Jackson Holliday's debut draws big-time viewership numbers

Baltimore Orioles shortstop Jackson Holliday. David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Jackson Holliday's debut was MLB Network's second most-watched game ever

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 4/12/24

Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday was the top prospect in baseball entering the 2024 season, and his MLB debut this week was a pretty huge deal across the league. So much so that its broadcast on MLB Network drew over 626,000 viewers, making it the second-most watched regular season game in the network's history.

The only game that topped it was the final home game for New York Yankees superstar Derek Jeter back in the 2014 season.

Who's up? Jackson Holliday!

The future Hall of Famer's debut with the Orioles last night was the second most-watched regular season game ever on MLB Network with 626K viewers.

That's an out of market number; the game was not available locally.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) April 11, 2024

The "future Hall of Fame" line is a bit over-the-top, but the number of viewers is not.

What makes that number for Holliday's debut so impressive is that those are strictly out-of-market numbers as the game was not aired locally in Baltimore (where huge numbers of fans would have been tuning in to see Jackson) or Boston (which will always have huge viewership numbers).

Holliday went 0-for-4 in his debut.

He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft and posted monster numbers in the minor leagues before his call-up to Baltimore. He joins an Orioles team that is already one of the best in the league on paper and is loaded with young stars including Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Ryan Mountcastle. They won 101 games and the American League East during the 2023 season.

Entering play on Friday, Henderson was 0-for-8 in his first two games.

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