*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).
Gabe Laques, MLB Editor & Reporter, USA Today Sports, joins Cheddar Bets to offer up his expert opinions on the start of baseball season.
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Baseball is as American as — Apple TV+. The National Pasttime has a new media partner this season, as the MLB will be streaming Friday night doubleheaders on the Apple streaming service. Noah Garden, the league's chief revenue officer, spoke to Cheddar News to break down the details of what's being offered in the new package and why Major League Baseball felt the need to make the move this year. "We've been in a situation where we've lost reach, even within the cable bundle. There are situations where people in the local market don't have access to watch their favorite team and their local team on top of that," he said. "You have cord cutters and even probably more importantly, cord nevers. So streaming offers of some ability to gain reach that we've lost over the the last couple of years, and Apple was really the perfect partner for us."
The 2022 Masters Tournament is slated to begin on Thursday, and one of golf's most iconic players is set to return to Augusta National, just 14 months after a devastating car accident. In a press conference, Tiger Woods told reporters that not only is he planning to play in the tournament, but that he also thinks he can win. Cam Rogers, national sports betting and golf analyst, and host of 'Lock It In'
for the Bleav Podcast Network, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Carsten Koerl, CEO of Sportradar, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains how his company is bolstering the platforms of sports betting and streaming networks, and discusses basketball legend and Sportradar investor Michael Jordan's role in helping the company grow.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 4, 2022, with reports of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, a weekend shooting in Sacramento killing six and injuring 12, Mexico ending its gas subsidization for U.S. drivers, and the University of South Carolina winning the women's NCAA basketball championship, and more.
Between Bells EP Conor White recaps some of the biggest stories of the week, while Baker Machado and Hena Doba test their knowledge, and maybe learn a thing or two. It's This Week in Trivia!
David Salituro, MLB and PGA sportswriter for Fansided.com, joins Cheddar Bets to break down his favorite futures bets in the MLB and at The Masters.
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For the first time in the history of the storied men's college basketball rivalry between Duke University and the University of North Carolina, the two teams will be meeting directly in the NCAA tournament — and in the Final Four! Sean Green, the co-founder of the Sports Gambling Podcast Network, joined Cheddar to give his take on the possible final game of legendary Duke coach, Mike Krzyzewski. "Now, if you recall, UNC actually beat Duke in Coach K's final home regular-season game, so revenge is going to be on the mind of Duke in this Final Four game, and I think they have the best of UNC. I like them laying four points," Green said. He also picked Villanova with an upset win over Kansas.
