Thursday, March 30, 2023

REFLECTING ON 'OPENING DAY' and STATE OF BASEBALLl

REFLECTING ON 'OPENING DAY' and BASEBALL

Even before the pandemic, baseball attendance was in a free fall

Baseball is not what it was.

Take for example just this week... Baseball's never been this  bad where two teams and four umpires could overlook that there were only two outs in an inning, not three, as players left the field . This happened  on March 26th in The game between the San Francisco GIANTS and Oakland A's. Long-time Giants announcer John Miller  said he's never seen this before in his long career 'and hope (he) never will again' . HERE Not one or two But 18 players and four umpires didn't  keep track of the outs and walked off the field  prematurely. It was someone in the media , reportedly, that noticed the miscarriage. Does this reflect a lack of interest or what- by players themselves on the brink of opening day?

 In an effort to improve the game,
'Baseball' HAS MADE IT WORSE. Baseball has greatly altered the  traditional game, changing rules that once gave managers and players more flexibility but not any more, perhaps one reason for the above seemingly indifference. No excuse for not paying better attention but a reflection on the  'new' game.

Then also Reliance on ANALYTICS has now all but removed the human element from the game, giving it a more generic quality. Teams are now almost interchangeable in many ways,  playing that same 'style' of 'computerized' baseball . One noted that the manager hardly matters anymore- also interchangeable. Robot umpires MAY BE next .


Is Nothing sacred anymore? The great game of baseball-' mom, America and apple pie'-  has allowed steroids and cheating to become acceptable, much like we see in much  of society today. It's true that baseball may not be as reflective of the current 'aggressive' society  as football and basketball, but there still was a large base of fans- but much of that base is dwindling due to these new digital ('artificial' if you will) changes and non-common -sense changes. Thought maybe baseball, at least, could be saved from 'wokeness,' if you will- which also includes politics entering baseball, e.g. the great All Star game move from Atlanta for 'racist' reasons later proven false and the result a $100 million loss to Atlabta businesses.


 Now they're greatly altering a proven sport that needed little, if any, changing. No surprise Baseball is losing  a lot of its older ,  traditional fans while not gaining  many  new ones.



Baseball is losing its old personality-and personalities- which once made it  stand out among sports. 
Today it's more about science, money and gambling than NATURAL competiton and human interest. In addition, 
It is becoming a foreign sport.  we welcome Japanese, Venezuelan and Korean and other foreign players  much at the expense of American kids who are now opting for football and basketball. Blacks were once synonymous with baseball but  Today Less than 6.7% of players are AfroAmericans and the great majority of players are immigrants.   (MLB saw its highest-ever Black representation IN 1981 at 18.7%, according to SABR.)


Maybe the current baseball  'boycott' will make powers that be rethink and bring baseball back to more of it what it once was- but more likely, with so many changes, including those in general society, it may be too late.  
most recent pre-pandemic stats



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