Agree that back in the day, recreational options were much simpler. Going to the local park with 10 guys from your school/neighborhood and playing ball all day was what we did. Baseball (at least through the 60's) was the top sport in the country.
Now Baseball has fallen behind Football and Basketball and there are way more things for kids to do. From what I've seen today, the kids that are heavily engaged in Baseball (whether as a player or as a fan) are those that have had a heavy influence from Dad. The problem with this approach is that not all Dads have the time to give to plant the seed about Baseball. The ones that do, like most of us, do see the results.