When San Diego hosts the All-Star Game on Tuesday, the first pitch will be a horsehide-wrapped paradox.
Is this a glittering showcase for a sport in decline? Look at TV viewership for Major League Baseball’s Midsummer Classic, which since 1980 has fallen 55 percent. The sport’s other marquee event, the World Series, now commands about one-eighth the audience of the Super Bowl.
“We still call it America’s pastime, but I’m not sure what that means any more,” said Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University’s Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture. “Maybe it’s America’s past.”
But here’s the flip side of the paradox: The All-Star Game plays a central role in strengthening bonds between the sport and its many fans.