ESPN last night drew a 4.0 overnight rating for the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, which saw Marlins RF Giancarlo Stanton win out over Todd Frazier with a record 61 homers in year two of the event's new format. That figure is down 18% from last year, when Frazier beat out Dodgers CF Joc Pederson in the finale. The 4.0 is up from a 3.9 rating in '14, when rain delayed the start of the event by an hour and forced a finish around midnight. The Derby drew a 5.0 in '13 and a 4.7 in '12. Last night's telecast gave ESPN a primetime win among all cable networks. It also was the most-streamed Derby yet on WatchESPN with 312,400 uniques and 13.76 million total minutes streamed (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
CURTAIN CALL? SPORTS ON EARTH's Will Leitch notes ESPN's Chris Berman has called the event for 23 years, and there is a "distinct possibility" that last night was his last. Berman is famous for his "back, back, back" call, and "one could argue it is the signature home run call in baseball history." But there was a "sense that ESPN was eager to ease him out on Monday, having Karl Ravech alternate rounds with him." Leitch: "This feels like the end of something." Berman "didn't seem to have the same verve this year," and it was "like his heart wasn't in it." Berman this year also was not "pumped through the loudspeakers as it has been in the past" at other host sites. Petco Park "got its own unique feed from MLB Network's Matt Vasgersian," whose excitement "wasn't quite as iconic as Berman's." Leitch: "We won't miss him exactly," but "we'll miss complaining about him." The Derby will "feel different, a little strange, a little duller" (SPORTSONEARTH.com, 7/12).
