quote:Originally posted by getagoodpitchtohit:
And what about the future fan base?
Have said this before and been shouted down...
While we would like to think that it is obvious that baseball is simply a better game, that great baseball will always draw fans...IMO One of the major reasons that baseball has been top of the heap for the past 100 years is that baseball has been a rite of passage for our nations youth. Baseball has not only gotten first choice of athletes, but more than that it has been a rite of passage for generations. Through broad based community youth ball programs roughly 80% of a communities youth gets a solid shot at baseball/softball and the vast majority either continue to play or at the very least even if they float away carry some sort of fondness for it forward to the next generation. While it may be argued that many walk away unhappy due to a lack of success, IMO It is pretty clear looking at many of the poorly co-ordinated parents that many had limited succes and yet community ball is still high on the list of experiences they want their kids to have. In fact, high enough that they work tirelessly supporting ballparks and snackbars creating something uniquely american and singular in the youth sports world.
IMO, The implications for the breakdown of community ball spread far beyond your local little league field, far beyond the "quality of future players at a HS or a college level...if baseball passes from being a rite of passage for every family and every american child, to simply "one of many options", the chain that has sustained the priority position of baseball as america's game is in jeopardy, irregarless of the quality of play/players at a professional level. Every sport has it's magical players, part of what seperates baseball is that it is simply part of our familiy history. Less community players means less broadbased participation and as a result less future fans, and a smaller MLB fan base. Frankly I am floored that MLB has not made this connection and an effort to enhance and support community leagues just for this purpose alone. THis is real grass roots stuff. In many inner city communities this has already come to pass, and baseball is now "out of the loop". IMO same thing has begun to happen in the suburbs as community ball moves more and more to regional and national play.
44.