Crowds Have Fallen and They Can’t Get Up

The real reason for the drop in baseball attendance [“Behind in Count,” June 27] is not the weather or the economic downturn, otherwise baseball would have disappeared in the ‘30s. Remember the Dust Bowl and the Depression?

Kids are the future of baseball. It is their interest, or lack thereof, that will determine the future of Major League Baseball in terms of economic viability in the coming years. They are the future.

And what has MLB done to nurture this vital interest?

It’s too expensive for kids to go to the ballpark. Most of the games are night games, so kids can’t go see them and can’t watch them on TV. Players change teams so often that even the writers can’t keep track of them. The players are inaccessible and charge kids for autographs. A hot dog/fries/drink package costs more than gas for Grandma’s Buick.

I remember in 1969, as a broke student, going to Wrigley Field, paying $2 and sitting in the left-field bleachers packed with die-hard fans, and being able to afford to buy a hot dog and a beer that wasn’t watered down.

I miss those days. And I miss them for my kids today.

Michael Bronfenbrenner

Seal Beach

I’m not sure baseball attendance is down because of the economy or the weather. People always seem to come up with the money to do the things they really want to do. The last time I checked, it wasn’t all that cheap to play golf, and golf seems to be doing all right. As for the weather, it rains on golf courses too.

Robert H. Williams

Monterey Park