Baseball on the decline in US?

[Money99]

Re: Baseball on the decline in US?

Baseball is not nearly as good as Football and Basketball in terms of wanting to play it.

African Americans are hard to find in baseball and mostly due to the fact that in baseball it usually takes years to crack the majors and even more years to get paid big time money.

The NBA people were coming from college and now 1 or 2 years into college and making big money and having the ability to play in the pros from day 1

Same with football.

Look at the drafts: Which drafts get the most pub NFL and NBA because it condenses the talent to the big time players

In baseball you got picks nobody heard of and most likely will die in triple A

Summer time you got people out in the basketball court

And when a young boy watches football or basketball they are amazed at what they do and all the glory and riches that come with it and endorsements

If it was me, I would say the same thing at that age as compared to baseball where I know that I have to go ride a crummy bus for a few years after high school or college and if I do make it to the pro's it will be a while before i get paid well.

There is also no lime light with drafting a player and no endorsement commercials.

That is where baseball falls greatly flat on its face.

And watching a baseball game is incredibly boring for all 9 innings pitch by pitch

It is a slow as snails pace and kids just dont like that

Some interesting points, especially the last two.
My counterargument to the 'boring' factor is that there are more kids playing soccer than baseball (in Canada at least) and yet I don't know one kid in my area who plays soccer and actually watches it.
I'm not ignorant to the fact that kids associate with what they watch, but I'm not sure we can place the entire blame of plummeting registration on lack of TV excitement.

The game is certainly slower than others, but based on some of the things I've personally seen from coaching, a lot of kids get really excited when they've learned or accomplished something on the field.
I know my own son gets a much bigger thrill making a nice scoop, or catching a ball than he does for a hit or even scoring a goal in soccer.
The first time he caught a ball at 1B to make an out, he lit up like a candle. The crowd went nuts. He talked about that for weeks.

But like so many have already pointed out, kids need to be gently pushed in the direction of baseball these days. Other sports have taken over as being more 'cool'.

[Perfect Zero]

Re: Baseball on the decline in US?

If that's the argument against Baseball, then football is just as bad. Five seconds of play followed by thirty seconds of nothing and commercials in between every single change of possession. People who use the "boring" argument are people who have never played or tried to watch the game.

[sydrogerdavid]

Re: Baseball on the decline in US?

And watching a baseball game is incredibly boring for all 9 innings pitch by pitch

It is a slow as snails pace and kids just dont like that

You didn't watch the playoffs or the last day of the season, did you?

[nomo17k]

Re: Baseball on the decline in US?

If that's the argument against Baseball, then football is just as bad. Five seconds of play followed by thirty seconds of nothing and commercials in between every single change of possession. People who use the "boring" argument are people who have never played or tried to watch the game.

This may also give us a clue as to why the two sports are where they are right now. I'm almost exclusively a baseball person and have never developed any interest in American football. I just have never found it appealing and dare I say that I find the sport quite boring and don't know what all the fuss is about. I honestly would rather watch other sports, such as soccer, basketball, tennis, volleyball, sumo wrestling.... even golf.

But I also admit that I've never had a chance to learn football. If I was introduced to the sport at an early stage in my life, it might actually have become my sport... who knows?

I think there are a few reasons I still prefer baseball personally, but if I was born in a place where baseball isn't played at all, then I wouldn't have discovered it myself. From this, it appears that exposure at an early age is very essential to keep the sport alive.

[Giants4Natic]

Re: Baseball on the decline in US?

You didn't watch the playoffs or the last day of the season, did you?

I love baseball but I am just stating reasons why Kids are not into baseball as much as football and basketball

Yea baseball playoffs are great but regular season is way to long and games are way to long.

Look at the ratings. That is where the conversation ends.

Regular season football games draw more then baseball playoffs

Baseball has drama and intense moments.

But a Yankee vs Redsox game can go for almost 4 and a half hours

[Giants4Natic]

Re: Baseball on the decline in US?

Everybody knows that NY is a baseball town for many years.

They have the best franchise in sports (Yankees)

And last year in the playoffs vs the Tigers the NY Giants drew more views locally then the Yankees playoff game.

A NY Giants regular season game in week 5-6

[Giants4Natic]

Re: Baseball on the decline in US?

If that's the argument against Baseball, then football is just as bad. Five seconds of play followed by thirty seconds of nothing and commercials in between every single change of possession. People who use the "boring" argument are people who have never played or tried to watch the game.

Its of no point to debate with you when you claim football is just as boring.

I mean really

[CMH]

Its of no point to debate with you when you claim football is just as boring.

I mean really

That's an opinion. I find football to be more boring than baseball without a doubt in my mind.

Everybody knows that NY is a baseball town for many years.

They have the best franchise in sports (Yankees)

And last year in the playoffs vs the Tigers the NY Giants drew more views locally then the Yankees playoff game.

A NY Giants regular season game in week 5-6

Don't do this. We aren't debating ratings here. We are debating why people are losing interest in the sport. Your argument adds nothing. We already know less people watch baseball. That's the point of this thread.


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[av7]

Re: Baseball on the decline in US?

Yea baseball playoffs are great but regular season is way to long and games are way to long.

Going by when football game start and the 2nd ones start, 3 hours

I randomly picked some games last year in baseball

Giants at Phillies (July 27, 2011). 2:38
Rangers at Yankees (June 14, 2011) . 3:18
Royals at Orioles (May 25, 2011). 2:29
Braves at Marlins (June 9, 2011). 2:46
Diamondbacks at Astros (May 29, 2011) 2:59

So 5 completely random games for an average of 2 hours, 58 minutes. The way too long thing doesn't jive.

[Perfect Zero]

Re: Baseball on the decline in US?

Football is also played on a limited scale for people who can't sit around and focus on a game. One game a week for seventeen weeks, usually on a Sunday where people can watch it. Baseball takes a level of maturity to follow and to keep up with. It's not about the times (Professional Baseball and football take just as much time), it's about what people are willing to follow.

Football is not a part of why Baseball is on the decline. We're looking for real solutions, not red hearings.

[Money99]

Re: Baseball on the decline in US?

Football is also played on a limited scale for people who can't sit around and focus on a game. One game a week for seventeen weeks, usually on a Sunday where people can watch it. Baseball takes a level of maturity to follow and to keep up with. It's not about the times (Professional Baseball and football take just as much time), it's about what people are willing to follow.

Football is not a part of why Baseball is on the decline. We're looking for real solutions, not red hearings.

Which is why football translates so well on TV. The amount of stats, overlays and talking heads that they bombard the viewer with do a great job concealing the fact that there is nothing going on for 45 seconds between snaps.
I've watched almost every major sport live and football is by far the most boring. I couldn't believe how nothing was going on.
I know some will say there's not a lot going on at a live baseball game, but the atmosphere is so much better. I love the smell of the park, the sounds, the action, etc.
Yes, it's a slow game, but the subtle intricacies of a ball game are incredible.

BTW, I'm not crapping on football, I do enjoy watching it on TV. But I don't know how anyone can say that football is a much faster-paced game than baseball.

[nomo17k]

Re: Baseball on the decline in US?

Which is why football translates so well on TV. The amount of stats, overlays and talking heads that they bombard the viewer with do a great job concealing the fact that there is nothing going on for 45 seconds between snaps.
I've watched almost every major sport live and football is by far the most boring. I couldn't believe how nothing was going on.
I know some will say there's not a lot going on at a live baseball game, but the atmosphere is so much better. I love the smell of the park, the sounds, the action, etc.
Yes, it's a slow game, but the subtle intricacies of a ball game are incredible.

BTW, I'm not crapping on football, I do enjoy watching it on TV. But I don't know how anyone can say that football is a much faster-paced game than baseball.

What I find interesting in what Perfect Zero mentioned is that why these two sports, arguably involve less on-going actions, took different paths.

Unfortunately I cannot say much about football, but if anything baseball has a lot more stats that are interesting and strategically meaningful to show while broadcasting. After all that's why Sabermetrics of Moneyball fame has flourished in baseball but not really in other sports...

Going by your argument, why can baseball not do the same to attract TV viewers?

(The battle of two boring American sports here! jk)

[Dog]

Re: Baseball on the decline in US?

Baseball isn't on the decline. People who like it, like it. People who don't, don't

[CMH]

What I find interesting in what Perfect Zero mentioned is that why these two sports, arguably involve less on-going actions, took different paths.

Unfortunately I cannot say much about football, but if anything baseball has a lot more stats that are interesting and strategically meaningful to show while broadcasting. After all that's why Sabermetrics of Moneyball fame has flourished in baseball but not really in other sports...

Going by your argument, why can baseball not do the same to attract TV viewers?

(The battle of two boring American sports here! jk)

I think it was answered earlier when it was mentioned that football is once a week (for the most part) while baseball is everyday.

And everyday becomes mundane.

I think another factor is that when actual football is being played for 6 seconds every minute, there is contact. People are moving. Things are happening.

In baseball, a pitch is thrown. Now for people that appreciate the strategy and inner game of the pitcher battle duel, that's exciting as heck (is for me. It's like chess with sticks) but for people that want the ball to be hit and fielders running, runners going for bases, it feels like the 45 seconds in the huddle for five minutes.


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[nomo17k]

Re: Baseball on the decline in US?

I think it was answered earlier when it was mentioned that football is once a week (for the most part) while baseball is everyday.

And everyday becomes mundane.

This may be also true... I'm ignorant as to how football has become SO popular in US, but perhaps, the sport has done a phenomenal job (though not likely to be deliberate) in making itself more scarce, and hence more valuable by limiting access to "special" occasions.

Playing baseball in HS, I remember feeling a bit of jealousy toward other varsity sports, particularly football (and to basketball to a lesser extent), since, despite our school sucked big time, every game on weekend was a true festivity with all the people attending, brass-band playing, cheerleaders ing the jocks during the break, etc. The few people attended our baseball games were dads of some kids and occasional moms... and we played like twice or thrice every week.

Sounds like a contradiction, but maybe baseball as a sport to watch doesn't deliver the feel of specialness that much these days, because the access to the game as a spectator sport isn't limited.

I think another factor is that when actual football is being played for 6 seconds every minute, there is contact. People are moving. Things are happening.

In baseball, a pitch is thrown. Now for people that appreciate the strategy and inner game of the pitcher battle duel, that's exciting as heck (is for me. It's like chess with sticks) but for people that want the ball to be hit and fielders running, runners going for bases, it feels like the 45 seconds in the huddle for five minutes.

This also gets me thinking, as I'm not such a huge sports spectator in general. I enjoy the atmosphere and shared excitement in, say, Olympics and international matches in soccer and whatnot, but I personally don't care much about the physical aspect... only to the extent of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

So perhaps, the reason why I personally prefer baseball over other sports is that it can play more like a game and not a physical activity, like chess as you say. Maybe I'm accustomed to appreciate in my imagination what goes on on the field when casual people see nothing visually and physically, which perhaps draw most fans to a particular sport.