Two people debate whether to continue watching baseball on the television. Major League Baseball’s viewership has steadily decreased in recent years, meaning that the organization needs to find a way to attract younger fans to the sport while remaining loyal to its older viewers. “If they can’t reform their sport, baseball is at risk of becoming an afterthought. But if they can do so, they will ensure that baseball is always America’s game,” Sports Editor Wyatt Meyer wrote. Illustration by Antonio Starks
Major League Baseball needs to make drastic changes to its sport if it wishes to re-engage its rapidly aging audience.
Around the world, baseball has long been known as America’s game.
First officially played in the United States almost 200 years ago, there’s no sport in the U.S. that evokes the same tradition and history that baseball has. As generations of baseball fans have gone to the ballpark to see legend after legend take the field, the sport has become ingrained into American culture.
But recently, things have taken a turn for the worse for the sport. According to research corporation GlobalData, Major League Baseball experienced a 12% decline in television viewership between 2019 and 2021 despite other sports gaining viewers during that time.
Even more worryingly for the sport, GlobalData estimated that the average age for a baseball fan is 57, an aging demographic that won’t be around to enjoy the game forever.
The average age for a baseball fan is 57, an aging demographic that won’t be around to enjoy the game forever.
Even baseball’s title as America’s game is under fire, as many fans now see football as America’s game rather than baseball.
But why aren’t viewers as engaged?
Baseball’s main issue is its lack of continuous action, a key point for attracting younger viewers. In sports like football and basketball, action is guaranteed every 20 to 30 seconds, but in baseball, it can take minutes between balls in play. Even then, most plays are simple outs, meaning there is still a lack of engaging action when it does occur.
A juxtapose shows a photo of Shea Stadium in New York City in 1965, compared to the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, in 2019. According to Clarke Central High School varsity baseball player Camron Jones, a senior, people would be more inclined to watch if there was more action and less regulation. “The rules I would advocate to change are the defensive limitations and to legalize some performance enhancing drugs,” Jones said. “(If they) unban some of the rules, the fans can see baseball (the way they saw it) back in the day.” Photos fair use of the U.S. Information Agency and Wikimedia Commons.
To their credit, MLB has clearly noticed the problem with the speed of play. They’ve implemented several rule changes to make the game faster, two notable ones being their limitation of mound visits and implementation of pitch timers.
However, these rule changes have not necessarily had the desired effect on viewers. In the past three years when these changes were made, viewership declined nonetheless, showing the sport still has an uphill battle in reaching younger generations.
“I’ve never really watched baseball. It’s not been like a topic that’s been brought up. It just seems kind of boring,” freshman Macayla Vonkunthong said. “It just (seems like) just a bunch of guys hitting a ball with a stick.”
“I’ve never really watched baseball. It’s not been like a topic that’s been brought up. It just seems kind of boring. It just (seems like) just a bunch of guys hitting a ball with a stick.”
— Macayla Vonkunthong,
freshman
Given their viewership crisis, MLB needs to find a way to get younger people’s attention while making sure their decisions align with their older base. Whether that’s by further decreasing game time or reverting to baseball’s traditional roots, it’s clear that the organization needs something to change, and fast.
While that’s a fine line for the organization to walk, they can rely on some people’s innate love of the game to maintain viewers.
“I continue to love baseball because (it’s) what I grew up on,” Clarke Central High School varsity baseball player Camron Jones, a senior, said. “Even though there are some decisions that were made that I don’t agree with, baseball still holds a place in my heart that will never leave.”
So the ball is in MLB’s court: if they can’t reform their sport, baseball is at risk of becoming an afterthought. But if they can, they will ensure that baseball is always America’s game.
