“Take me out to the ballgame.” It is a song that most Americans have heard at least once in their lifetime. But it would seem that less and less Americans actually would like to be taken to a ballgame, or watch one on T.V.
Baseball has long been known as ‘America’s pastime,’ but now it could be considered America’s past time. The NFL is now the most popular sport in America, with baseball coming in second. In a recent poll by ESPN’s SportsNation, football was the most popular sport, bringing in more than 28% of the first place votes. While baseball had 19% of the first place votes, the second highest amount, it finished in 5th place out of 12 sports, also finishing behind college football, college basketball and the NBA.
I remember this last October watching the final game of the World Series. The game fell on a Sunday and I was switching back and forth between the game and a regular season NFL game. I later looked up on the internet the ratings of both contests. The NFL regular season game had 16.7 million viewers, compared to the 15.5 million viewers of the championship game in baseball.
There are a few reasons why I think baseball has lost its pedestal. The pace of the game, low scoring and unwavering from tradition.
“I think, because it’s a slower sport, and people like more fast, hard-hitting stuff, football gained popularity and kind of took over baseball,” said freshman Cameron Erickson, a lifelong San Francisco Giants fan. "So, I guess baseball fans went to football, which lost baseball’s popularity a little bit. It’s not as violent, I guess you could say, like something like football and nowadays people like violence and action.”
There is no time limit in a baseball game. Players are slow to get to the plate and can take time if they need it. A string of foul balls can prolong any at-bat. After every half inning, the players switch from the field to batting, which takes time for players to get into the dugout and the others to get out onto the field. A lot of this can go with the lack of patience that has become more prevalent in society.
Secondly, baseball is often a low scoring affair. I have watched games that end with the score being 1-0. Some of these games even have to go into extra innings to get that run. For many, it is hard to get excited about lousy hitting and great defense, unless the pitcher is working on a perfect game. We want the touchdown, the slam dunk, the homerun. Even the interception, especially if it is returned for a touchdown. With baseball, if you get a hit three times out of 10, you are considered a great hitter.
The last reason, and perhaps the biggest reason that baseball has fallen from the top spot is its unwillingness to change from tradition. With the world continually moving forward, baseball has stood relatively still over the course of the past century and a half. With video technology, baseball is unwilling to use instant replay, unless they are determining if a ball was a home run. While most would not want a computer to call balls and strikes, more effort could be done to bring baseball up to speed with other sports and reduce errors in officiating.
Notwithstanding all of these factors, baseball is still a fantastic sport that requires a lot of skill to execute at a high level. There is a rich tradition and, with some patience, it can be thoroughly enjoyed by many more fans. It is also part of our country's image, part of our history. Here are some tips from baseball fans on how to better enjoy baseball.
Try going to a park," said sophomore Kyle McDermott. "Go watch the Ogden Raptors, because when you are actually there it is a totally different thing than just watching on T.V."
"I would encourage people to study the game, to really understand it," said Erickson. "Then they can see the beauty behind it and why it’s America’s pastime."
Baseball is ingrained in the American culture, and as you participate in it, it can be ingrained back into the heart of American again. Then, when you hear that iconic song, you can say with gusto, "I don't care if I never get back."
