Baseball on TV October 2016

Various people have observed that baseball is not as popular in this country as it once was with the game no longer being the undisputed national pastime, fewer young people following it at all,  and even the world series not  creating the interest it once did. I think they are probably right. 

People have suggested several reasons for a decline. They have said  games are longer and slower than they used to be.  The season is too long, and the interminable playoffs are far too long. Players are less likely to stay with one team.  The years of steroid-juiced arena baseball  caused some fans to lose interest and not come back.

I think there is another one at least for those who see games entirely or mainly on TV – the announcers. Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee  Reese  added flair, color, fun, and excitement to the games they covered.  Joe Morgan enhanced  the games he covered by giving viewers  an expert’s insights.  Contrast that with what we have seen during the playoffs and the start of the world series this year.  Listening to announcers  drone on continually and seemingly nearly exclusively  about pitch counts, placement of sliders, and how many seams the pitcher is gripping seems to me to be  a near surefire way to make a game come across as duller and less entertaining. Baseball is a great and fascinating game with things going on all the time all over,  but a person  wouldn’t know it from the way the post season is being covered on TV. 

  

There is only one Joe Morgan, and it surely would be impossible to duplicate Dizzy Dean, but it would be nice if the announcing were better and at least did not detract from the games.