Changes To Baseball May Leave "America's Pastime" Behind
In this issue, we discuss how baseball came to be known as "America's Pastime" and why this moniker may no longer be appropriate due to the recent rule changes.
IBWAA members love to write about baseball. So much so, we've decided to create our own newsletter about it! Subscribe to Here's the Pitch to expand your love of baseball, discover new voices, and support independent writing. Original content six days a week, straight to your inbox and straight from the hearts of baseball fans.
Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. . . The idea of baseball as the “National Pastime” or “America’s Pastime” was so entrenched in American culture by the late 1920s that in 1930, one of the first baseball simulation board games was released, designed by Clifford Van Beek and appropriately titled “National Pastime.” In this tabletop game, players selected cards corresponding to lineups of players, rolled dice to simulate plate appearances, and used number codes and charts to determine the game’s progression.
Though this game was only published once, it was a precursor to the American Professional Baseball Association (APBA) game company, which was created in 1951 by J. Richard Seitz and released a similar baseball simulation game. APBA later branched out into other sports and eventually spawned computer adaptations, all while competing with the ever-popular Strat-o-Matic games.
. . . The steady presence of the baseball season has kept the country going even through both World Wars. In 1942, with the United States having recently entered World War II, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt asking whether professional baseball should continue to operate. In what became known as the “Green Light Letter,” FDR wrote back and said that he believed baseball was necessary for the country’s morale and should keep going. In part because of his encouragement, the sport played on, further enhancing its reputation throughout wartime as “America’s Pastime.”
Leading Off
Baseball Has To Give Up Being Called “America’s Pastime”
By Mark Kolier
Isn’t it high time we stop referring to baseball as “America’s Pastime”? Baseball hasn’t been “America’s Pastime” for over 50 years. And while I am a baseball fan first and foremost, I do like football (and basketball, hockey, and tennis), and watch it all the time during the NFL and college football seasons. But I love baseball all year ‘round. Baseball is my personal pastime, but that’s a concept no longer shared by most Americans.
How did baseball come to be called “America’s Pastime”? Here are a few thoughts:
From Cigar Aficionado in 2017:
“…back in 1961, a Gallup Poll showed that people preferred baseball to football by a margin of 34 percent to 21 percent. By 1972, the numbers had flipped: people now favored rectangular warfare to baseball’s subdued charm, and nearly 50 years later, football is more dominant still, more than three times as popular as other sports. “Baseball is what we were,” wrote Mary McGrory, a Pulitzer winning columnist. “Football is what we’ve become.”
The Baseball Hall of Fame offers the following when it comes to describing why baseball has been called America’s Pastime seemingly forever:
“Often referred to as America's National Pastime, baseball has had a very active role in the shaping of this nation. From the Civil War to Civil Rights and all points in between and beyond, the game of baseball supports and reflects many aspects of American life, from culture to economics and technological advances.”
The Library of Congress notes that in fact baseball was referred to as the National Pastime before the Civil War.
“Amateur teams flourished in the northeastern United States, prompting the New York Mercury, in 1856, to declare baseball the ‘National Pastime.’ During and after the Civil War, soldiers spread the sport in every direction.”
For those of you scoring at home, the Civil War began 162 years ago. Any reference to the shaping of this nation is ancient at most, archaic at least. Being called a “Pastime” might have made sense when that’s what playing or watching a game of baseball provided. On rare days when people were not working, watching a baseball game was a way to pass the time. Pleasantly, of course. This is way back when baseball games were mostly played on weekend afternoons depending on the piety of the local community. In the early days of baseball, many towns operated on the “Never on a Sunday” premise and forbid baseball games to be played on the “Lord’s Day.”
Having its fans pass the time watching baseball is not and should not be what Major League Baseball desires and is a sure path to its irrelevancy. Fans don’t pay to go to games or subscribe to watch games to make the time pass! Fans want exciting and entertaining games in which the time seems to go too fast because they’re having such a good time. If you really think about it today, TikTok and Instagram (not to mention YouTube), are America’s Pastime, and that trend goes way beyond what’s happening in the United States.
The pitch clock rules instituted in this 2023 MLB season are a direct means of dispensing with the “America’s Pastime” description. Fans want more action per minute. For fans, it’s more engaging and more important to pay attention to the game moment-to-moment BECAUSE of the pitch clock. Now, you might miss something if you get up to go to the concession stand or restroom.
This is a major change for baseball which has relied on the notion of no clocks and no time limits for the grand old game (another tired and archaic description of baseball). In these past few seasons, we’ve seen the implementation of a runner on second base to start the 10th inning to shorten extra-inning games. And this year the pitch clock has led to MLB games being shorter by nearly 30 minutes, with just over 15 percent of the season having been played.
The NBA has a shot clock, the NFL a play clock, and both were implemented years ago to keep the games moving and to keep fan interest. MLB players are still adjusting to the new clock rules, yet it’s hard to find anyone that is longing for an extra half hour of wasted time. It’s no slight that the days of baseball being “America’s Pastime” are over, and the sport is in better shape to move forward as a result.
About the Author: Mark Kolier, along with his son Gordon, co-hosts a baseball podcast called “Almost Cooperstown.” He also has written baseball-related articles that can be accessed on Medium.com and now Substack.com. Check out his work on www.almostcooperstown.com
If a decision were based on medical considerations alone, tackle football would be banned at all levels. Because of the billions upon billions at stake, combined with the American public's fascination with violent action, that won't happen. Yes, baseball is no longer America's pastime, but it is still the best of pro sports, and better this season for the tweaks in place.