The Decline Of MLB

[jorge380]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

"The great trouble with baseball today is that most of the players are in the game for the money and that's it, not for the love of it, the excitement of it, the thrill of it." Ty Cobb - 1925

"The difference between the old ballplayer and the new ballplayer is the jersey. The old ballplayer cared about the name on the front. The new ballplayer cares about the name on the back." Steve Garvey - 1970's

"Baseball is like church. Many attend few understand." Leo Durocher - 1950's

These quotes are from several different "golden" eras of baseball. Every generation has thought baseball "isn't as good as it used to be" and was on it's way out. Today baseball is as strong as it ever has been. Since I was a kid I've heard how no one wants to play baseball and that there will be a shortage of talent. I look around today and am blown away at the young, talented players playing this game. People predicting the decline/death of baseball are wrong.

Good stuff.We got alot of talent in Baseball right now compared to the 90's when baseball lost a whole generation of ball players.Every kid in the inner city in the 90's wanted to be like Micheal jordan nobody played or watched baseball.if you look at statistics there was less African american baseball players at the time.This lead to the Latin American wave of ballplayers.

[CMH]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

This topic comes up every year. Baseball has been a dying sport for decades. Apparently. Yet, baseball continues to see increased revenue and has become a multi-billion dollar company despite this anticipated drop.

Here's some real facts:

Baseball has never done very well with television ratings. The World Series and All-Star Game are not watched much by fans in comparison to other notable games from the big sports.

Baseball has seen attendance go up every year over the past decade. Attendance is down this year, but keep in mind that baseball has apparently been a dying sport for decades. So, you can't point your finger at attendance dropping when attendance has been on the rise during the time everyone kept saying that baseball was dying.

Unlike most of the other sports, baseball's revenue is off its merchandising rather than its television advertising. It's just not a marketable sport on television, but that hasn't stopped the sport from generating billions of dollars.

Basically, baseball is not dying a slow death. Every year someone says that. Every year baseball's numbers say otherwise. Time to focus on something else.

[Hootiefish]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

Can't remember where I read it, but MLB has recently passed the NFL in yearly revenue.

If I recall, the NFL is supposed to be the country's number one sport.

[storychecksout]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

As a 17 year old with a renewed interested in baseball, I have to disagree with the OP. I think due to just population and market size, there are now more baseball fans than ever. However, I do agree the Selig and the MLB execs due to need to get with the program.

[ELDoro]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

Baseball is not dying. Baseball was just so much more popular that the other sports in the past that was easily crowned the giant. The other sports have gained more popularity putting all the major sports on a more level field thus giving the perception that it has lost popularity. If you look at the numbers baseball is the most popular it has ever been (especially world wide)

However, I agree with the others that baseball needs to do a better job promoting itself. MLB Network and WBC are great moves in my opinion but little things even as small as Fox's playoff/world series theme they play every commercial break....it lulls me to sleep.

[Bellsprout]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

Sabremetrics have absolutely destroyed baseball.

There's a difference between MLB in general and the Pro Baseball section here at OS. I don't hear a lot of metrics on ESPN, Fox, whatever. So I can't really say metrics killed baseball. Baseball talk? Sure. Baseball in general? Not so much.

*Prepares to get blasted by saberologists*

I'm not going to bother arguing when that happens. I probably don't have a high enough WKCX rating to sustain said argument or something.

[Watson]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

T
I'm not going to bother arguing when that happens. I probably don't have a high enough WKCX rating to sustain said argument or something.

how can you not have a high enough FOX affiliate?

[Bellsprout]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

how can you not have a high enough FOX affiliate?

Random typing oddities rule. After the W I just typed 3 random letters and that came out. Should've went with WKRP (in Cincinnati).

I'm way too young for that reference.

[Chip Douglass]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

Because the sabremetric people are usually snobs who look down their noses at people who don't care to look at what someone's WATSEF rating is or don't know what the hell WPAER means. Much of it is just a bunch of over-analyzed manufactured garbage that's hard to gauge with there being no real reference point and historical basis. It alienates people big-time. The stats have completely overshadowed the game, its ridiculous. Almost like an exclusive club where if you don't know every single thing about every single player and say something "archaic" , you're just shunned.

Whatever, thats just my opinion. Sometimes, it's best to keep things simple.

Alot to break down here, but I think a quote will suffice.

"It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge." - Enrico Fermi.

[55]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

Speaking of sabermetrics...

Someone sent me this video yesterday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3zuw...layer_embedded

How can RBI be a meaningless stat? They are on the back of baseball cards!



I was literally in tears after watching that video. Literally.

[55]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

The sequel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnY5g8qZT6I

[SPTO]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

There's a difference between MLB in general and the Pro Baseball section here at OS. I don't hear a lot of metrics on ESPN, Fox, whatever. So I can't really say metrics killed baseball. Baseball talk? Sure. Baseball in general? Not so much.

It also seems to me that a lot of the Sabermetrics fetishism is slowly going out of favor. It seems that the failures of some of Billy Beane's disciples and other SABR types have caused a turnaround to a more scouts oriented approach to the GM position. That's not to say it's completely old school these days but there definitely seems to be an emphasis on toolsy players rather then looking at players solely on esoteric stats alone. Hell, even Billy Beane has leaned more towards a scouts approach to running his front office in the last couple years.

[Sandman42]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

It also seems to me that a lot of the Sabermetrics fetishism is slowly going out of favor. It seems that the failures of some of Billy Beane's disciples and other SABR types have caused a turnaround to a more scouts oriented approach to the GM position. That's not to say it's completely old school these days but there definitely seems to be an emphasis on toolsy players rather then looking at players solely on esoteric stats alone. Hell, even Billy Beane has leaned more towards a scouts approach to running his front office in the last couple years.

Doesn't mean that they aren't using advanced stats in conjunction with scouting now. In the past it was just scouting but most good GM's use a combination of scouts and stats. The amount of advanced stats guys working for teams is much higher now than it was 2 or 3 years ago.

Cashman, Epstein, Friedman, Daniels, Jack Z, Beane, Shapiro, and Hoyer are all sabermetrically inclined GM's.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

"Would it help if I got him a ****ing leprechaun?"

[Jgainsey]

Re: The Decline Of MLB

The sequel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnY5g8qZT6I

Haha!

Thanks for posting that.

I always had a hunch that Cole Hamels had high DSUHA numbers.