Quote:
Originally Posted by One Post Wonder
Regarding the future of MLB, I think it's going the way of Horse Racing and Boxing:
When I was a teenager in the 1980's, every video gaming platform had a baseball game on it. It was one of the staples. Now, the only gaming platform with a twitch-based baseball game on it that is worth a crap is the Playstation - and almost no-one cares.
One problem has been that everything driving baseball has revolved around short-term profits for at least 25 years. The deal that cemented Sony's stranglehold on the gaming baseball market is an example. Great short term income, but hurts baseball's ability to market itself to young people.
Steroids were the same thing. Everyone with a brain knew that eventually, baseball was going to be embarrassed by the steroid problem in the 90's. The sports channel I would listen to was talking about this as early as 1995. And of course, records were eventually broken by guys on the stuff, and now everyone has a differing opinion of who holds which records. Baseball is a game of stats, and the stats are now skewed. But for a few years, great profits!
Another problem is that we've had a lot of great analysts come along and dissect the game, and determine the optimal way to play. And the optimal way to play baseball, by the current rules, is boring. A batter trying to draw a walk is good strategy, but boring to watch. Bringing in a reliever to pitch to one guy is boring to watch. Conservative (at least by historical standards) baserunning is good strategy but boring to watch.
Maybe some rule changes will help the game, but it might be too little, too late. I'm 46. I'm guessing that many of you aren't too young either. And personally I don't know anyone below the age of 40 who cares a lick about baseball. People who like to watch sports prefer football. People who like to get involved and play like basketball. Yes, the NFL is losing popularity but Soccer is willing and able to fill that void.
I'm just not seeing it. Maybe baseball has a long-term future in Japan or Central America, but I don't see it holding up here. It's sad. I think the sport has been hastened towards a premature end by greedy, myopic governance.
...and they put Bud Selig, the poster boy for all of the above, in the Hall of Fame. Bloody hell.
|
I really couldn't disagree more with this comment. Look at the sheer number of kids that play baseball. I'm one of roughly 10,000 NCAA D1 baseball players, and there's probably more than 10,000 across D2, D3, JUCO, and NAIA. Young people are very much interested in this game.
Also, there's a reason baseball's money numbers are at an all-time high while inflation is at an all-time low. I mean just look at the difference in the AAV of contracts from 2008 to 2018. That money didn't just pop up because people are losing interest in the sport.
Also, football is losing interest quickly. The head issues truly are altering decisions of young adults and which sports they play.
The MLB also does a fantastic job with social media. MLB.TV makes streaming games easy, and they routinely share videos and highlights on platforms like twitter, instagram, and facebook. One of the reasons the NFL is losing popularity amongst people my age is because of their extreme blackout rules, not just on TV, but on social media platforms as well.
I know it was hyperbole when you said you don't know anyone younger than 40 that cares a lick about the game, but look at all the players currently in the league, all the players across collegiate and high school athletics, and the millions of fans that file in the stadiums year in and year out. No, baseball may not be America's pastime, and it may not be the most popular sport in this country, but it is far from dead and far from dying