Also published at Mind Pinball

Last night on Fox, Major League Baseball held one of its signature events, the All-Star Game, in St. Louis. After the first couple of innings, I stopped watching it.

This state of affairs would have been unimaginable years ago, when I was a child. When I was younger, it was baseball that ruled my sports kingdom. Today, that is no longer the case. Don't get me wrong, I still love the sport, but as I often say, it is no longer the national pastime and it is no longer my favorite sport. Why? Let me count the ways:

First, labor strife and the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. Baseball took a serious hit when the World Series was cancelled in the 1994 season. While the sport supposedly came back during Cal Ripken's run at Lou Gehrig's consecutive game streak, I'm sure it lost some fans that never really came back. I was one of those, though I kept track of the Orioles through Cal's streak and the two playoff seasons after it. And while I still follow the O's, it isn't with the same fervor that I did before that season.

Next, the steroid controversy. As a fan of the game, I'm a fan of Albert Pujols. I love watching Albert hit. Even though he isn't an Oriole, I am a fan of the player who may be the best all-around hitter in the game. However, as Pujols' stats pile up, the spectre of "is he or isn't he" in regards to use of performance enhancing drugs keeps being whispered about  him. Now, I am willing to give Albert the benefit of the doubt, but the whole question of steroids, coupled with the report of the people who were caught using now means that anyone is automatically eyed suspiciously. This too, robbed the game of some of its joy.

Third, the rise of the NFL. Anyone who follows sports will admit that the NFL is king of the sports leagues right now. Proof, at least for me, are the many complaints I've been hearing about how many fans cannot wait for the football season to begin. Heck, a great many of them can't even wait for training camp. I don't get that same feeling when spring training comes around. Not to mention the many statements from people that baseball has become boring. It doesn't bore me, but that may be because I grew up with the game as my favorite sport. Yet it is easy to see how people can feel that way. With the length of games and the stretches where there seems to be nothing going on, baseball requires patience to watch. But football (when allowing for television breaks) has lots of action, and it has become a year-round sport, so much so that even the off-season can be entertaining-the combine, the draft, OTA's, contract signings, the free agency period, etc. whets the fan's appetite for the season to come. Baseball's hot stove just doesn't compare.

Last, and it pains me to say this, the recent struggles of the Orioles. It's hard to stay interested in baseball if your team isn't winning, or at least in the hunt for the postseason. For the Orioles, it has been eleven (and possibly twelve) consecutive losing seasons. The franchise's last playoff appearance was in 1997. I'm thankful that I'm old enough to remember when the Orioles were good, and actually saw them win a World Series. But as year after year the losses piled up, and the club became mismanaged (in my opinion), it became harder and harder to stay interested in the game. Yet, because I root for the locals, I'll always love the Orioles. But the sport itself has fallen below football in the pecking order.

I'm still a baseball fan. I'll always be a baseball fan. It's the game I grew up loving so I'll never let it go. It just isn't my favorite sport anymore.

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mindpinball

 

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written by MyLobotomy, July 15, 2009

Great Blog. I didn't even turn on the TV last night. The sorry owners here in Denver and steriods have tured me sour on MLB. You are a bit more forgiving. Baseball has run out of chances with me. I may go to a Rockies game this summer, but I'll be watching the ladies not the game.

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written by Falling Man, July 15, 2009

Good blog man.

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