Yeah,
that’s right, it’s over. Did you watch? Did you even know
it was on? Do you even care? Surprisingly, to me it seems
that most people don’t care. Ratings for this year's World Series
were as poor as ever and I want to know why.
The World Series talk may be all over ESPN and the other sports
outlets, but around here you don’t hear too much about it. It’s
not like there is a shortage of stories to follow. Neither of
New York’s high priced franchises were a part, but two teams that
nearly everyone wrote off were.
You have Detroit, the Cinderella of baseball, this year. A team
that at the beginning of the year no one thought even had a chance at
making the playoffs, much less the World Series.
Then you have the Cardinals who ran into the buzz saw that was the ’04
Red Sox last time they were in the series. They turned this year's
classic into their own, only after limping into the postseason.
And of course the series featured the most feared hitter in baseball,
Albert Pujols, who had a solid postseason.
There was even a little controversy mixed in, or maybe I should say
dabbed onto, the hand of Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers, who has been a
story in himself. Well, besides that whole pine tar issue.
The guy had some of the worst stats for any pitcher in postseason
history, but comes in this postseason at 41 and dominates to the tune
of 23 innings without allowing a single run. I guess the Tigers
could have used a little more of his magic, or whatever that was on his
hand.
The stories are there, and you can’t tell me that there are no baseball
fans in this area. With East Carolina, the Carolina League
champion Kinston Indians, great high school baseball and a baseball
tradition that boasts some pretty famous names, this area is rich not
only with baseball fans, but with baseball tradition.
So, baseball fans, where are you? Would you rather have watched
the
Yankees? Does it take a so-called major market team to get you to
watch, or do you just tune out when your team is eliminated?
Don’t get me wrong, I get it. It’s football season. Long
gone are the days of “America’s Pastime”. I think few would
disagree that it’s football that has supplanted “the ole ball game” as
America’s favorite sport. With East Carolina playing well, the
Panthers, and the recent success of the Carolina Hurricanes, you can
see how baseball, even the playoffs, can get lost in the shuffle.
My question: Will baseball ever come back? Have we seen the
sport collectively peak and start on a downward path, never to
return? Or will baseball someday once again be considered
America’s favorite spectator sport? With no salary cap, I say
no. Allowing teams like the Yankees to buy their lineup (although
it hasn’t panned out recently) is hurting the game. Bud Selig
and company should take a hard look at how the sport is run
during the offseason. But what do you think? Can baseball make a
comeback? Do you even care? We want to hear from you.
Feel free to send your response to the email address posted below, or
call our listener line at 439-3281 to make your opinions heard today.
