The 2025 World Series, which thrilled fans with a fierce battle that went to a seventh game, recorded the largest viewership since 1991.
MLB.com, the official Major League Baseball outlet, reported on the 6th (Korea time), "Game 7 of the 2025 World Series averaged 51 million viewers across the United States, Canada and Japan, making it the most-watched Major League game since Game 7 of the 1991 World Series."
This year's World Series pitted National League champion the Los Angeles Dodgers against American League champion the Toronto Blue Jays. The Dodgers (93-69, .574) defeated the Cincinnati Reds (83-79, .512) 2-0 in the wild-card series, beat the Philadelphia Phillies (96-66, .593) 3-1 in the division series, and swept the Milwaukee Brewers (97-65, .599) 4-0 in the league championship series. Toronto (94-68, .580) beat the New York Yankees (94-68, .580) 3-1 in the division series and edged the Seattle Mariners (90-72, .556) 4-3 in the league championship series to reach the World Series.
The Dodgers–Toronto World Series drew attention with many narratives. It highlighted the United States versus Canada, west versus east, and a matchup between Ohtani Shohei (Dodgers) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto). The Dodgers were aiming to become the first team in the 21st century to win back-to-back World Series, and Toronto challenged for its first World Series title in 32 years. With superstars from Canada, Japan and Korea all participating, the series became a global topic of conversation.
The World Series itself was intense. Toronto seized the early advantage by winning Game 1, but the Dodgers immediately countered with two straight wins. Game 3, in particular, turned into a slugfest that went 18 innings. The Dodgers led 2-1 in the series, but Toronto responded with two consecutive wins to put the Dodgers on the brink of elimination. The Dodgers, however, won both Games 6 and 7 at Toronto's home park, Rogers Centre, to complete a comeback and win the championship.
Game 7 extended to 11 innings in a tense matchup, and Yamamoto Yoshinobu, after starting and winning Game 6, appeared in relief in Game 7 to secure the team's victory, delivering a historic World Series performance. Yamamoto recorded three wins, 17⅔ innings and a 1.02 earned run average across three World Series appearances, leading the Dodgers to a second consecutive World Series title. He became the first Asian pitcher to win World Series Most Valuable Player.
MLB.com analyzed, "The Dodgers won dramatically after an 11-inning game against Toronto to become back-to-back champions. The seven-game average viewership was 34 million combined in the United States, Canada and Japan, the highest figure since the 1992 World Series, and represents a 19% increase from last year." It added, "The combined average viewership for Canada and Japan was 17.9 million, making the 2025 World Series the most-watched internationally in history."
The World Series drew strong interest in Korea as well because it was Kim Hye-sung's first championship in his debut season. Kim Hye-sung, who signed with the Dodgers this season on a 3+2-year deal worth up to $22 million (about 31.8 billion won), played in 71 games and hit .280 (45-for-161) with three home runs, 17 RBIs, 19 runs scored, 13 steals and an OPS of .699, and earned a World Series championship ring in his rookie season. He became the fifth Korean player to appear in a World Series following Kim Byung-hyun, Park Chan-ho, Ryu Hyun-jin, and Choi Ji-man, and the second Korean to win a World Series title after Kim Byung-hyun (Arizona in 2001, Boston in 2004). He is the first Korean position player to win a World Series.
MLB.com explained, "The 2025 World Series was broadcast in 203 countries in 16 languages. In addition to the United States, the Dodgers and Toronto featured 13 players from eight countries and territories — Canada, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Korea and Venezuela — highlighting the international makeup of the teams."
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