In a survey by Morning Consult published in September of 2020, just 53% of Gen Z respondents claimed to be at least casual sports fans, behind 69% of Millennials, 66% from Gen X and 61% of Boomers. Raised in an age of ever-present and seemingly boundless options for entertainment, Gen Z has alarmed the sports industry as a whole and baseball in particular with its waning interest. ”This content machine that is kind of going on all cylinders … that all probably either stops completely or is not anywhere near as active as it was,” said Mark Beal, an expert on Gen Z and an assistant professor in the Rutgers University School of Communication.įor Gen Z, he says, it’s ”out of sight, out of mind.”
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Suddenly, on social media, MLB doesn’t have any featuring stars like Shohei Ohtani or Fernando Tatis Jr. Fan sentiment in previous stoppages was driven primarily by interruptions to the schedule, but for a generation that devours bite-sized entertainment faster than its predecessors, there’s potential for lasting damage even if the 2022 regular season starts on time.įor Gen Z, it’s all about the content.
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Gen Z – loosely defined as those born between 19 – has never experienced a baseball lockout or strike.
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It could be the last post featuring a big league player sent to the account’s 4.8 million followers for months, a curveball with real consequences for a sport already concerned about courting young fans.Įven if baseball’s first work stoppage in 26 years doesn’t result in missed games, the league and its players are at risk of alienating their next wave of fans.