The MLB is not well known for its ability to market stars. It doesn’t know how to make the excitement of the current youth movement of players and turn that into something that sells tickets. That much is clear, considering that MLB attendance was down 4% this season from last, dipping below the 70 million mark, and giving rise to much pearl-clutching about how the sport is dying.
But baseball isn’t dying. It has become more vital and filled with youthful vigor than ever before, and that’s something that the old guard hasn’t know how to deal with up until now.