More youngsters taking up baseball

David Fox, from left, with his sons Dewey and Jimmy put their hands together as they wrap up practicing baseball at a nearby baseball field in northeast Washington, Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. David Fox and his wife, Mary Ann, have a rule for their sons, 11-year-old Dewey and 8-year-old Jimmy: They have to play a team sport. The kids get to choose which one. Dewey tried soccer and Jimmy had a go at flag football, but every spring and fall, their first choice is baseball. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
David Fox, from left, with his sons Dewey and Jimmy put their hands together as they wrap up practicing baseball at a nearby baseball field in northeast Washington, Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. David Fox and his wife, Mary Ann, have a rule for their sons, 11-year-old Dewey and 8-year-old Jimmy: They have to play a team sport. The kids get to choose which one. Dewey tried soccer and Jimmy had a go at flag football, but every spring and fall, their first choice is baseball. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON -- David Fox and his wife, Mary Ann, have a rule for their sons, 11-year-old Dewey and 8-year-old Jimmy: They have to play a team sport. The kids get to choose which one. Dewey tried soccer and Jimmy had a go at flag football, but for them, nothing compares to baseball.

"They always came back to baseball," David Fox said. "Every spring or fall we ask, 'Do you want to try something else?' And they say, 'No.' "

Dewey and Jimmy are not alone: Over the past six years, participation in youth baseball has been on the rise.

While no one is saying the erstwhile national pastime is returning to its glory years, Major League Baseball is encouraged that kids are returning to baseball and sticking with it. Between 2013 and 2018, the number of U.S. kids playing baseball and softball combined increased by nearly 3 million, according to annual surveys by the Sports Fitness & Industry Association. During that same period, participation in soccer and football declined and basketball increased only slightly.

More than 25 million kids played baseball or softball in 2018, and nearly 15 million of those were "core" players who played 13 or more times in a year. The number of participants in youth football -- including tackle, touch and flag -- was down by nearly 1.7 million over the same stretch, and soccer participation dropped by nearly 900,000.

According to the Aspen Institute, which promotes youth sports participation and uses SFIA data, 13.6% of kids ages 6-12 played baseball in 2018, a 3% increase from 2015. Baseball was the second-most popular sport for kids in that age group, after basketball, which had a 14.1% participation rate.

The 2018 numbers were released this month as 11- and 12-year-old ballplayers gathered in South Williamsport, Pa., for their annual ESPN-televised showcase at the Little League World Series.

David Fox coaches and his kids play in Washington's Capitol Hill Little League, which didn't even exist a decade ago. It was founded in 2011 and has grown from 120 players in its initial season to more than 640 baseball and softball players this spring.

Fox said a well-run Little League with engaged parents can build loyalty to the sport.

It's clear, too, that some parents are looking at baseball as a safer option than football, given research that shows the vulnerability of younger players to brain injuries.

"That's definitely part of the appeal," said Emily Cichy, who has two boys who played in Capitol Hill Little League before the family moved to Seattle. "Although both soccer and baseball have their own concerns, we are not interested in our kids playing football. If they really expressed an interest, we'd have a conversation about it."

Sports on 08/24/2019

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