How MLB can make baseball relevant on a fast-changing internet

""KING BASEBALL, monarch of the American sport world, is sick," a New York Times story on the disappearance of amateur and small town sandlots begins. Hundreds of thousands of fans attended the opening games of the season, and star players are making bank in huge stadiums. "Nevertheless the critics say that his Royal Highness is indisposed." The story is from 1925. But it reads like it could have been published a hundred years later."

""Baseball is dying" is a perennial claim that feels like (literally) old news - but by the numbers there's truth to it. World Series viewership is far from its peak decades ago. Attendance at ballparks hasn't yet matched 2007 numbers. Even with viewership and attendance on the upswing, baseball is dwarfed by football, both in sheer audience numbers and in the American imagination."

"But MLB is going into the 2026 season with real momentum - the 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays was a certified hit. The final game of the series was the most-watched World Series game in eight years in the US, and it broke international viewership records."

Baseball has faced recurring claims of decline since at least 1925, with contemporary data supporting these concerns. World Series viewership remains below historical peaks, and ballpark attendance has not recovered to 2007 levels. Football now dominates American sports in both audience size and cultural significance. MLB has implemented changes to address these challenges, including pitch clocks to reduce game duration and automated ball-and-strike systems for 2026. However, the 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays reversed this trend, becoming the most-watched World Series game in eight years domestically and breaking international viewership records, generating significant social media engagement.

Read at The Verge