Yet another World Series has come and gone and I am left with the same question year after year. Who cares? I’ll tell you, no one. According to the Nielsen ratings, this was the least watched World Series ever. This makes me question baseball’s historic label as “America’s pastime.” America’s pastime, huh? Whose America is it? It’s not my generation’s pastime or even generations past. Now children don’t grow up fantasizing about hitting a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the ninth.
The face of baseball has changed over the centuries, and unfortunately not for the better. The class and grace of players like Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron and Ozzie Smith, has been replaced by the arrogance and selfishness of Barry Bonds, Kenny Rogers, and Rafael Palmeiro.
Who’s to blame for these open wounds that I enjoy tearing at so? Baseball. Just think about it. The history of baseball is rife with story after story of infamous conduct from players, coaches and owners.
“America’s pastime” is basically one big terminal scab that the sport just won’t let heal. The last positive moment baseball has enjoyed in the last 25 years was Cal Ripken Jr. surpassing Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games streak. If anyone else can think another I would love to hear it. It almost seems that baseball enjoys all the publicity it gets be it positive or negative. This masochistic attitude has been driving away future generations of fans for almost a quarter of a century.
It’s not just the players that are driving future fans away. It’s the game itself. My generation can barely sit down and watch an hour and a half movie let alone a four-hour baseball epic.
I know that all you baseball purists out there, all five of you, will say it’s the little nuances of the game that make it enjoyable and we just don’t understand. Well, they’re right we don’t understand and more importantly we don’t want to. I hate to say this but baseball is a thinking man’s game and unfortunately we don’t like to think.
Why do you think that football has long surpassed baseball as our REAL pastime. Are the athletes any better? No. Is it cleaner than baseball? No. What makes football so appealing to my generation and myself is the constant stimulus football provides on every snap of the ball.
These are only just a few reasons why baseball has taken its backseat in the sports pantheon to football and basketball. But all is not lost, Larry; it’s still better than hockey, for now.

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