"Baseball is a dying sport"

[huskers1217]

The best thing about baseball is playing it. I played 25 years in the corporate beer leagues and had the time of my life. Couldn't watch a game on the tube unless it was the playoffs.

It’s how I feel about hockey.

Loved playing street hockey outside of philly
Loved watching live games


Can’t stand tv unless it’s the playoffs

 

[Pure Steel]

Nah, I can tell what is a dying sport but no one wants to discuss it...american football.

In the next 4 years you will start to see it play out where high school football will see a major dropoff. There is an affluent suburb here in the D/FW metroplex that has always been known for football. They didn't even field a middle school team this season because not enough parents were willing to let the kids play. In TEXAS!

It was about 10-12 years ago all of the CTE and safety stuff started up for the NFL. Current middle schoolers are the first generation growing up really discussing the dangers of the game. I see baseball picking up the slack, as you don't have to be >6'4" tall to really have a shot to play. Soccer is even more boring than baseball, but will pick up some kids going that way. Golf and Tennis are what they are. Volleyball is the sport I'd like to see more boys go into, I love playing that.

Agree....I coached youth football and little league baseball for the last 7 years.....The youth football numbers are dropping like flies and many middle school teams as stated above can't even form a team...My son missed his 8th grade season due to low numbers....That has lead to the high school programs being left with very little to compete, not to mention the better players leave for private schools....That's the same with baseball, all the good players play travel and then pass on going to their own high school....I can't see the return on paying $20K a year to play at a private school, let alone the huge upside of the education and no guarantees on any type of scholarship....My son will be a freshman in high school next year and as of now he doesn't have enough players to form a team....The scarier part is they make the kids play up against kids that are sometimes 80 pounds heavier which makes the parents even less enthusiastic about signing the kids up at all...

 

[SU Nittany Tide]

Agree....I coached youth football and little league baseball for the last 7 years.....The youth football numbers are dropping like flies and many middle school teams as stated above can't even form a team...My son missed his 8th grade season due to low numbers....That has lead to the high school programs being left with very little to compete, not to mention the better players leave for private schools....That's the same with baseball, all the good players play travel and then pass on going to their own high school....I can't see the return on paying $20K a year to play at a private school, let alone the huge upside of the education and no guarantees on any type of scholarship....My son will be a freshman in high school next year and as of now he doesn't have enough players to form a team....The scarier part is they make the kids play up against kids that are sometimes 80 pounds heavier which makes the parents even less enthusiastic about signing the kids up at all...

There are a number of issues with all high school/youth sports but I think the main thing is that kids don't play a variety of sports anymore. Coaches so often make kids commit to their sport these days. My town has been very good at both football and baseball lately but the football coach tries to force his players to practice football during baseball season. Another city here has one of the best legion baseball teams in the country and those kids aren't allowed to play any other sport.

 

[redseat]

start by saying im not a baseball fan. But live its not bad. Its on tv that its tortue. granted i played semi's for ice hockey, and i can watch on tv, but tv sucks for hockey too, and its great live........just my 2 cents

It is a little boring via TV I get that but it's not like a person can't change the channel and it's not like we don't have over 1500 channels to chose from anyway.. During a commercial change to watch another sports show or boradcast, it's easy

 

[redseat]

What if they say Softball is more exciting!

Dont @me!

LOL... I will have to admit I have been watching more college softball.. The games have been pretty entertaining

 

[kburjr]

You can deny reality if it makes you feel safe and comfortable. Doesn't matter to me.



Baseball definitely does not have the second most fans in America anymore. It is at its lowest point ever as far as number of fans. Mostly because it's dying.

Small sample size. It's a very, very long season.

 

[Pure Steel]

LOL... I will have to admit I have been watching more college softball.. The games have been pretty entertaining

With pants down?

 

[Carnzo]

I like to sit on the deck listening to the radio play by play in the summer with a beer.
I do wish the Red Sox would get their shit together though.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Idk if MLB is dying, depends on what numbers you want to believe I guess.

Why MLB Attendance Dropped Below 70 Million For The First Time In 15 Years

or

MLB Sees Record Revenues Of $10.3 Billion For 2018

I will say the regular season is less appealing to me now than it was 20 yrs ago or even 10 yrs ago...I check in on the standings about once every other week. and I might see an entire MLB game maybe once or twice, but I do watch highlights and generally like the sport.

Just too many games to keep my attention all season.

 

[redseat]

With pants down?

 

[kburjr]

Just too many games to keep my attention all season.

That to me is the beauty of baseball. No single game is so important that you must drop everything to see a game. Sometimes, it is just cool to catch an inning or two, or go over to the high school and watch an entire game.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

Less and less kids play. Less and less kids watch. The average TV viewer is something like 57. And the commish is hellbent on alienating the core fans.

That's false. Youth baseball leagues have seen a marked uptick in participation over the last few years. MLB is crediting their promotional efforts. I also think it has something to do with fewer parents wanting their kids to play football.

Baltimore had its smallest crowd ever on Monday. Tigers had 12 K today. I went to Opening Day for the Rays, they didn't even sell seats in the upper deck.

I'm not sure the attendance at early-season/poor weather games of shitty teams is a good barometer of baseball's health.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

lacrosse? and just how many kids have been playing lacrosse to begin with?

not that many, that's how many.

lacrosse is growing very rapidly. I'm not suggesting it's going to overtake baseball or anything like that, but it's growing fast as hell these days.

 

[GNG]

Why Have African-American Players Disappeared In MLB?

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

Nah, I can tell what is a dying sport but no one wants to discuss it...american football.

In the next 4 years you will start to see it play out where high school football will see a major dropoff. There is an affluent suburb here in the D/FW metroplex that has always been known for football. They didn't even field a middle school team this season because not enough parents were willing to let the kids play. In TEXAS!

It was about 10-12 years ago all of the CTE and safety stuff started up for the NFL. Current middle schoolers are the first generation growing up really discussing the dangers of the game. I see baseball picking up the slack, as you don't have to be >6'4" tall to really have a shot to play. Soccer is even more boring than baseball, but will pick up some kids going that way. Golf and Tennis are what they are. Volleyball is the sport I'd like to see more boys go into, I love playing that.

The school district I'm in has graduating classes of approximately 200 kids. Our 3rd/4th Grade lacrosse team had more boys sign up than ever - nearly 40 kids.

 

[Pure Steel]

lacrosse is growing very rapidly. I'm not suggesting it's going to overtake baseball or anything like that, but it's growing fast as hell these days.

It's definitely taking kids away from playing baseball.....Where I grew up, the lacrosse program is now stronger than the baseball program and that couldn't have ever been said in my day.....It waters down both sports if it's a small town.....

 

[kburjr]

Archery is coming. Check this town out: Total popilation 680. Kids on archery team 80


https://www.wcia.com/news/local-news/growing-interest-in-archery-hits-our-town/1251639896

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

I like to sit on the deck listening to the radio play by play in the summer with a beer.

I do wish the Red Sox would get their shit together though.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

It's definitely taking kids away from playing baseball.....Where I grew up, the lacrosse program is now stronger than the baseball program and that couldn't have ever been said in my day.....It waters down both sports if it's a small town.....

My son is doing both baseball and lacrosse this spring. He loves them both, but at some point, he's going to have to choose.

 

[Ojb81]

lacrosse is growing very rapidly. I'm not suggesting it's going to overtake baseball or anything like that, but it's growing fast as hell these days.