Here's what I don't understand: when they compare things to 30 years ago, how about in addition to the length of games, we talk about the fact that total attendance at baseball games in 1984 was 45 million and in 2013 was 74 million. Or how baseball revenues have grown exponentially. Or how in addition to live attendance, MLB is in front of every other major sport in online delivery and that MLB Advanced Media rakes in dough from the MLB at bat app? Or that teams are setting record after record in local TV rights deals?
Why are we drawing conclusions and making major changes to the game based on World Series rating declines? The game is HEALTHY. It's maybe never been healthier. So what if a couple million less people watch the World Series because they think baseball games last too long?
Compare football and basketball. They're longer too. A football game is longer than a baseball game now.
