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Originally Posted by JRutledge
The bottom line is MLB is no longer the America's Past time. Kids do not play it as a playground game anymore (they do not even play video games with the MLB logo without making the game freakishly arcade-like and totally unrealistic). When they do play it is so organized I wonder if the kids are actually having any fun. And the major pro league does not even let the public know who their best players are and I am sure the scandals do not help either. When I was a kid I knew all the top players and there as not the 24 ESPN and Sports cycles the way there is today.
Just admit this sport is not what it was and likely will never be. The next thing you will tell me is Hockey is still relevant. 
Peace |
First, I don't recall baseball ever beating out football for ratings. That's not breaking news. But I don't know what playgrounds are like in your area, but out here I see pickup games played by kids all the time. Stickball, Wallball, 3 Flys Up, Pepper, regular hardball, or whatever. There is the world famous annual OMBAC Over-The-Line tournament (played with softballs, but by baseball fans and players) that grows in popularity every year.
Baseball is still alive and well here on the West Coast. Sure, when I was a kid I knew who all the top stars were. I also knew who all the everyday players were. I had shoeboxes full of baseball cards and those little metal discs that were so cool. I could quote stats all day. That was a different time then. There is so much more for kids to do these days and not as much emphasis is being placed on the traditions of the game. Today's youth doesn't give a crap about who Willie Mays or Joe DiMaggio were. But the last I checked, there are still millions of adult baseball fans who have been fans all their lives, and they still consider baseball to be the American Pastime. So many people live and breathe baseball. The kids who don't care haven't taken over anything yet.