Kirk Herbstreit raised alarms about baseball on social media this week, arguing that the sport has lost athleticism, clutch hitting and “small ball” while bleeding fans. This article checks those claims against reporting in a Fox News piece and the figures it cites.
Attendance, TV ratings, stolen-base trends and pitch-velocity measures tell a more nuanced story: several modern metrics point to sustained or growing interest and to evolving athletic profiles, not a simple decline.
What Kirk Herbstreit said
“THANK YOU!!!!! Where did the athletic ability go?… Bring back Small Ball and athleticism…this s*** dreadful!!!” — Kirk Herbstreit on X
Herbstreit’s post bundles familiar complaints: fewer speed plays, less late-inning clutch hitting, and an era of home-run emphasis that he says has pushed away younger fans. The rest of this piece tests each claim against the numbers reported by Fox News (link at bottom).
Attendance and TV ratings
Herbstreit framed MLB as a fading product, but attendance has risen in recent seasons (reported by Fox News). Select clubs saw notable spikes in 2026: the White Sox, Blue Jays and Mariners posted substantial attendance gains (Fox News).
Television metrics also undercut the “dying” claim. The 2025 World Series was the most-watched domestically since 2017; Game 7 drew about 51 million viewers across the U.S., Canada and Japan (Fox News). Those kinds of peaks show big moments still attract mass audiences.
Stealing, speed and small ball
Herbstreit suggested base stealing and pure speed are gone. The numbers say otherwise.
Leaguewide stolen bases in 2024 totaled 3,617 — higher than the most any single season saw in the 1980s (3,585) (Fox News). More important, success rates climbed: the reported 2024 success rate was roughly 80%, compared with much lower conversion rates in earlier eras, making steals a more efficient offensive tool (Fox News).
Power, pitching and athleticism
Herbstreit implied the modern game squeezes out the contact-and-speed players of old. But both pitchers and hitters have changed in ways that often increase athletic demands.
Average fastball velocity has climbed from about 90.4 mph in 2008 to roughly 95 mph in recent seasons (Fox News). That uptick reflects training, conditioning and biomechanics. At the same time, hitters adapt; many sluggers and two-way players continue to produce historic seasons despite tougher pitching.
Rule and replay changes — pace-of-play initiatives and the ABS challenge system — have also reshaped in-game strategy. Teams manage workloads and bullpen usage with more data, which reduces traditional long outings but reflects strategic, not purely athletic, shifts (Fox News).
Where TV and fan interest actually are
Fan interest isn’t uniform, but recent seasons show broad engagement rather than collapse. Market-by-market spikes and marquee matchups drive attention: the reported attendance bumps for the White Sox, Blue Jays and Mariners in 2026 are examples (Fox News).
The World Series viewership peak in 2025 demonstrates that big moments continue to draw mass audiences, and national telecasts have shown gains in recent windows (Fox News).
Figures below are reported by the Fox News piece cited at the end of this article.
Bottom line for fans
Kirk Herbstreit’s broad claim that “the game has been dying” overstates the case. Many measures — attendance, ratings, speed metrics and average velocity — show MLB adapting and, in several respects, strengthening (Fox News).
That does not erase genuine stylistic shifts: more homers and strikeouts, different bullpen usage and new replay systems have changed the viewing experience. But the data cited here do not support a simple narrative of decline. What comes next will likely be more data-driven roster and in-game decisions rather than a wholesale return to 1980s tactics.
Key takeaways
- Attendance and TV viewership are up in recent seasons, including strong World Series numbers in 2025 (Fox News).
- Stolen-base totals and success rates show base running remains a strategic part of the game (Fox News).
- Pitching velocity and overall athleticism are higher than a decade ago; strategy has evolved alongside those changes (Fox News).
- What comes next: expect continued data-driven adjustments rather than a simple reversion to past styles.
Frequently asked questions
What did Kirk Herbstreit complain about in MLB?
Herbstreit criticized modern baseball for a perceived loss of athleticism, fewer classic “small ball” plays and a decline in clutch, late-inning hitting. He argued those trends have cost baseball younger fans and diluted the product.
Is MLB attendance actually falling?
No. Reporting shows attendance has grown across recent seasons, and some clubs saw especially large increases in 2026 — a trend that runs counter to a simple shrinking-fanbase narrative (Fox News).
Are stolen bases down compared with the 1980s?
Not necessarily. MLB had 3,617 stolen bases in 2024, which exceeds the highest single-season total from the 1980s (3,585); today’s success rates are higher, meaning teams lose fewer outs when they attempt steals (Fox News).
Reporting and figures cited in this article come from a Fox News story: Kirk Herbstreit goes off with complaints about modern Major League Baseball, gets everything wrong (Fox News).
