The Boston Red Sox have owned the title of Major League Baseball's most locally watched team for the last six years. In 2010, however, the St. Louis Cardinals, who failed to make the playoffs this season, had baseball's top local TV ratings scoring a 9.5 local average for its 127 telecasts, according to St. Louis Business Journal. The 9.5 rating translates into around 120,000 households.

The Cardinals' broadcasts on FS Midwest saw a 19 percent increase in ratings from 2009 and topped their previous high of a 9.2 average rating. The team's game casts scored No. 1 in prime time in their market 69 times out of 98 night games. Last year they accomplished that feat 51 times.

FS Midwest also set a mark for their highest-rated event in the network's history during an Aug. 10 Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds game in which the two teams cleared benches.

FoxSports Midwest will carry all non-nationally broadcast games next season

The Minnesota Twins' TV ratings finished in second place among MLB teams with an 8.77 average. Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Cincinnati also ended the regular season in the top five. The Reds had an enormous jump in viewership since '09, increasing their ratings by 94.5 percent.

Several teams from the West Coast didn't draw viewership quite as well. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Angles finished in the bottom five and the Oakland A's, with a rating of 1.16, had the lowest ratings in the Major Leagues.

Matthew Coller is a senior staff member of the Business of Sports Network, and is a freelance writer. He can be followed on Twitter

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