'One mistake' sucked the TV drama out of Diamondbacks Game 3 World Series loss to Rangers

The setting could not have been more perfect for the Arizona Diamondbacks going into Game 3 of the World Series, and Fox Sports was all over the promise of possibility.

Ugh. How’d that work out?

Not so great for Arizona, losing 3-1.

The series, tied 1-1, came back to Chase Field in Phoenix on Monday for the first of three consecutive home games. The roof was open. Temperatures were mild. The pregame studio show (the studio being on the field) was into it.

“This place is going to rock ’n roll tonight,” Alex Rodriguez said. “The roof is open. This is one of my favorite places to play.”

Really? Who knew?

The pregame was fun. Then the real game started

Whatever the case, we saw Luis Gonzalez’s broken-bat bloop single in the last World Series game played in Phoenix, in 2001, which won the whole thing in a legendary classic. Of course we did. We saw a goofy bit on the “Snakes Alive” slogan, along with a Derek Jeter interview with Diamondbacks rookie sensation Corbin Carroll.

Then the game happened. And the Diamondbacks made a mistake that Fox analyst John Smoltz put into exactly the right context.

Things actually looked promising in the second inning for Arizona, with Christian Walker leading off with a double. Tommy Pham came to bat, hit a single and Walker ran through third base coach Tony Perezchica’s signal to stop at third. (Perezchica originally waved him through but changed his mind; Walker didn't see the new sign.) Walker ran through it and got thrown out. It was an absolute momentum killer. Yes, they had other chances, but this clearly changed the game for Arizona.

And Smoltz didn’t forget it.

“This stadium and this crowd, they have been waiting for this,” he said later in the game. “A picture-perfect night, the flyover (by four F-35 fighter jets), everything about this event just screams ... this town has fallen in love with their team.

“One mistake — one mistake running the bases — has flipped this game. And you hope that’s not the game-changing moment that doesn’t allow them to win.”

It was. But good for Smoltz for not backing down from it.

MLB World Series TV Ratings are in the tank. So what?

Game 1 Friday was one of the best starts to a World Series in recent memory.

Too bad no one (relatively speaking) saw it.

The game, an absolute thriller won 6-5 by the Rangers with a walk-off Adolis García homer in the 11th inning, was the least-watched Game 1 ever.

As in, forever and ever. Even the 2020 "bubble" series during the pandemic. Friday night's game averaged 9.172 million viewers on Fox and 182,000 on Fox Deportes.

Game 1 in 2020, between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays, averaged 9.35 million viewers.

So what?

To everyone who carped about how this would be a low-rated series because Arizona and Texas are wild-card teams with relatively few big-name players outside their fan bases, congratulations, geniuses. Welcome to modern baseball.

And modern television.

Ratings have been declining for baseball, and for any broadcast TV show that isn't an NFL game, for years. Thanks to streaming services and other technological advances, TV viewing has become more fragmented. Baseball in particular has become more of a regional sport than a national one.

Look for a lot of chest-thumping and finger-wagging among the I-told-you-so set. And while it's certainly true that if LA or New York or Boston were playing, audiences would be bigger. And if frogs had wings, well, you know how that goes.

What happened to rooting for the underdog? Granted, this is a contest between two underdogs. David vs. Goliath is probably a little more appealing than David vs. David. But these teams deserve to be here because they got here. If the "is it good for baseball" bunch wants to sit it out, let 'em.

Their loss.

Remember last time? Things I still think about 22 years after covering Arizona Diamondbacks last World Series

Fox pregame goes all in on 'Snakes Alive'

At various times during the postseason Diamondbacks’ fans have accused TV broadcasters of favoring, well, whoever they were playing. Surely Bob Costas was pulling for the Dodgers, they claimed. He wasn’t, and Dodgers fans thought just as strongly that Costas was pulling for the Diamondbacks.

But after the pregame show Monday, no Arizona fan could fairly say Fox Sports has it out for the Diamondbacks. A “Snakes Alive” segment was practically glowing.

“Some mascot names have little to do with where they’re from,” a voice intoned over cinematic shots of a rattlesnake. “But out in Arizona, snakes are everywhere. And the Diamondback is particularly lethal. It’s a patient, cunning predator. It’s adaptable, able to thrive in all kinds of environments. And when it strikes it strikes fast and leaves no doubt.”

At this point we were seeing shots of the Diamondbacks highlights. Here’s out it ended: “Out here in the desert 'snakes alive' is not just a slogan. Consider yourself warned.”

Noted.

Mark Curtis of 12 News talks about covering the Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series

When do the Diamondbacks play again?

All games are on Fox.

• Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 31, at 5:03 p.m. (Arizona time) in Phoenix.

• Game 5: Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 5:03 p.m. (Arizona time) in Phoenix.

• Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, Nov. 3, at 5:03 p.m. (Arizona time) in Arlington, Texas.

• Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, Nov. 4, at 5:03 p.m. (Arizona time) in Arlington, Texas.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X, formerly known as Twitter: @goodyk.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks' fatal 'mistake' gave Game 3 World Series win to Rangers