Yes, all the stories and you've heard and conversations you've eavsed dropped on are true. Baseball is a dying game and it is up to us to save it.
For more than a century, baseball was America's national pastime. The image of neighborhood kids running to the nearest sandlot on a Saturday morning was still a reality just a few short years ago. Presently, you'd be lucky if your brothers Little League team had enough players to field a full roster.
You, me and baseball-lovers alike are responsible for fixing this modern day dilemma from becoming ultimately irrevocable. But how can we do it? Here are the top five ways to make baseball fun again:
1. Lose the feelings
Anytime you attend a MLB game, it is guaranteed players from opposing teams will be hugging and asking how the family is doing before the game. Outlaw it Major League baseball! Let us get back to the days of Nolan Ryan slugging it out with Robin Ventura on the mound or Jason Varitek shoving every ounce of Alex Rodriguez's pride right down his throat.
2. Instant Replay
This "technological advancement" was made to baseball in Sep. 2008. Comm. Selig thought he was swift by installing something the NFL had done decades before. All the rule change has done is extend game times and let fans grow more bored than they already were.
3. Lets Celebrate!
The fist pump, shooting the arrow, and yes, the bat flip. We as fans LOVE it when our favorite players make a big play and let us know about it. Baseball lifers have been outspoken on condemning players such as Bryce Harper and Jose Bautista for being to exuberant in their emotional displays. But hey, sorry Goose. I want to see a bat flipped into the first row!
4. Fan Experience
Attending a game has been the same awful experience for years. Overpaying for a sub-par seat. Getting stuck next to Greasy Greg who takes up his and your seat. Listening to the soccer mom behind you tell Mike Trout how handsome he is while spilling her $8 beer down your shirt. I know, not the greatest of times. Billionaire owners should change this for their beloved fans! Player meet-and-greets, apparel giveaways, and maybe an interactive player-fan Home Run Derby.
Sorry Commish but we would LOVE it.
5. Maybe the Talent has gone to far...
It is now impossible to see a team that doesn't have an ace or a bullpen full of burly men who throw 98+. The Harper's and Trout's of the world may have no issue with this but the other 99 percent of players do. Possibly moving the mound back... Or making the ball just a bit bigger... Just an idea Mr. Manfred.
The reality is that baseball may be fading but we don't have to let it go away so easily. Things can be done to make America's pastime a lifelong dream again instead of a pre-adolescent phase.
