Fox is not trying to attract us old farts. They are trying to attract younger viewers. Not much different than other sports nowadays.
I don't bet on games, but you have to be kidding yourself if you don't realize that a good chunk of the NFL's success relative to MLB over the last 50 years is tied to football betting being common. Lines on football games are meaningful and were in papers in the 70s and 80s. Everyone bets the Super Bowl. This was also key to March Madness becoming bigger than the NBA finals (doing your bracket). While baseball has a number of bettable props and events, always has, there's nothing that compares well to a point spread. MLB is trying to find a way to keep people watching and involved.
