Read an article a few days ago regarding the decline in MLB attendance. Tried to find it via a Google search, and a whole slew of articles came up. This one seems to encapsulate the reasons pretty concisely:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndica...ouble.amp.html
Everything is walk, strikeout, home run. Boring as hell. The recently passed Bill Buckner, a great contact hitter without great power, would have difficulty catching on with a club now. The great Ichiro seems like he was from a completely diffferent era.
Where are the Rod Carews? The Rickey Hendersons? The Ozzie Smiths? It's always tempting to see life (and sports) through a gauzy haze of nostalgia. I'm a product of the mid 80s and early 90s when it comes to the formative years of sports fandom. In the basketball universe, that meant Magic v Bird and the heyday of Jordan.
Was basketball "better" then? No way, in my book. The artistry and versatility of LeBron James, Curry, Durant, Jokic and others is an evolutionary revelation.
But baseball was much better when stolen bases were still a factor, when the "hit and run" was still employed as a key strategy, and when starting pitchers usually lasted more than five innings.
I'm interested in hearing any arguments to the contrary...