Chaim Bloom thinks baseball has a big entertainment problem

Chaim Bloom blames analytics for baseball’s ultimate suffering. While that’s a little shortsighted, Bloom makes a valid point in some aspects.

Analytics is a common buzz word used by front office experts and old school baseball minds alike, often to shift blame on the trends of the modern game that they don’t like. Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom utilizes a unique blend of analytical thinking and the more simplistic eye test to run his team.

Yet, for some who lean too heavily into that analytical way of thinking, baseball becomes far too boring.

“My short answer is yes,” Bloom told 98.5 The Sports Hub. “And to expand on that a little bit, I think really what’s happening is – and you can blame it on analytics or blame it on anything – really it’s just happening because teams are trying to win, and they’re trying to do it the best possible way they can.”

Red Sox: Chaim Bloom thinks baseball has an entertainment problem

Baseball games are prone to strikeouts and home runs. These days, there’s very little in between, especially when that analytical brand of thinking suggests it’s more practical for most players to swing for the fences, rather than slap a single the opposite way. This leads to more shifts, and a more predictable brand of game.

“They’re worried about winning, and not necessarily worried about aesthetics,” Bloom explained. “I think a lot of what’s happened is just 30 teams competing like crazy against each other trying to win has led to a game that, I think in some ways, has led to a game that is not as exciting, not as action packed as we would want it to be.”

Aesthetics or not, it can’t be denied that batting average and strikeout numbers are up across baseball, while six no-hitters so far this season hints at a flawed mentality from this generation of sluggers.