*By Max Godnick*
Major League Baseball has a relevance problem.
Professional baseball practically withers on social media when compared to the other major American sports leagues; MLB has just 8.2 million followers on Twitter, while the NBA and the NFL boast 27.4 million and 24.2 million, respectively. Baseball's brightest stars can't compete with the mega-watt likes of LeBron James and Tom Brady in name recognition or cultural ubiquity.
In July, baseball's best player, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, [admitted](https://www.si.com/mlb/2018/07/12/mike-trout-los-angeles-angels) he's never been invited to appear on a late-night talk show. And the league's biggest moment isn't getting much love either with ratings for 2017's World Series down 18 percent compared to the year before.
But there is a path forward that may resemble the glory days when larger-than-life teams and players helped baseball earn the title of America's pastime.
"If I'm in charge of Major League Baseball's marketing, I am praying that the Yankees go further," James Yoder, the CEO and founder of Chat Sports, said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar.
In order to do that, the team will have to beat sworn rivals, the Boston Red Sox.
Despite a high-octane lineup of young sluggers with enough firepower to beat any challengers, the Yankees find themselves down two games to one in the American League Division Series and will need to win their next game if they're going to advance to the American League Champion Series against defending champs, the Houston Astros.
One Bronx Bomber stands head and shoulders ー literally ー above the rest.
"\[Aaron\] Judge is the guy, I think from a marketing perspective, that Major League Baseball has got to be hanging their hat on," Yoder said of the Yankee outfielder.
The 6'7" right fielder is a two-time All-Star and a bonafide phenomenon. Yoder described him as a "throwback" to iconic players like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Mark McGwire.
"He's huge," Yoder said. "He's a giant, for a baseball player."
But despite Judge's impressive stats and a superstar slot on baseball's most storied and popular team, he only has 960,000 followers on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/thejudge44/?hl=en), while far-lesser players in other sports have no problem hitting seven-figures on social media.
As for the Yankees' potential World Series opponent, Yoder thinks the Los Angeles Dodgers present the greatest opportunity for the sport ー and perhaps the league.
"It's got to be Dodgers verses the Yankees-Red Sox winner in the World Series, if this is going to be an all-time postseason from a ratings perspective," he said.
That dream match-up is still very much in play. The Dodgers advanced to the National League Championship Series after defeating the Atlanta Braves.
They'll face the Milwaukee Brewers in their quest to reach the World Series for the second consecutive year. Last year, the team lost to the Astros in the deciding Game 7.
If MLB wants to return to the top of the sports-media ladder, Judge and the Yankees would do well to eat their Wheaties before they face the Red Sox in a do-or-die fourth game on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-world-series-matchup-that-could-fix-mlbs-ratings-problem).
Join Cheddar News as we break down the top headlines this morning including updates on the Jan. 6 hears, the PGA suspension of 17 of the world's best golfers, and NASA's plans to study UFOs.
The PGA Tour has announced that it will suspend players that are competing in the LIV Golf event that teed off today. At least 17 players, including names like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Sergio Garcia are banned from the PGA Tour competition. Hilary Fordwich, a business analyst and golf expert, joined Cheddar News to discuss why the PGA had to go this route. This is a threat to the future of golf for them, and there's been many contentions about them not being fair and that this is vindictive," she said. "Don't forget, of course, they represent sort of a monopoly in the history of golf. So you've got two sides to this story. You've got those the purists, those that feel that golf should only be a certain way and that there are only these limited events that the PGA puts on. And then you've got other people who are saying … this is all about money"
Sports merchandising company Fanatics announced it will be making trading cards featuring college athletes, a deal made possible by the NCAA's change to NIL rules for its players. Anchors Kristen Scholer and Ken Buffa break down the deal for Cheddar.
Survivors of Larry Nassar, including Olympian Simone Biles, are seeking $1 billion in damages from the FBI due to its failure to investigate the former gymnastics team doctor convicted of committing years of serial sexual abuse of minors. Jack Queen, a senior reporter at Law360, joined Cheddar News to break down the legal grounds of this case. "This is one of the biggest black eyes that the Bureau has faced in generations, quite frankly, and the FBI has taken full responsibility and admitted that it completely botched this investigation," he said. "So, there's a lot of pressure to settle."
The victims from the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal continue to seek justice. Survivors of Larry Nassar are seeking more than one-billion dollars from the FBI for failing to stop the convicted sports doctor when the agency first received allegations. According to a report released by the Justice Department's Inspector General, FBI agents knew
in July of 2015 that Nassar was accused of abusing gymnasts; however, Nassar wasn't arrested until December of 2016. The group that filed the claim includes Olympic medalist Simone Biles and around 90 other women. Louise Radnofsky, sports reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
A controversial professional golf tour backed by Saudi Arabia tees off on Thursday. Today, two-time Major winner Dustin Johnson announced he's resigned from the PGA Tour ahead of headlining the Saudi-backed tour, called the LIV Golf Invitation Series. The announcement comes as the PGA tour has threatened disciplinary action for its golfers who take part in the Saudi golf league event, which will also feature notable golf stars like Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia; however, LIV Golf's CEO, Greg Norman, told The Washington Post that Tiger Woods rejected a contract worth 'high nine digits' to play in the tour. Chris Bumbaca, reporter for USA Today Sports, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Marques Ogden, former NFL offensive lineman turned author and celebrity success coach, joins Cheddar to discuss his career transition after his NFL playing days and how he overcame a low point to prioritize family and re-shape his life as a success coach.
Abe Stein, Head of Innovation at Sports Innovation Lab, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why the top four spots on his company's 2022 list are European soccer clubs and discusses Sports Innovation Lab's plan to publish data on women's pro sports teams in the not-too-distant future.
San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Alex Barrett discusses why he believes taking his salary in crypto is the best financial decision for him, while Bitwage CEO Jonathan Chester breaks down how Barrett and other crypto investors can best utilize his platform.
