What makes MLB more popular than NPF?

6 reasons why the MLB is followed more passionately than the NPF 

Little Leagues are often dominated by enthusiastic, young female players. But most of them give up on sports before they hit their teens. And even fewer of them make it into the world of professional baseball. 

The MLB (Major League Baseball) has never had a female player. Instead, a female league was created – the NPF (National Pro Fastpitch). Many of you may have never even heard of it. 

Today, we are going to cover MLB vs. NPF. We are going to talk about why the MLB dominates the baseball world, and why the NPF is struggling to get an audience. 

#1 – Men’s sports are more popular than women sport’s 

We wish this wasn’t true, but the sad fact is that men prefer watching other men play sports. Whereas women tend to not mind who they watch. 

This is not a problem that is exclusive to sport, men notably don’t like to read books with female protagonists, but women will happily enjoy a book from the point of view of any gender. 

This is the first major stumbling block that the NPF will have to get over if it wants to gain a bigger audience. 

#2- The MLB has more money to advertise 

If you’ve never heard of the NPF, even though you are a huge baseball fan, it is probably because the franchise doesn’t have the money to advertise like other sporting franchises. 

Not only does the NPF have to compete for an audience with the MLB, but it also has to compete with the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League). IN the US, most of the money in women’s sports belongs to the NWSL. 

The NWSL also has viewing figures that the NPF would kill for. 

The MLB also has a huge advertising budget that the NPF could never hope to compete with. 

#3 – The MLB has been around for much longer than the NPF 

Speaking of getting brands out there, the MLB could probably get away with not advertising as it is such a well-established brand. 

Some form of the MLB has been around since the 1880s and some of its teams can trace their history back to these early days. 

On the other hand, the NPF was only started in 2004 and only one of their original teams is still playing in the league. 

For many families, following the MLB has been something they have done for generations and they wouldn’t dream of deviating from this. The NPF has not been around long enough for people to establish this kind of family tradition. 

#4 – The MLB is easier to watch 

We don’t mean that the MLB matches are more enjoyable, what we mean is that they are easier to find. 

If you’re a baseball fan you know exactly what channels will be showing MLB matches and when. This is just not the case with the NPF. 

Things have got better for the NPF over the last few years, as they signed an agreement with ESPN to broadcast some (but not all) of their games in the 2019 season. Some games were shown on ESPN2 and others on ESPN3. 

Deals like this will be really important for the NPF’s future. 

#5 – The MLB has more teams 

If you’re looking for a local team to follow in the NPF, you’re going to struggle unless you live in Cleaveland, Chicago, or California. 

The 2021 NPF season will only have 5 teams after the 5 times champions USSSA team refused to renew their contract with the league. 

In contrast, the MLB boasts 30 teams from all over the country. You will have no problem finding a fairly local team to follow.

What is really interesting about the NPF, is despite the National in its name it is an international league. This year, teams from both Australia and Canada will be competing in the league. 

#6 –  The NPF has a quick rate of team turnover 

The final reason why the NPF finds it difficult to hold on to fans is the fact that they have an incredibly quick turnover rate for teams. 

While the MLB has 30 teams, some of whom can trace their team’s lineage back to the 1880s, the NPF currently only has 5 teams. 

And only two of those teams have been around for over 3 years. 

It is hard to follow a sport when you don’t know if your favorite team will be returning next year. It’s no fun having to pick a new team to support every other year.