravitate towards. You want to know why TV viewership is declining in baseball? You want to know why the young fans are not looking at baseball as a popular sport? It's because they don't allow these guys in critical moments when they come through with a triple to celebrate such success" ("SportsNation," ESPN2, 10/15). ESPN's Pablo Torre said Puig "may not be the hero that baseball deserves, but he is the hero they need." Torre: "Baseball right now has a problem connecting with people of my ilk, us folks who like viral videos and the Internet" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 10/15).

A CLOUD OVER THE PLAYOFFS: Baseball writer Peter Gammons yesterday wrote under the header, "PEDs Lasting Impact On The MLB Playoffs." MLB and the MLBPA have "established rules" that allowed Tigers SS Jhonny Peralta to participate in the postseason following his 50-game ban for PED use, but there are "several Red Sox players who have complained privately that Peralta is allowed to play." They "wonder what remains in his body." Red Sox LF Jonny Gomes downplayed that, saying, "We all play by the rules, and he is playing by the rules. So go out and play." But Gammons noted it is a "risk-and-reward thing, and the reward for Jhonny Peralta and the Detroit Tigers is far more important than a so-called moral judgment about so-called 'cheaters.'" Gammons: "If Peralta is the MVP of the ALCS or the World Series, the Tigers will have won, and we will forever be left to remember that the risk and the punishment was worth the reward" (GAMMONSDAILY.com, 10/15).