Does anyone remember the time when baseball was a beloved American pastime?
Remember when collecting rookie cards was more important than saving allowance for a video game? How ‘bout the hot summer days when you’d go out of your way to find a naïve friend to trade with?
After all, how else would you explain the acquisition of an Ozzie Smith rookie card for Minnesota’s John Castino?
Even though pundits will lead us to believe in baseball’s growing popularity, the simple fact is they’re wrong. And for the record, please don’t bring attendance numbers to this debate, because they’re meaningless.
I’m talking about popularity where it counts, as in the youngsters who’ll inevitably be the fans of tomorrow, because this is where you’ll find the huge gap.
Back in the days, opening day was a legitimate reason to skip school, or at the very least, play sick and hope you were left alone with the thermometer. In case you’re wondering, a thermometer and a lamp will get you out of school, but only if you knew how long to hold it to the bulb.
Back in the days, my friends and I looked forward to the release of a new series of plain ol’ Topps’ cards. We were blown away by the release of an Upperdeck hologram, and we fell to the floor in laughter after seeing a certain Billy Ripken card.
The kids today don’t really give a damn about trading cards unless they’re linked to Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh, and that’s a damn shame!
Of course, there’s more to my argument than trading cards.
In truth, my attention was drawn to this topic by the overwhelming lack of interest in the World Baseball Classic, because the United States is out … and no one seems to care.
Though the WBC will officially conclude later this evening, I can’t help but ask how many people were really paying much attention to it in the first place? Were there any American’s who watched each game with the interest of a fan whose national pride was on the line?
In my opinion, this collective yawn of an event will never mean anything because Major League Baseball is no longer America’s pastime. Granted, I love the sport as much as I did when I was a child watching The Wizard of Oz doing back-flips, but am I wrong in saying those days are long gone?
To me, the problem doesn’t start and finish with a lack of preparation, though I’ll admit timing is part of the problem. Simply put, Major League Baseball is suffering from a lack of star power.
Outside of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and the blackballed Barry Bonds, there aren’t too many players who’ve successfully transitioned from MLB star to face of MLB, a la Cal Ripken, Jr. or Tony Gwynn. And for anyone who will criticize my placement of Bonds on said list, I guarantee more kids can identify him than someone like Ryan Howard or Albert Pujols (and rightfully so).
By comparison, this reminds me of the lull in talent during the NBA days after Michael Jordan, but before LeBron James. Yes, we had Kobe Bryant (Derek Jeter), but who the hell gave a damn about a boring guy like Tim Duncan (Ryan Howard)?
Need more? How many people cared about USA basketball before the “Redeem Team?”
Not for nothing, but if you ask me, baseball’s the one sport where national pride should actually mean something. It’s a sport where careers were shortened because athletes in their prime chose to fight for their country. And while I realize this held true across the sports landscape, few were impacted as much as Major League Baseball.
Yet thanks to a lack of star power and general disinterest, the WBC came and went without many people giving it much attention. We watched, we yawned, and we celebrated late inning heroics … but we did so in between viewings of more important programs, such as American Idol, 24, House, the NBA, March Madness, reruns of Family Guy and a lil’ PS3 action.
We heard they were eliminated and didn’t realize they were still playing, but I digress.
Now, in case you’re wondering, this piece is intentionally long and drawn out, because I honestly couldn’t think of a better way to illustrate MLB’s main problem.
No one wants to sit through nine scoreless innings (I’m a huge fan of the pitchers duel) in a landscape where the trendy MMA’s kickin’ ass and taking names. People want action, and they want it now, regardless of how mind-numbingly simple it is.
This is the main reason soccer will never be a popular professional sport in America, and is a huge problem when it comes to the MLB competing with the NFL or NBA.
So, while Major League Baseball will always hold a special place in my heart, I’ll admit there are major hurdles to jump if it ever wants to regain the level of popularity that once made it America’s pastime. In my opinion, this has to begin with star players doing everything in their power to reach the fans of tomorrow, because these kids haven’t been compelled to watch MLB like I was in the late ’80s, and that makes me sad.
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