The Phillies are must-watch TV in Philly: ‘The vibe is amazing’

Following the Phillies’ win against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night, NBC Sports Philadelphia announcer Tom McCarthy was surprised to see throngs of screaming fans waiting near the team’s bus.

“We were leaving Fenway Park and kind of felt like you were in a rock band leaving a concert,” McCarthy told The Inquirer. “I mean, it was 15 or 16 deep. It was pretty incredible.”

It’s been that way all season for the Phillies, who have been one of baseball’s hottest teams, sitting comfortably atop the National League East with one of the best records in baseball.

Through Tuesday’s win against the Red Sox, NBC Sports Philadelphia and NBC10 have averaged more than 360,000 viewers per game across television and streaming, according to Nielsen numbers provided by the network. That’s up 30% over last year’s numbers, with the Phillies coming off their improbable World Series run.

Since mid-May, with the Phillies’ hot streak continuing, their TV ratings on NBC Sports Philadelphia have ballooned to an average of 420,000 viewers watching the game, either on TV or streaming it through the NBC Sports app. There is still no way for fans to stream Phillies games without subscribing to another service.

Regardless, more people are tuning in to watch the Phillies on any given night than are watching Jeopardy! or the 6 p.m. edition of Action News in Philadelphia. It’s also close to the nearly 424,000 average viewers who tune in nightly to 6ABC to watch ABC World News Tonight with David Muir.

“The vibe is amazing on every level,” McCarthy said, comparing the energy surrounding the team to the World Series squad in 2008, led by Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard.

Having a winning record is certainly a draw, but McCarthy thinks there are other reasons fans are gravitating toward the team. For starters, their core squad has been together for several years, which has allowed their personalities to evolve. There’s also an entertaining mix of younger players and veterans, from the emergence of second baseman Bryson Stott to the electric showmanship of superstar Bryce Harper.

There’s also left fielder Brandon Marsh, whom McCarthy thinks has become a fan favorite thanks to his unique personality and “everyday guy” stature, which is similar to another bearded Philly athlete, Jason Kelce. Marsh went viral last month after being mic’d up on ESPN, where, among other things, he sang a line from rapper BossMan Dlow’s “Get In With Me.”

“There’s a little old-school personality to [the beard] that you can see from a distance, and people like that kind of stuff,” McCarthy said.

The Phillies have also been popular across the country. The team has appeared two times this season on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, averaging 1.67 million viewers, up 10% compared to last year, according to Nielsen numbers. Apple doesn’t release viewership figures for games that stream on its Friday Night Baseball package, which will feature the Phillies next week facing the Arizona Diamondbacks in a rematch of last year’s National League Championship Series.

There’s also the Phillies’ recent trip to London to play the New York Mets. Saturday’s game averaged 1.6 million viewers on Fox, despite gripes over the network’s pregame coverage. Even with its 10 a.m. starting time, Sunday’s London game on ESPN drew 1.36 million viewers. Saturday’s game was down a bit from Cubs-Cardinals last year, but Sunday’s game was up 17% in viewership.

“Going from place to place in London to do visits and appearances, [Phillies] fans were everywhere,” McCarthy said. “The Mets didn’t have that.”

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Part of the reason the games on television have been so exciting is because of the playoff atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park, which is unusual for games in April and May.

As a result, ticket sales have been brisk. Through their first 37 home games, the Phillies are averaging 40,017 fans per game at Citizens Bank Park, the second-highest average attendance in the major leagues, behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. They’re the only teams that are averaging more than 40,000.

“Our high attendance is due to so many factors, including our growing season-ticket base and all our players contributing,” said John Weber, the Phillies’ senior vice president for ticket operations and projects.

It also doesn’t hurt that the Phillies are 22-3 in their last 25 games at Citizens Bank Park.

”It’s really special,” Weber said.

Two-thirds of MLB teams have seen their attendance numbers increase this season, according to Baseball Reference. That’s at least in part in response to MLB’s recent rules changes, which have shortened games by adding a pitch clock and banning the infield shift.

The New York Mets have seen the worst decline in the league, averaging 25,852 fans at Citi Field this season, a drop of more than 28% from last year.