Robert R. Rowley PS

But MLB faces headwinds that have been years in the making and forces that are outside its direct control. In 2002, nine million people between the ages of 7 and 17 played baseball in the U.S., according to the National Sporting Goods Association, an industry trade group.

By 2013, the most recent year for which data is available, that figure had dropped by more than 41%, to 5.3 million.

Likewise, youth softball participation declined from 5.4 million to 3.2 million over the same span. Other popular sports, including soccer and basketball, have suffered as youth sports participation in general has declined and become more specialized.

A pervasive emphasis on performance over mere fun and exercise has driven many children to focus exclusively on one sport from an early age, making it harder for all sports to attract casual participants. But the decline of baseball as a community sport has been especially precipitous.

Source: Why Children Are Abandoning Baseball – WSJ