Welcome to the second State of the Sport, where we will be taking a hard look at what is REALLY going on in various sports over the summer with a subject matter expert.

Today, Voltage Live Colleague Sean Fitzgerald will be dissecting the current State of MLB.

For the majority of the 2010s, MLB was seen as the far distant third professional sport in terms of popularity compared to the NFL, and the NBA, but radical changes beginning in the 2023 season has brought fans, especially those in the coveted 18-34 demographic, back to the sport. Bigger bases, the banning of the shift and the implementation of a pitch clock has dramatically sped up the game. The average MLB time of game in 2024 was 2:36 compared to 3:06 in 2022.

Last offseason, Shohei Ohtani, the game’s best player left the Los Angeles Angels in free agency for the Los Angeles Dodgers across town. Ohtani would help lead the Dodgers to their first World Series win (excluding the shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic) since 1981 in a matchup against Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees.

From Ohtani, to Judge, to Mookie Betts, to Tarik Skubal, to Bobby Witt Jr. to Jose Ramirez, MLB is loaded with young stars who are moving the game forward. The game has turned more analytical, with stats like WAR, Launch Angle and OPS being the standard bear for how modern MLB fans analyse performances. 

MLB is also in potentially the last year of its media rights contract with ESPN. ESPN opted out of the deal that was supposed to expire at the end of the 2028 season in March 2025. The two sides are negotiating a potential extension to keep the sport on ESPN, a home it has had since 1990.

And now ladies and gentleman, let me introduce to you, the man who is going to help the audience of Brandon’s World understand the State of MLB. He is the host of the Fitz On Sports Podcast. He is an MLB expert and has covered Cleveland Guardians games for various media companies. He is Sean Fitzgerald!

Follow Fitz on X: https://x.com/fitzonsportsbsr

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