This is very good news for all of you who worry about young people not liking baseball:

In general, participation in youth sports nationwide has declined in the past decade, as children gravitate to electronic diversions and other distractions.

Yet in recent years, while soccer continued declining, baseball and basketball experienced upticks, buoyed by developmental programs begun by Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association.

Good. Soccer is constant action in which nothing actually happens. Baseball may be short on action, but strategy builds on every pitch. Baseball is both physically and intellectually rewarding. The myriad random interactions between pitcher, batter, bat, ball, and fielders means the game in much more unpredictable than other sports. The popularity of the sport will rise and fall, but it will never disappear.

Hat tip, Marginal Revolution.