WBC sets multiple records for attendance, TV ratings

If there was any question about the future of the World Baseball Classic, the fans showed they were indeed interested Wednesday when the U.S. defeated Puerto Rico for its first-ever win at the event.

The championship final drew the largest-ever U.S. audience for a WBC game, with 3.1 million viewers across MLB Network, ESPN Deportes, and via the Spanish telecast on ESPN2, according to a press release from MLB Communications.

Wednesday's contest was also watched by 2.3 million viewers on MLB Network, making it the second-most watched telecast ever, according to the same release, and was attended by 51,565 fans, making it the most-attended game of the 2016 WBC, and second-most in WBC history.

The WBC as a whole attracted a record 1,086,720 fans, surpassing the 1-million mark for the first time.

Scheduling conflicts with MLB's spring training and lack of interest from U.S. players, and in the American marketplace, had put the tournament's future in jeopardy.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred discussed the subject in March, and identified the U.S. and the team it fields as having a major impact on the event's fate.

"I would like to get the WBC to the point where everyone views it as a premier international event," Manfred said during spring training, according to Metro News. "I'm going to both Korea and Japan. One of the reasons I'm making that trip is, in those countries, tremendous support and interest in this event, and we need to make sure we get the same kind of interest and support here in the United States. I think the key to that is having a competitive, successful team from the United States."