Baseball Ratings Up

[Stilger]

Baseball ratings (http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-penner25may25,1,1974133.column?coll=la-headlines-sports)

Can baseball keep this up, and has the sport passed Basketball to become the number two sport in the country?


On Fox Sports Net, baseball's average rating of 3.9 this season is higher than the 2003-04 regular-season ratings for the NBA (2.5) and NHL (1.1) combined.

And to tie it to soccer, what would a boom in baseball popularity mean for MLS? I know some people think the two compete.

[Andy_B]

Can baseball keep this up, and has the sport passed Basketball to become the number two sport in the country?

I am not sure basketball was ever the #2 sport in the country.

If you are going by ratings alone, NASCAR is higher than any team sport outside of the NFL.

If you are talking about the sport as a whole (national tv numbers, local tv numbers, local radio, and attendance), you would be hard pressed to find any numbers that support the the NBA was ever ahead of MLB.

I always find it amazing how many people on Big Soccer look at soccer attendances and then fail to realize how extrodinary MLB attendance is. 60 million people and a ~30k is down right incredible when you think of the amount of games and more specifically the amount of games played midweek and sometimes midday during the week.

Andy

[kenntomasch]

Baseball ratings (http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-penner25may25,1,1974133.column?coll=la-headlines-sports)

Can baseball keep this up, and has the sport passed Basketball to become the number two sport in the country?

Baseball has been number two for a long time. This is more baseball rebounding from the 1994 strike to get back to where it was ten years ago.


And to tie it to soccer, what would a boom in baseball popularity mean for MLS? I know some people think the two compete.

Some people are stupid. A boom in baseball popularity would mean more people would go to baseball games.

[Stilger]

I got the impression on Baseball from the mountain of bad press and chicken littles it has had over the last ten years. I was under the impression its ratings and revenue had fallen behind the NBA.

Of course other then casually following the Lakers I don't follow basketball much.

But I'm glad to know Baseball's place seems to be safe. Aside from the tyrannical commissioner and spoiled players I really enjoy the game, and hope it continues to grow.

[okcomputer]

i guess many people like being bored. Last year I went to an Orioles game and I couldnt believe how slow the game was. From what I noticed few people even watch the game they just go there to eat hot dogs and drink beer.

[655321]

i guess many people like being bored. Last year I went to an Orioles game and I couldnt believe how slow the game was. From what I noticed few people even watch the game they just go there to eat hot dogs and drink beer.

That says more about the Orioles, though :)

I'm honestly not here to start a baseball V soccer argument, but your point is the same one used by non-soccer fans against the world's sport. Both games are, more often than not, only really exciting once you learn the nuances and truly understand how the game is played. A few times a game, and more on somewhat more rare occasions, it gets balls out enjoyable, but normally you need to know what to look out for. Baseball is no different. I remember a column on ESPN.com last year discussing this, does anyone remember it or have a link to it?

The ratings are up this year due to last years playoffs, more than anything. The media romanticized the Cubs and Red Sox play off runs, the A's / Red Sox series was just unbelievably exciting, and of course the Red Sox / Yankees championship series will always be big news. Unless something big happens soon (only established fans care about Randy Johnson's perfect game for longer than ten minutes), I expect the ratings will go back to where they were.

[AndyMead]

I always find it amazing how many people on Big Soccer look at soccer attendances and then fail to realize how extrodinary MLB attendance is. 60 million people and a ~30k is down right incredible when you think of the amount of games and more specifically the amount of games played midweek and sometimes midday during the week.

Andy

Which drives me nuts when the MLS attendance excuses start. We're patting ourselves on the back for 17k and complaining about youth leagues, hot days, holidays, you name it when a 9k Saturday crowd happens, yet I can open any Monday newspaper and find Sunday afternoon baseball games played in 3 1/2 hours of hot sun with an attendance of 25,000 when fans had the choice of a cooler Friday and Saturday night game instead.

[kenntomasch]

Which drives me nuts when the MLS attendance excuses start. We're patting ourselves on the back for 17k and complaining about youth leagues, hot days, holidays, you name it when a 9k Saturday crowd happens, yet I can open any Monday newspaper and find Sunday afternoon baseball games played in 3 1/2 hours of hot sun with an attendance of 25,000 when fans had the choice of a cooler Friday and Saturday night game instead.

Huh. I wonder why that is.

I think our sport is more susceptible to those things if for no other reason than we have a much smaller pool of potential customers from which to draw. That, and people will endure much worse conditions to sit through a baseball game (even if you won't - this is a soccer board, after all) than they will for a soccer game.

Not that there aren't some pretty bogus excuses out there for why certain games don't draw what "the majority" think they should, but, get real. Baseball's at least twice and maybe more popular as a spectator sport than professional soccer is.

Ever had a couple extra tickets for a soccer game, and called around to try to find someone to take them? I have. Even among guys who play in my men's league - hard to find takers. Ever had a couple extras and put out an email in your office to see who wants them? How long does it take?

Ever try the same with baseball tickets? Doesn't have to be the Cubs or some other team for which tickets are relatively scarce - it can be your local minor league team. Someone says "Hey, I have a couple extra for the ballgame tomorrow night, you want 'em?" and you usually have no problem giving them away. Soccer's a different story.

Unless I'm incorrectly reading what you've written, you seem to be saying that you can't believe we can't get good numbers when baseball can get good numbers despite conditions. And I can't believe you can't believe that.

[Andy_B]

Unless I'm incorrectly reading what you've written, you seem to be saying that you can't believe we can't get good numbers when baseball can get good numbers despite conditions. And I can't believe you can't believe that.

Has the room stopped spinning yet :)

Andy

[AndyMead]

Has the room stopped spinning yet :)

Andy

No.

[Achtung]

Some good points in here, but in the end when it comes down to it, MLS doesn't need to try to "compete" with the other sports. It just needs to market the league and the sport the best way possible, and hopefully that will result in stability down the road. If we have a commissioner and owners who have the right vision for growing the game, things will be fine. That's exactly what allowed baseball, football, and basketball to grow in this country.