Marcus Stroman
Courtesy Twitter: @mets

A new approach to social media is growing baseball’s audience on Twitter, Tiktok and Instagram.

It’s no secret that baseball viewership has been declining rapidly over the past few years. Despite the efforts of commissioner Rob Manfred, the time of games hasn’t changed much and blackout restrictions make it hard for even die-hard fans to watch games.

In order to combat the lack of enthusiasm surrounding baseball, MLB’s social media accounts have been taking matters into their own hands in an effort to facilitate more fan engagement.

It seems that in the comments of almost every viral Tiktok or Twitter post a major league basketball, football, or hockey team is in the mix. Major League Baseball teams are now joining in on the fun as well.

Now, team social media accounts are reaching out to fans, replying to their tweets, and making their day in the process.

Make it personal

I woke up on the morning of my 21st birthday to texts and tweets from friends, family, as well as those who know me from writing about the Mets.

Oh, and the New York Mets Twitter account.

This has the potential to be such an asset to major and minor league baseball, cultivating a new group of baseball fans in teenagers and young adults again.

Like the socials for teams, athletes have been reaching out to fans through social media as well. For example, Mets players including Marcus Stroman, Trevor May, Taijuan Walker, and Tomas Nido have a positive social media presence.

The moments where they show their personality create memories for Mets fans in a way that fans really want to see this great group of guys succeed.

Some of the best moments in baseball are where fans get to see their player’s personalities shine through, really adding another layer of depth to the love of baseball and the fandoms that follow each team.

In doing so it also creates new fans that will hopefully share their love of baseball with those around them — even when MLB is working against that.

A long island native, Tatiana is a 21-year-old health studies student, an EMT, and runs her own small business. A self-proclaimed "loud New York sports fan" with a passion for baseball she loves to spend her free time writing about anything and everything about the sport. Follow her on Twitter for more of her work! @TatianaAudley