Appreciation of Baseball Waning

Opening Day was a success and the MLB season is completely underway. Now for those of us who have a connection with baseball whether that be through playing, coaching, or just being a fan of the game, this time of year is arguably the best. But for those that lack the appreciation for baseball, this time of year is sure to be stressful as baseball works its way into Sportscenter on a daily basis and possible "Top 10" dunks in the NBA are replaced by "web gems" made by a baseball player. And while there will always be people who will not be fans of certain sports, it's sad to see that the game of baseball is subject to less interest year after year.

Empty seats are not hard to come by

Baseball is a much slower-paced game than basketball, football, and even soccer. Momentum is still a factor, but not to the extent of the three previously mentioned sports. This is a reason that interest in baseball is waning. With how big and strong the athletes have become in football and basketball, the game moves much faster. There are now "hurry up" offenses in football and the run in gun style of basketball is utilized more than ever. Baseball has no potential to come close to that kind of quick play unless a pitcher finds his rhythm and works quicker each inning. Even then, there is still an extended pause between pitches. The general public doesn't want to wait around to see that especially on TV because, let's face it, the average person's attention span just isn't built for that anymore.

Yet the slow approach to the game isn't the only contributing factor to attendance falling. The MLB has itself to blame now that they have let replay take over the human aspect of the game. The "challenge" has now been adopted from the NFL and the game has potential to be even slower. Not to mention, the role of an umpire gets smaller every year. Soon enough the umps will be used solely for calling balls and strikes because of the way replay usage is coming on so strong. Nobody wants to come to a game that has constant stoppages in play while the umpires go down to the clubhouse to receive the correct call from the New York office. The human aspect has been partially taken away from the game and doesn't look like it will be coming back anytime soon.

While these are all legitimate reasons to lose interest, perhaps the biggest reason is the players themselves. With all of the issues with steroids and PEDs in baseball now, the players don't appear in good light to the public anymore. Just over the past two seasons the young phenoms Bryce Harper and Mike Trout both put on considerable amounts of weight in the off-season. Could it be all natural and done just by working hard and eating right? I'm 99% sure those guys did it the right way. And that's exactly the issue. There isn't such a thing as being 100% sure about a player's performance anymore. Players can't be trusted not necessarily because people believe that they as individuals are cheaters, but because countless players before this young generation have caused us as baseball fans to have trust issues. We're afraid to get too attached to a player for fear of being let down if we were to ever find out that said player used PEDs or cheated. The fact that nobody is viewed as a "clean" player until they are proven to be is perhaps the biggest reason baseball has lost fans.

The whole cheating aspect of the game is a somewhat justifiable reason to leave baseball behind because at least the people who have lost faith in the players understand and once appreciated the game. But the reason that is the most upsetting for baseball not receiving the attention it used to get is because football is now crammed down our throats daily via the news and social media. Everything is over-analyzed to the point where we here about literally ANYTHING football related. And with all the hype surrounding football season, baseball is now viewed as something of a joke because it doesn't include the hard hits and physicality that football does. I have lost count of how many times I've heard someone say "baseball isn't hard" or "baseball isn't even a sport" and as a former baseball player and avid fan of the game, that's upsetting yet incredibly funny to me. This is where the appreciation for the game drops off because people don't understand the MENTAL aspect of the game.

Bryce Harper

Don't get me wrong, you have to be smart to play football. Reading coverages and calling audibles, switching formations and adjusting to defenses is something that you have to have a knack for. And while I will not knock football and say that baseball is a harder sport to play, I believe the mental aspect of America's Pastime is not fully understood which in turn causes people to think it's so easy. As a former catcher and being in charge of calling each individual pitch and it's location, studying a hitter's tendencies throughout the game so I can adjust my fielders accordingly, knowing my bunt coverages and first and third situational plays, understanding the tendencies of the pitchers I work with, directing my cut-off man on balls into the outfield, and being able to read base runners on steals and hit and runs is something that most people don't take the time to appreciate. It's a full-time job and it requires focus for every second of the game.

Catchers aren't the only ones that have to be sharp, though. Infielders are also in charge of bunt coverages and first and third plays as well as adjusting their position depending on the score and amount of runners on base. Pitchers have to keep a constant eye on base runners as well as holding the catcher accountable on pitch calls and location. As I said, baseball will never have the hard physical hits or fast pace, but it's a thinking game and a game that requires more strategy than any other sport. And maybe that's the reason people don't want to sit around and watch because when we think of sports we view it as a break from the real world and from having to think. Sports are meant for our enjoyment, not to make us work our brains after the work day is done. Again, football and baseball are completely opposite in terms of how the game is played, but to think that baseball does not require a little brain power and intelligence is absolutely ignorant. Is the build of the athlete different between the two sports different? Yes. Is the necessity to be able to make snap decisions and adjust to your opponent in a matter of seconds different? No. Not one bit. Baseball is just as much of a sport as anything else and it deserves the same attention.

Baseball may never get back to the top of the sports world. It breaks my heart to see empty seats at the ballparks and see that MLB web gems are playing second fiddle to LeBron James dunks in the "Top 10 Plays". But that is the way American culture has shifted. We have moved more towards physicality rather than mentality and that's what makes this so hard to deal with. Baseball was once America's sport, I hope that some day it can earn that title again.