Editor’s note: This column is written as part of a point-counterpoint. The other column, stating that baseball is just as popular as always, can be read here.

Baseball used to be my favorite sport, which is saying something since I’m a Cubs fan, and not a fair-weather Cubs fan either.

The season I remember the most is 2006, when the Cubbies won a whopping 66 games and their cleanup hitter was Michael Barrett, while their ace toward the end of the year was Rich Hill.

Yikes.

Well, I watched just about every game that summer, and I could probably tell you players’ entire stat-lines from that year. Today, I could barely even tell you what teams are in the playoffs.

If you asked me what’s going on with baseball nowadays, I’d only be able to tell you about Derek Jeter and his triumphant “farewell tour,” as ESPN likes to call it. Any time I turn on Sportscenter, it seems like its priority is to show Jeter ground out to third base rather than analyze playoff races.

And who can blame it? The majority of casual baseball fans are going to care a heck of a lot more about the Captain’s exploits than the Orioles or Cardinals clinching playoff berths.

According to a survey by Harris Poll in January, baseball is still the second most popular sport in America behind the NFL. Fourteen percent of Americans claim baseball is their favorite, which is a nine percent drop over the past 30 years, the largest drop of any sport in that time frame.

Here are some more numbers for you.

In 2009, the average viewer of the World Series was 49.9 years old. Just five years later, that age group increased considerably to an average age of 54.4 years old. In fact, the overall viewership of baseball’s marquee event has dropped by 40 percent over the past 25 years.

The casual baseball fan just doesn’t really exist anymore. The majority of Americans who tune in to some fun on the diamond are old dudes who have been watching the sport since they were tikes. Even the most casual fans of the NFL or NBA will watch the Super Bowl or NBA Finals, whether it’s for the commercials or to see LeBron lose to the Spurs.

The addition of the one-game wild card round definitely adds interest since unproven teams like the Pirates and Royals will get a chance on the big stage, but once the longer five-game and seven-game series begin, the interest can only last so long.

Since 1989, the average baseball game has become about 15 minutes longer, and the addition of replay review is no help to that. Pitchers sometimes take entire minutes in between pitches, and the same at-bat can last forever only to end in an anticlimactic pop out behind the plate. It all becomes very tedious.

In an age where anything over 140 characters can’t hold someone’s attention, it’s no surprise baseball’s popularity is trending downwards. People want fast breaks and touchdown drives, not sacrifice bunts and pick-off throws.

Twelve-year-old me would hate the fact that I’m writing this opinion, but it’s the sad truth. I’ll probably find out who wins this year’s World Series from a tweet rather than actually watching the game, and I don’t doubt that many others will do the same.

Joey can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @joeyfigueroa3.