Keep kids playing baseball

Where are all the baseball players? Last month, the Aspen Institute released a highly anticipated report on the state of youth sports in America. It isn’t pretty.

In 2000, there were nearly 8 million baseball players between the ages of 6 of 12 competing in Little League, Cal Ripken, AAU, Pony and other organized programs throughout the country.

In 2008, there were 4.4 million.

In 2016, 3.6 million.

In 2018? I am taking the under. I’ve visited with more than 75 youth baseball programs over the past three months and nearly every league is facing the same reality, "Enrollment is down."

This isn’t a trend; it’s downright scary for anyone who loves the game and wants to see it grow.

But why? Why are fewer kids playing baseball?