Baseball Participation and Interest is Declining. What to do with Former MLB Player Jeff Frye of the 'Save The Game' Initiative

Evan opens "The Issues of Sports" pointing out some reasons he sees why baseball has fallen in popularity. Evan points out the NFL has blown past MLB not to be caught, and that the NBA has more star power. Evan discusses the fact that an NBA star player has the ball more, or is at the center of play more than a MLB player, who while playing the field needs the ball hit to them, and cycles through batting order a few times a game. Baseball games don't have a clock, which can sometimes make for long games versus the other major team sports.

Evan discusses how this affects not just MLB and fan attendance, but youth baseball participation is in decline. Evan cites statistics from World Series Viewership from 2003 to 2021 to projecting into the future (Hint: not good). Evan cites a couple other statistics including the cost of MLB rights.

Former MLB 2nd basemen (92-01) Jeff Frye joins "The Issues of Sports" (10:03) to start the second segment and starts by discussing what "Save the Game" is all about. Jeff and Evan spend the next period discussing elements of play that Jeff thinks need to change to buck this downward trend, and why MLB is where it is. Jeff also describes to Evan the goal of Save The Game and how many signatures he's trying to get on the petition on "Save the Game" the website. He'd like to eventually, with his other cohorts, end up in Commissioner Rob Manfred's office. Ideally presenting to the commissioner as well as all 30 MLB team owners hoping to be a catalyst for change.

This episode is a material listen for any fan or former fan of MLB. Additionally, if you're a parent of a youth baseball player, or of a child considering playing, or even why your child decided not to play. An informative exploration from people who care about baseball.

Visit "Save The Game" at savethegameus.com