Baseball is objectively different today.
Offense Analytics = Going for the long ball, which means homers, deep flies, and strikeouts.
Defense Analytics = Having the perfect shift on for every batter, which means fewer baserunners. Having to cover the bag to cut down leadoffs begets more balls in play on other base hits.
Ex: A base hit between first and second base in the 1990s is an easy grab force out for a 2nd baseman playing in short right field halfway between the bags today, vs being barely in the outfield grass, much closer to 2nd base, in bygone years.
In the mid 70s there were 5 strikeouts per game
In the mid 90s there were 6
2019, there were 9.
On base percentage is down. It's having runners on base that make an at-bat more exciting. It's having to cover the base that opens up windows for more hitting, more balls in play, and more elaborate, less scripted defense.
This is very similar to the "trap" game in the NHL made popular by the Devils (and others) 20-25 years ago. A defensive scheme to ruin buildups in transition, with tons and tons of low-level pestering of "exciting" players, eg those with good skating skills/speed/agility.
The NHL responded by telling the refs to call every hook and hold in the neutral zone, and they lifted the ban on the two-line pass.
Lots of sports change like this. Everyone used to run the old option in college. Then the linebackers and defensive ends became faster, and now a few fringe schools run the old style option. Now, college football is undergoing an offensive renaissance. The schemes from the NFL trickled down, the QB play got better, and now, the linebacker you need to tackle a running back isn't fast enough to keep up with the 4th wide receiver. Or they put a nickel back in, and presto, power running from the spread formation works. They cut down on safety help over the top to cut off the easy pitch and catch, and there's deep passes galore now.
