Think Baseball Is Dying? Think Again

Ford Frick Award winner Tom Hamilton, left, and Baseball Hall of Fame Career Excellence Award winner Tom Boswell, right, speak to reporters during a news conference in Cooperstown, N.Y., Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Seth Wenig, AP)

For years, the narrative has been relentless: baseball is too slow, too old-fashioned, too far behind. But if you listen closely to the voices who’ve spent their lives with the game — voices like longtime columnist Tom Boswell and legendary broadcaster Tom Hamilton — a different story emerges. One of revival, not decline.

At a recent media availability, Boswell, a 2025 recipient of the BBWAA Career Excellence Award, reminded us why baseball still matters. “Football may be the most popular sport,” Boswell said, “but that doesn’t make it the best.” He pointed out that baseball has made a real comeback in recent years. “The changes in the rules, cutting the time of games by as much as they have — we’re taking the game back to where it was in terms of play during the 1960s and '80s. We’re back there.”

Boswell sees the game returning to a healthy, watchable pace — with scoring to match. “We're right about there with the healthy runs-per-game.” While strikeouts remain high, he noted, “Home runs are at a level where fans seem to like them. I think the game is on an upward path. Slow play was just a killer.”

He added a final prediction that cuts against the “baseball is dying” crowd: “I think you’ll see over the next 10 years that baseball is actually a rising sport.”

Tom Hamilton, the Ford C. Frick Award winner, echoed that perspective. Drawing on decades behind the mic, including covering two Game 7  in the World Series, Hamilton pointed to something more fundamental than ratings or social media: rhythm. “The difference is, baseball is everyday,” he said. “It doesn’t get caught up in ‘national pastime.’”

Critics may argue that baseball has lost its luster, but Hamilton doesn’t buy it. “That’s just not the case. I don’t know if our sport has been more popular all over the world. We live in a world where perception is reality.”

That last line might be the clearest truth. The perception is that baseball is fading. But the reality, backed by faster games, rising attendance in key markets, and surging youth participation, is that baseball is quietly — and steadily — regaining its place.