Are people not excited for the 2013 World Series?

By Brett Neal

Over the past 5 years I feel as though the MLB has been slowly losing its luster. As much as I hate to say it, baseball has been taken over by NFL football as America's past time. There are many contributing factors to this role switch. The majority of blame can be placed on Fantasy Football, which is like Heisenberg's blue meth to white collar America. Some people blame the length of the regular season, which arguably puts less emphasis on the importance of each game when your playing 162 of them each year. Another reason is the lack of household names. 

Guys like Jeter, Papi, Mariano, Cabrera, Rodriguez, Braun, Pujols,  Fielder; some will be around, but many are either on their way out, are have done something to tarnish the greatness they once held. As baseball history shows, this problem will fix itself, especially with so many youngsters making early debuts on MLB squads. Whatever the reason, baseball will just have to live with being the sport of "geezers". An article posted on Deadspin yesterday included this graph shown below of the median age of World Series viewers. If you graduated high school, you can tell that a significantly larger number of grandpappys are watching the world series than grade school students. I blame the MTV.

But how can the MLB fix this problem? First, I think both baseball affiliates and sports networks are doing a good job at promoting names of young star athletes who should have prominent roles on their respected clubs for many years to come. We've all heard of guys like Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, who have become the face of their organizations just after one full season in the Majors. This past year the world was introduced to Dodgers Cuban sensation Yasiel Puig, Rays Wil Myers, and the NL's rookie of the year, 20 year old right-hander Jose Fernandez from the Miami Marlins. More early-twenties phenoms are on the way. Soon these guys will be household names, and the younger generation will be drawn back in to watch exciting young talent in hopes that maybe one day they will follow suit.

Baseball has also made some revolutionary moves in the past year to rekindle the flame. Switching the Astros to the American League probably didn't seem like a big deal to MLB fans, as Bud Selig seemed to simply move a pile of dog shit to the other side of the yard, but the move did a little more in the broad scope of things. Switching the Houston club to the AL made both leagues amount to 15 teams each, meaning that inter-league play was going to happen throughout the regular season. For fans, this meant not having to wait every three years for your favorite team to play a high profile club like the Red Sox and Yankees, or the Giants and Cardinals. For the post-season, adding a one game playoff between Wild Card teams really brought new excitement for contenders. Seeing the Pittsburgh Pirates go from a club that hadn't had a winning record since before the Clinton Administration, to winning a one-game playoff against their division rival Cincinnati Reds, was straight out of a fairy tale.

Overall, this has been a pretty exciting post season compared to recent years. The fact that their actually could have been a Pirates - A's World Series would have been excellent for baseball in so many ways. This post season has also had tighter games than I remember, supported by the fact Detroit brought in their newly found "ace" Max  Scherzer in relief against the Oakland Athletics in game 4 of the ALDS. Scherzer was slated to start game 5, but would sacrifice the start to some bum named Verlander instead in order to secure a late game 4 victory. All aspects of the game have been highlighted by all teams this postseason; clutch hitting, nasty pitching, and spectacular, do-or-die defense.

Even though statistics show that overall viewership of baseball is steadily climbing back, why does it feel like nobody is watching the World Series? There is plenty to be excited about.

1) Cardinals get a chance at redemption from 2004 World Series sweep by Red Sox.

The last time St. Louis faced Boston in the World series was 9 seasons ago, St. Louis was swept in 4 games and was outscored 24-12. The only two players remaining on these teams from that abysmal series are David Ortiz and Yadier Molina, but the desire for revenge lives on in the hearts of the St. Louis faithful. Neither ball club has been out of the championship spot light for too long, as St. Louis is seeking their 3rd championship in 7 years, while Boston is looking to grab it's 3rd in 9 years. With the series knotted up at two games apiece, get ready for the rematch viewers deserve.

2) Terrorism no match for BostonStrong

The marathon bombings on April 15th gave a whole new meaning to Boston Massacre. Since then Boston has rallied behind it's prized sports teams who have provided a since of normalcy in a time of fear and chaos. A World Series Championship only 6 months from the attack would show the world how any act of terrorism can only keep a city and its people down for so long.

3) Old-balls get one more shot

Ortiz, Dempster, Lackey, Pedroia, Victorino, Gomes, Beltran, Holliday, Molina. These guys aren't getting any younger. Every player knows that each World Series appearance should be treated as their last.

4) Drafting and farm system > Names and money

This playoff series has proved that money can only get you so far in a season. Teams making the playoffs, other than the Dodgers and Tigers, spent most of the 2012 off-season as sellers, not buyers. Sure, each club has made deals in the off-season to bring in another bat or arm, and yes some players joined their playoff ball clubs at the trade deadline, but for the most part these teams are full of home grown boys. Boston made the decision to cut guys like Adrian Gonzales, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett. These spots were filled with guys trying to prove themselves; Mike Napoli, Daniel Nava, and Felix Dubront. St. Louis has been trying to fill the void since cutting Albert Pujols. Well, between the bats of 1st base duo Allan Craig and Mike Adams, I think St. Louis has finally moved on for good. St. Louis pitching staff alone is made up completely of players drafted and developed by their farm systems, featuring Adam Wainright, Michael Wacha, Shelby Miller, and Lance Lynn. Give credit to Ex-Cardinals GM Jeff Luhnow, who hopes to bring the same success to his new team, the Houston Astros.

5) Sweet beards

Yup.

7) You are an American

If you don't watch a single minute of the World Series, then you might as well move to Russia you commie.