SOBAN FAISAL
Special to The Leader
COVID-19 has hit every sporting event in very negative ways.
The National Football League is losing roughly 7 percent of its TV viewership from last year.
The National Basketball Association has seen a tremendous fall in postseason viewership with a whopping 49 percent.
But what about America’s favorite pastime?
Major League Baseball has been losing viewership since 2007.
Even the last World Series dropped 32 percent since the previous World Series.
What is going to happen with a full season of the coronavirus?
Like the NFL and NBA, MLB expects to host fans still, but with fewer of them and separated.
MLB expects to lose roughly $4 billion this year alone. By themselves, the New York Yankees have lost about $312 million. For comparison, the Las Vegas Raiders had $383 million in revenue in 2019.
While most sports create more rules to help scoring increase to bring in more fans, the MLB has done the opposite.
MLB’s age demographics are very concerning; 19 percent of 65+ people are avid fans while only 16 percent are 18-34 years old.
What will continue bringing in fans is seeing star players such as the 6-foot-7, 288-pound outfielder, Aaron Judge and his monster home runs.
Even with all this unknown, the fans still are excited about this season.
Dominick Roman is a junior computer science major at SUNY Fredonia. He’s been watching the MLB since he was 8 years old and is a huge New York Yankees fan.
Roman said, “These pitchers are getting better and better. You have guys like Gerrit Cole — legends being made in front of our eyes. It’s so amazing to watch.”
Emma Pumford is not as big of a baseball fan as Roman, however she still roots for the New York Mets whenever the season pulls around.
Pumford only watches baseball with friends, but loves watching Jacob deGrom throw lasers.
Even with this drop in popularity, avid fans will always like baseball for what it is truly about. It is about the nuances and the little things that go into every play.
COVID may be causing all four major sports to lose revenue. It has helped the MLB in facets that they have been struggling with for a while, though.
MLB is known for not having enough female viewers or young viewers.
However, during COVID, the number of viewers between 18 and 34 has increased 69 percent, and female viewers between 18-34 has increased 83 percent.
MLB may be able to use this newfound young audience to get back to becoming America’s favorite sport.