There’s a rhythm to baseball — the crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, the quiet hum of expectation as the season dawns anew. But these days, that rhythm is playing at a slightly faster tempo. At Spring Training Media Day in Phoenix, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred didn’t just express optimism — he outlined a vision. One where a younger, global audience is finding its way to the grand old game, and where baseball, after years of introspection and rule tweaks, is finally striding confidently into its next era.

“We’ve got great momentum,” Manfred declared, with the confidence of a man holding a full house. And the numbers bear him out. Attendance is trending up — on pace for a third consecutive year of growth. Ratings across platforms — traditional and digital alike — climbed in 2024, with the coveted 18-to-34 demographic leading the charge. In a sports landscape crowded with options, baseball, it seems, has found a way to capture fresh eyes without losing its soul.

A large part of that momentum stems from an unforgettable postseason last fall. The 2024 playoffs weren’t just competitive — they were captivating. The World Series delivered the highest viewership numbers since the Cubs’ historic run in 2016, but it wasn’t just the Fall Classic that turned heads. From early October thrillers to walk-off drama deep into the playoffs, the game served up the kind of nightly theater that reminds even the most casual fan why baseball endures.

And if the domestic product has fans buzzing, the global game is positively roaring. The World Series drew record audiences in Japan, fueled by the star power of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto donning Dodgers blue. This offseason, the talent pipeline from Nippon Professional Baseball grew even stronger, as Japanese standouts Roki Sasaki, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Shinnosuke Ogasawara made the leap to MLB, ready to test their skills on the sport’s biggest stage.

The 2025 season will begin, fittingly, on international soil. The Tokyo Dome will host the Cubs and Dodgers on March 18-19, part of a growing MLB tradition of taking the game to new corners of the world. But it isn’t just about crossing oceans. Baseball’s latest foray into iconic Americana arrives in August with the MLB Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway — a collision of tradition, spectacle, and the open road. It follows in the footsteps of the Field of Dreams and Rickwood Field games, breathing new life into baseball’s storied connection to place.

​“We continue to attract the best players from around the world,” Manfred emphasized. And perhaps more importantly, the league appears to be finding new ways to attract the best fans — young, old, domestic, international — all drawn to a game that feels crisper, more athletic, and undeniably global. Baseball may be rooted in history, but as the 2025 season approaches, it’s clear: the game’s next chapter is being written with bold, international strokes.