Is pro baseball doomed?

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The number of kids playing baseball and softball has dropped significantly, and participation is one of the leading contributors to someone becoming a fan of pro teams of that sport. With interest in baseball waning, is the MLB doomed?

Why Children Are Abandoning Baseball - WSJ
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    When I think back from the time in my life between 8 and 14, there was nothing but baseball. We all lived to play it or go to games to watch it, collected cards, slept in our ball caps - you name it.

    I haven't watched an entire game outside of a few World Series games in decades. The game is dreadfully slow, the players are prima donnas and the fans at the stadiums are major league cretins. The ticket prices are exorbitant, the food is for the most part overpriced slop and even parking is unbelievably expensive. (All of this has been relayed to me by friends still attending games).

    No thanks. Not as long as there's a hockey game I can watch.

    Cheers. - Frank
    • [1] reply
    • Not only are the games slow, but the season is extremely long, too. A 162 game regular season, plus another 30 or so spring training games, plus the playoffs and World Series!

      No thanks.

      The same thing is happening in basketball and football. The popularity of the NBA has been declining for years. They also need to shorten their season by 20 games. An 82 game season along with the extended playoff format has put an enormous strain on these young players physically. Can you imagine coming out of college where you played a 30-40 game season to playing an NBA season of 100+ games including pre-season and playoffs?

      The result of this long season is more injuries and more missed playing time. That also creates a "watered down" product for fans. I'd be upset if I bought a season ticket and some of the stars on my team missed games because of wear and tear. Oh, and there's always those games where coaches rest their players before the playoffs.

      NFL football is very popular, but more and more parents are keeping their kids from playing due to long term injury concerns, especially concussions. They're even talking about expanding!

      It's all about money. Greed.

      I still believe that organized sports is an excellent way to teach kids several life lessons and keeps them off the streets and out of trouble more often. In addition, with school budgets being cut to the bone some schools have no choice but to cut athletic budgets. Especially smaller schools with lower enrollment and schools in areas of poverty.

      Time will tell...
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  • I hear ya. It's a sad state of affairs. One parent commented in that article that their kids can't go to the ballpark without a parent for their safety. Sad. I can't imagine that. Like Frank said, we used to play baseball every day. Playing time? We played for 5 straight hours or more.

    Same in winter. We played hockey before school, after school, after dinner, all weekend. Go down to the rink, see if there is a game going and join in. Oldsters, youngsters, everyone played. That's where you develop the instincts of the game. You can learn skills at hockey camp or whatever, but your instincts and hustle are developed on the ice with the kids from the neighborhood.
  • Have not watched a game in almost 25 years My kids don't watch either
  • I watched most of a high school baseball game last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Less kids may be playing baseball but so what.

    We have a huge country with lots and lots of people and I think even with the downturn in interest, MLB will have plenty of prospects for playing and for watching well into the future.
  • Any sport that has a "World Series" that only features teams from one country (plus one from Canada) is destined to become irrelevant.
    • [1] reply
    • When you talk about American baseball, there are no credible teams in any league - anywhere on the planet that can compare or compete with American MLB.

      So it's really not a stretch to say the MLB championship is a "World Series" even if the youth participation in the sport and fan interest wanes.
      • [1] reply
  • Want to know a Latin American country with a great team where all the best players haven't joined MLB?

    How about Cuba.

    BTW, you know a game is slow-paced when they have to have a 7th Inning Stretch just to wake people up and get their blood flowing again. It's kind of like a snooze alarm...only two more innings left to sleep through.
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    Is pro baseball doomed?

    The number of kids playing baseball and softball has dropped significantly, and participation is one of the leading contributors to someone becoming a fan of pro teams of that sport. With interest in baseball waning, is the MLB doomed? Why Children Are Abandoning Baseball - WSJ