I see the boys of summer in their ruin

This topic has 4 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 1 month ago by Audie.

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January 20, 2022 at 12:56 am #254032
Audie
On Baseball: MLB work stoppage in 2022 increasingly likely

A work stoppage at the start of spring training 2022 seems increasingly likely after baseball players refused to negotiate with owners over a one-month delay for this spring training and regular season.

The breakdown Monday came after the sides were unable to reach a deal last June over the start of the pandemic-shortened 2021 season, although they did work out an opening-day agreement for expanded 2020 playoffs.
January 20, 2022 at 8:23 am #254039
Legatus_Legionis
As much as they call this “America’s past time”, I never saw its allure.

A sport where they have a starting wage of $570,500

And that is for 50-100 games per year on average (according to google).

I have never been to an MLB game.

I have never watched an MLB game.

I had seen some game highlights, and did not care for them.

Will I miss something I don’t care about?

NO.

And that is part of MLB’s problem.

Too many people just no longer care about the MLB.
January 20, 2022 at 9:12 am #254041
AbsentEmpathy
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The games, long ago, became too expensive to attend for a lot of people. While the tickets could be found cheaply, you ran in to prices such as 15$ for a basic hot dog and things like that. For the “classic family outing” of yester-year, the costs became prohibitively high for many. I think this is part of what has caused “America’s Game” to lose the “lustre” it once had.

Minor league baseball and College level has replaced the professional scene for many simply due to costs (tickets can be had cheaply and the food tends to be cheaper as well which can be important when you are talking about a multi-hour sports event).

Add on to this where you have certain franchises willing to pay any cost to win (IE: Yankees went well beyond salary cap limits and simply paid the league fines) and you also have some problems with balance in the league. It has kind of led to people drifting away from the game over time.
January 20, 2022 at 11:13 am #254049
Legatus_Legionis
I would add that as it is not a gate driven league (its TV deals easily covers any loss in ticket sales to see the game in-person), those who run the leagues/TV have made it into a TV show only.

And with so many channels and shows available to watch (be it cable, satellite or streaming), it is not a priority to many people.

IF your “team” is always near sell-out, then watching on TV is it.

But when your stadiums are near EMPTY all the time, it is no longer an “EVENT”.

It is no longer MUST SEE.

And like so many sport leagues/franchises, it is no longer accessible/affordable to the masses.

It has been ‘BIG BUSINESS’, with BIG EROs, and anti-fan messages have been many, and turn fans off.
March 13, 2022 at 2:38 pm #259778
Audie
I was much more of a fan when I was a kid.

One thing they did wrong was to stop showing games on normal TV. That’s also one thing the NFL has done right so far, keeping almost all of their games on regular TV channels, so more people can watch them.

Going down a bit of a rabbit hole, I’ve wondered what would happen if there was a big push to popularize rugby in the US. Soccer has had a bit of success, but I really don’t think it’ll ever be all that popular. Rugby, though, I think it could succeed here.

I wonder about that, because it would be a rival to baseball, and maybe that’s what MLB needs, a rival.
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I see the boys of summer in their ruin

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