The Old, Old Ball Game

Amid the excitement of postseason play, it’s easy to see baseball as “the national pastime.” But evidence has cropped up throughout the season that interest in the big-league game is waning. A Harris Poll in the spring found the fan base getting older as younger people abandoned the game. Among 18-24-year-olds, 58 percent called themselves fans of Major League Baseball, vs. 66 percent in 2001. Among men, the figure was down 11 percent. “Even the diehard and avid fans began following the game less frequently this year.”