Canada could have killed World Series TV ratings. Why is Blue Jays-Dodgers such a hit?

USA TODAY Sports has live World Series coverage from Dodgers vs. Blue Jays Game 6

TORONTO – This has been a World Series like no other in baseball history – especially from the always nebulous perspective of TV ratings and global reach.

One of the game’s top two iconic franchises, loaded with international superstars, battling Canada’s only Major League Baseball club has produced audience metrics that range from pleasantly surprising to universally bountiful.

For Major League Baseball, this Los Angeles Dodgers-Toronto Blue Jays matchup has been a global smash, what with historic performances from the incomparable Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the presence of the Blue Jays, who have captivated Toronto and all of Canada like never before.

Game 1 averaged 32.6 million viewers across the USA, Canada and Japan, most since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. And its combined Game 1-2 audience of 19.8 million in USA and Canada was up 24% from last season, also the highest since that historic 2016 Cubs-Cleveland battle.