What Happened to Baseball?
By Ken Reed
I was handed free tickets to an NBA preseason game last night so I decided to go. The game was less than enthralling so I took a spin around the concourse as the second half dragged on. I wandered into a sports lounge on the club level and noticed a dozen or so HD monitors turned to various sporting events. A couple had the NBA preseason game that was being played in the arena. The rest were fairly evenly divided between the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals National League championship series and the Indianapolis Colts vs. San Diego Chargers Monday Night Football game. It wasn’t surprising that a sports lounge would have these games on. What was surprising was that there were 15-20 fans gathered around the NFL game and only two or three watching the playoff baseball game (even with two of the most storied MLB franchises playing).
I realize that nobody can say baseball is America’s national pastime these days without having a smirk on their face, but I didn’t realize that one of baseball’s league championship playoff games would take such a back seat to an early season football game between two of the smaller markets in the NFL.
As Jonathan Mahler recently wrote in The New York Times, “What happened — is happening — to our national pastime?” Is baseball still relevant?
Actually, I think Mahler is on to something when he suggests baseball is a game you follow and football is a game you watch. There always seems to be a baseball game on TV but NFL games are relatively rare occurrences. The NFL is much more appointment TV.
Moreover, our culture has evolved while baseball hasn’t. The phrase “national pastime” even sounds archaic. When asked to describe what images come to mind when he hears the phrase “national pastime,” broadcaster Bob Costas said,” It sounds like a guy sitting on a rocking chair on his porch listening to a game on the radio and maybe he’s whittling.”
We want more action today and in our multitasking society baseball just seems too slow. And unfortunately, it’s getting slower with the increasing time it takes to get a pitch called by the catcher and accepted by the pitcher, pitching changes ad nauseam, and batters constantly stepping out of the box to readjust the straps on their batting gloves. Football is loud, fast and violent while “baseball is quiet and slow,” says Daniel Okrent, the founding father of fantasy baseball.
I love baseball but I tend to follow it more through radio broadcasts while mowing the lawn and scanning box scores while eating my breakfast cereal than I do actually watching games. With football and basketball on the other hand, I’ll take more time to sit down and watch the action.
Apparently, I’m not alone. According to the Nielsen’s, the seven least-watched World Series have taken place the last eight years.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #22 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Rethinking Sports Fandom with Author Craig Calcaterra – We discuss Calcaterra’s new book “Rethinking Fandom: How to Beat the Sports-Industrial Complex at Its Own Game” and explore new ways to be a fan in the year 2022.
Listen on Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Anchor and others.
Follow on Facebook: @SportsForumPodcast
More Episodes on Apple Podcasts; Spotify; Google Podcasts; PocketCasts; & Anchor
Episode #21 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Chatting About a Broken Game With Baseball Writer Pedro Moura – Moura is a national baseball writer for Fox Sports. We discuss how and why the game of baseball is broken, what factors caused it, and offer a few thoughts on how to “fix” a great game.
Episode #20 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Coaching Youth and High School Sports Based On What’s Best for the Athlete’s Holistic Development – We chat with long-time youth, high school and college basketball coach Jim Huber.
Episode #19 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Capturing the Spirit of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League with Anika Orrock – We discuss the hoops AAGPFL women had to jump through to play the game they loved as well as the long-term impact and legacy they have in advancing sports opportunities for girls and women.
Episode #18 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Talking about the 50th Anniversary of Title IX and the Lia Thomas Controversy with Nancy Hogshead-Makar – Hogshead-Makar is a triple gold medalist in swimming, a civil rights attorney and CEO of Champion Women.
Episode #17 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Talking Sports With Legendary New York Times Sports Columnist Robert Lipsyte – We chat about Lipsyte’s amazing career and some of the athletes he covered.
Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
Books