Average Age of MLB Fans is Terrible News for Baseball
Major League Baseball has consistently seemed light years behind the NBA and NFL in terms of marketing stars and the game in general. Now, the league is in danger of losing several generations of fans, based on all the fighting taking place just to agree on the parameters of a 2020 season.
One major problem the league faces is an aging fanbase, and this recent statistic should provide a wake-up call to MLB before it is too late.
The average age of MLB fans is 57. That’s up from 50 in 2000. A good way to slowly kill baseball is to make sure young people either can’t watch or don’t care. MLB does both exceptionally.
— Jason Foster (@ByJasonFoster) June 14, 2020
The average age of fans going up is a terrible sign for baseball. Add in a labor battle where owners look like comic book villains who seemingly want to play the least amount of baseball possible in 2020, and you're left with a very poor strategy to grow the game.
Anyway, if you doubt the numbers, here’s a story from 2017 that cites a study by the Sports Business Journal. Also: If you want to differentiate between “fans” and “TV viewers,” there might be some variation, but probably not much. https://t.co/kHC83kwfxj
— Jason Foster (@ByJasonFoster) June 14, 2020
The inability to market stars has become even more evident in today's world. Someone like Patrick Mahomes has made himself into one of the faces of the NFL thanks to his success on the field and the way he is shown off by the league. Meanwhile, Mike Trout is a legend of the game playing in relative obscurity when it comes to his popularity nationwide among all individuals -- and he's literally based in Los Angeles!
MLB needs to find a way to get younger people interested in the game. 2020 has already been a disaster for the league, and may be a sign of a slow but steady downfall if changes aren't made soon.