Why Mlb Is No Longer Americas Top Sport

Major League Baseball is no longer "American's pastime." A major part of baseball's appeal had always been its uniqueness. Baseball's two leagues, unlike the divisions in the NBA and NFL, had previousy been more distinctive entities. At one time, the National League was known for its off-speed breaking ball pitching and different style of play than the American League. The National League emphasized more speed and "little ball," rather than home-run-powered "big innings." On the other hand, the American League's fastball pitching (along with the Designated Hitter), meant more power, and thus less manufacturing of runs, and less "little ball," than in the National League. Such diffences made the game more interesting. In addition, baseball's All Star game had always been one of its crown jewels, because this was the only time when players from different leagues would compete against each other, except during the World Series. That fact added to the drama of inter-league competiton. Moreover, baseball had a purer form of post-season competiton. A team either won its division, or it didn't make the post-season--no wild card options for anybody. Then, baseball misguidedly decided it could attract more fans by being like any other sport. Baseball implemented inter-league play, added a wildcard team for each league, and liberalized AL and NL trading, when, previously, inter-league trading had been restricted to certain periods of the season. Now, players of different hitting and pitching styles cross over so often that one league's style of play is essentially the same as the other. In addition, inter-league play has taken away from the All Star game and World Series, and wild cards dilute pennant races. Make no mistake about it, baseball is no longer "America's pastime," because it's lost the element that was largely responsible for its larger-than-life appeal in the first place: uniqueness.


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About the Author:
James Stewart writes reviews on various sports blogs In this piece of write up he highlights one of the upcoming sports betting blog named sprots.legendz.com that proves handy for guys who want information on top sports.