Quoting:
The National Pastime changed from baseball to football (along with several other sports, but mainly football). The last true year of baseball being the true national pasttime was 1990..when the Reds had that incredible year and swept the As in the world series. Starting in 1992 or so..attendance started sliding..but was still relatively good. New talent was pouring in and some old talent was still around (Ryan, Jackson, Carter, Schmidtt..were all still playing in the 1990s!). BUt something happened..greed. It was always around and it almost ended the reign of baseball as national pasttime 10 years earlier. It didn't work because the NFL and NBA still were not classy or talented enough. Ninety-four was the final stab in the heart. Even with the gems of Camden Yards, Jacobs Field, etc..and some of the greatest players ever playing..baseball effectively lost it's title as the American pasttime in 1994. By that time, the NFL and NBA were enjoying record ratings and $$. Also new, "alternative" sports such as X games type stuff..stakeboarding ( I bet Tony Hawk never would have thought around 1988 he'd make so much money from what he considered a hobby). As much as I like other sports, I miss baseball (I'm a DIE HARD RED SOX FAN!!) and hope that with a 2003 Cubs/Sox world series, maybe it can start to dig itself from the grave.
End Quote

I think a big problem is that baseball is not a very good spectator sport.  Oh yes, if you are a die hard fan, then you can argue it is a good spectator sport and give examples of people tuning into golf or whatever.  But let's be realistic.  The NFL, NBA, hockey and soccer are all great spectator sports.  Baseball is very slow, very much about instinct and calculations.  It doesn't make for good viewing unless it's the playoffs.

By the way, I remember the 1991 World Series as being GREAT.  Do you remember that one?  Minnesota Twins vs. Atlanta Braves.  7 games.  Down to the wire.  The game was won on a hit that busted the bat.  Man that was a game.