Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories

As baseball’s attendance and TV audience decline, its grassroots popularity is booming, study finds

Reports of the national pastime's coming demise may be exaggerated.

A boy bats during baseball practice at the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2018.
A boy bats during baseball practice at the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2018.
ISSAM AHMED/AFP/Getty Images

Spring training for the 2019 Major League Baseball season opens today. Baseball is coming off a rough year, with declining TV ratings and its lowest attendance since 2003. But reports of the national pastime’s coming demise may be exaggerated: A new study finds that participation in the sport at the grassroots level is surging.

Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

Related Topics

Latest Episodes

View All Shows
  • Marketplace Tech
    43 minutes ago
    11:03
  • Marketplace
    12 hours ago
    25:19
  • Make Me Smart
    18 hours ago
    19:00
  • Marketplace Morning Report
    20 hours ago
    6:55
  • This Is Uncomfortable
    3 days ago
    56:05
  • Million Bazillion
    24 days ago
    32:45