Sunday, April 5, 2009

Play Ball! - April 2009

For many Americans, Spring has not “sprung” until umpires across the United States commence the 2009 Major League Baseball® and Minor League Baseball® seasons by hollering, “Play Ball!” On April 5, the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers will kickoff the 2009 baseball season.

As players take to the field this month, census data illustrate how important the game of baseball has become to our nation’s demographics and economy:

During the 2007 Major League Baseball® season, approximately 79 million fans rooted for their favorite teams. Approximately 1.3 million fans attended their teams play-off and World Series games.

According to the 2002 Economic Census, professional and semiprofessional baseball organizations employed 15,976 people.

Both baseball players and fans support a thriving sports equipment industry. In 2002, the total value of U.S. sporting and athletic goods shipments was approximately $11.9 billion.

According to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, if every hot dog consumed at major league ballparks this season was laid end-to-end, they would stretch from Nationals Park in Washington, DC to AT&T Park in San Francisco!


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