The Yankees haven't been relevant for the most part since The Boss died.
Viewing Habits Suggests Soccer's Rise. Baseball's Decline.
- Thread starter Althetuna
- Start date
Baseball is never going to be as "star-driven" in the moment as it is in hindsight.
Great as Babe Ruth and Ted Williams were, they only get so many balls hit to them in the field and they can only take at most 1/9th of the bats for their teams. Pitchers aren't going to pitch more than 20% (and more like 10% or 15%) of the innings their team has in a given season. Baseball has this absolutely weird combination of being a stunningly individual sport in the plays made but an incredible team sport regarding the outcome of games.
Football and basketball are the opposite -- they are incredibly biased towards stars given the structure of the game. LeBron can touch the ball on every possession, and Brady or Mahomes take every snap.
The heroic individualism of baseball lore is fun, but it is not reflective of the day-to-day nature of the sport.
Great as Babe Ruth and Ted Williams were, they only get so many balls hit to them in the field and they can only take at most 1/9th of the bats for their teams. Pitchers aren't going to pitch more than 20% (and more like 10% or 15%) of the innings their team has in a given season. Baseball has this absolutely weird combination of being a stunningly individual sport in the plays made but an incredible team sport regarding the outcome of games.
Football and basketball are the opposite -- they are incredibly biased towards stars given the structure of the game. LeBron can touch the ball on every possession, and Brady or Mahomes take every snap.
The heroic individualism of baseball lore is fun, but it is not reflective of the day-to-day nature of the sport.
That's the problem. You ask a kid today who their favorite baseball player is, the majority won't have any idea. You ask who their favorite football player is, they will almost assuredly have one. Say what you want but that's how you grow a sport, you start them young. To do that, you market your stars and baseball does a piss poor job of it. Mike Trout is one the greatest baseball talents in the last 50 years and a VAST majority of kids don't have a damn clue who he even is. I get he plays on a bad team but he's in still in a major market. That's a problem. A big problem.
I've talked to some soccer people, and they've told me athleticism isn't what holds the U.S. national team or American players trying to make it in Europe back. If anything, in most international tournaments, the Americans are going to be some of the fastest, strongest, and most athletic squads on the pitch.
The issue is skill and experience. Europe, Latin American countries, and the rest of the world just have more kids getting more touches from an earlier age, which turns into a cumulative benefit by the time they are young adults and ready to start playing competitively. It's a "cultural" thing we simply lack.
Plus, they told me that bringing in the elite athletes from more traditionally American sports (football, basketball, etc.) wouldn't really help. Soccer is about skill but it's also a form of distance running, and the height, strength, and bulk you need to play "American" sports can be more of a hindrance there than help.
There's a reason Lionel Messi is 5'7" and 160 pounds. He (and the other players of the same slight build as him) are obviously in great shape and incredibly strong for their size, but they are still small because that is the most efficient way to play 90 minutes. Extra height and bulk would just drag you down.
I always find it funny when someone says "what's so exciting about watching a soccer game that ends 1-0," while at the same time, they'd gladly watch a 6 hour baseball game that is 0-0 going into the 15th inning.
Another thing that other countries have are academies directly apart of the largest clubs in the world. For example, a 6 year old can be scouted by a club like Real Madrid and signed into playing for their academy, where they are coached by some of the best coaches out there in hopes that one day, that kid will be good enough to play for the senior team when they're around 18. You don't see that in America to that extent.
Then you very well may have been in a neighboring town as me, or the Willie Nelson avatar guy.
The solution for baseball is simple for me. Once the batter enters the batter's box, he can't leave unless he is injured. No more taking 30 seconds to adjust your gloves and look for a sign. Knowing when to bunt, etc should be done in practice and meetings, not in-game. Add a pitch clock and the game will speed up immensely. You could also make a rule making too many foul balls an out. There are a ton of things they could do, but they hold tight to tradition a little too much.
This is true for most of the world but not in the US. Poor kids in the US aren't playing soccer. It is a suburban sport and like baseball, volleyball, basketball, parents needs to fork out thousands of dollars for traveling teams. It is so damn stupid.
MLB blackout rules are a huge part of the problem, IMO. I pay for MLB.tv because I cheer for a team that is not one of the six we're "local" to. However, whenever my team plays one of those teams, I am blacked out, so I don't get to see those games. I would happily pay more to see every single game. MLB could make more money if they'd lift the blackout restrictions.
The Ice Hockey shop here in Des Moines has 1/4 of their store dedicated to lacrosse gear. My wife has family in the Kansas City-area that play lacrosse at their high school - I think it's still a club level.
Legitimate gripes.
My chief complaints would be:
- Emphasis on K's and home runs, hence, roided up guys who can't play fundamental defense or small ball.
- The season is too long. 150 game seasons that end before snowfall would benefit players AND fans.
- Lack of day baseball. Baseball, especially postseason, needs sunshine. March Madness during business hours works. So should baseball.
Same boat here. My son loves soccer and it's by far his best sport. He's 10 so I don't want to make him pick... West Des Moines youth baseball blows. We did one year in the Racoon Valley LL and it was awful. The Open Baseball League through Sportsplex West is lucky to have two or three teams. That basically leaves the Styx league and closed teams. Youth sports are fu**ed.
Pretty sure the first time I smoked pot was at an acreage somewhere around Lake Mills. Grew up atleast an hour from there though. That was a hell of night.
Let me start by saying I find baseball boring as hell. I like going to games a couple times a year, but would never watch more than a batter or two on TV.
I've said this before comparing soccer to other sports. It's not a knock on soccer, it's just the way it is. Since we are talking baseball vs. soccer, I"ll go that way this time. Every pitch can be a potential score in baseball. So yeah, it may take a bit of time to get that pitch thrown, but there is the anticipation there that something big could happen with it.
To the casual viewer, soccer has a lot of the time spent, seemingly not trying to score or even move the ball forward. It is definitely a more nuanced sport compared to most American professional level sports. That big play like a Home Run or bases clearing double, etc. really doesn't exist. From my experience, that's what matters to Americans.
I don't really watch either Baseball or Soccer, but I suppose if I was being forced to watch one full game, it probably would be soccer. Baseball just has way too much down time for me that has absolutely nothing to do with actually playing the game.
I went to Valley in the early 2000s and they would have +120 kids try out for the baseball teams. That would spark some attrition of JV or varsity bench players transferring to neighboring suburbs for playing time. I'm curious if that's still an issue given the decline in popularity and also how large Johnston, Waukee, Ankeny, etc are now.
