I’m genuinely torn on Major League Baseball’s future.
On one hand, baseball is a revived product with high-scoring games, intense extra-inning battles and engaging pitching personalities that finish off the most intense matchups. I made the trip to Fenway Park on April 10, where I witnessed a feisty Boston Red Sox team close out a win in their four-game series versus the Toronto Blue Jays. While I only witnessed the final six innings due to the brutal Thursday 4 p.m. start time, I certainly caught the majority of the relevant action, as the teams brought a 2–2 game to extra innings, featuring heavy hitters such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and pitching talent like Aroldis Chapman.
While it was great to witness the star talent on a Thursday afternoon, the hesitancy of coaches to bring them out for all games makes me second-guess which game I buy tickets to. Similar to the Sox game I just attended, weekday matinées feel like the byproduct of owners wanting to list an extra game on the stat sheet at the end of the season. Players and coaches alike treat the game like another day at the office, quite literally swinging their way through the motions.
Just like the NBA, if I pass through the turnstiles of a ballpark such as Yankee Stadium, I want to see the likes of Judge, Stanton and Volpe on the grass, regardless of the game I attend. While other franchises may be less fortunate with acquiring star talent, they equally want their best players on the field at all times beyond the playoffs. To turn the pitch clock success into a more sustained popularity, the MLB needs to move on from “October Magic,” and, instead, mainstream media discussions on baseball need to last throughout the regular season.
Like the NBA, professional baseball could benefit from fewer regular-season games. With a league that earns much of its money from in-person attendance, a more flexible schedule could be introduced to ensure the star players are out on weekends when the sun is at its best and the weather is at its brightest.
If ownership is too scared of reducing the regular season schedule, at least make TV viewership more accessible to local audiences. If a New York Yankees fan watched every regular season game in their home market in 2025, they would not only have to pay for local TV through YES Network, but they would also have to splurge on Prime Video as well as the horrid product that is MLB on Apple TV.
Fortunately, MLB has acknowledged this problem, and the commissioner has alluded to a plan to bring back single TV platform coverage for all games after 2028. With the oldest fanbase of the four major sports, this move could pose a serious threat to younger fans’ interest. However, with the league hosting series in both Seoul and London, the league seems to be successfully tapping into new fans across the globe.
I have had a shaky relationship with baseball throughout my life, but if MLB can bring personalities like Shohei Ohtani, intense plays at the plate and 450 dead-center homers, then the league has a chance at captivating a young audience towards the sport. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has a critical task ahead of him within the next five years, which is certainly crucial to baseball’s viewership.
