While a gradually diminishing viewership among the younger generation may suggest otherwise, New York Yankees designated hitter, Alex Rodriguez believes baseball will once again regain the title of number one sport in five to ten years.
Despite the struggles on the field, which can undoubtedly be attributed to age, the soon to be 41-year-old of the Yankees, Alex Rodriguez has never lost a step in generating headlines off the field with the media, and in New York, a headline is as good as a hit, right?
Baseball fans, however, will rejoice upon learning that a man who was so frequently responsible for casting a dark cloud over the game, is now one using the platform that he has been afforded to shine light on the future. In a recent interview, a man once so affectionately referred to as “A-Rod” offered his thoughts on where he thinks the game is headed:
"“When I grew up, baseball was the No.1 sport.” I’m making a prediction that in the next 5-10 years we’re going to become No.1 again. I really feel that way. Already MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has made some incredible movement forward.”"
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Although Rodriguez didn’t provide much evidence to support his claim, it certainly isn’t inconceivable that the current state of the NFL, didn’t play some role in his thought process before drawing a conclusion. The NFL, which has seen its popularity explode in recent years, is facing a crisis that is now undeniable. With countless studies conducted revealing a direct link between playing football, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease primarily caused by repeated blows to the head, nobody can say for certain, if there will even be an NFL in five-to-ten years, and if there is, will it be a game resembling the ones found at local community centers, where flags are fastened around each competitors waist-line?
The influx of young talent in MLB, is yet another reason that Rodriguez’s lofty expectations for the game could eventually come to fruition. Players like Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Manny Machado, Carlos Correa, and Mookie Betts, to name a few, are already bonafide all-star’s. Each managing to achieve that status, before their 25th birthday’s. Even though Harper and Machado have the brash personalities which generally turn baseball traditionalist’s off, these would ideally be the players MLB should utilize in a marketing campaign with the intention of restoring interest to the aforementioned younger generation. After-all, it is these individuals, who will play a decisive role in regards to the position baseball finds itself in, ten years down the line.
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Given his past transgressions, everything Alex Rodriguez says is best to be taken with a grain of salt. While the majority of baseball purist surely don’t do much to hide their discontent for him, Rodriguez looks to have finally said something, they can collectively agree on.