""[Baseball was exciting] when I was playing. They implemented all these rules now and they've changed the game so much, they're making it more hitter-friendly -- even without having success. These guys can go out there and strike out 180, 190 times, and it's okay... Now, a home run is less appealing, when a home run was a big deal and more appealing [when I played] because it wasn't happening as often as it is now. I see a pop-up up player that everybody gravitates to -- he's the face of the team, the face of the city -- and he has 100 strikeouts in April..."
Sheffield also places blame on advanced analytics for baseball's decline in action and overall popularity.
"[Former Cubs executive] Theo Epstein walked away from the general manager position because he's the one that pretty much sought all the sabermetrics stuff," Sheffield said. "[Oakland A's executive] Billy Beane did the whole 'Moneyball' thing and he looked for on-base percentage, but really, Theo Epstein dove so deep into this, now analytics have taken over the game. And I think a lot of these managers -- the way they used to manage games and the players they were looking for -- they're no longer looking for those players now because you couldn't get a job as a manager if you weren't into this stuff..."
https://www.audacy.com/cbssportsradio/sports/mlb/gary-sheffield-rips-mlb-i-dont-watch-baseball-at-all