Why Is Baseball Disappearing From Inner Cities?

Whether through the rising cost of baseball equipment, the dearth of playable field space, poor instruction or the distractions of gangs to Gameboys, baseball has lost significant market share among each new generation of urban youngsters...But just as it appears as if the game might die out for good in America's inner cities, Major League Baseball is making a bold move to stem the shift..urban athletes have focused on football and, to an increasingly greater degree, basketball as their sport of choice...Basketball's appeal derives partly from its ease to get a game going. The sport requires just a hoop and a ball, while baseball needs costly mitts and bats, not to mention more than a few pickup buddies. Blacktops are everywhere in inner cities, of course; more open baseball fields are being squeezed out in space crunches, and those that remain tend to be in disrepair."