The 2013 World Series has given baseball nearly everything it could have dreamed of. A long series. Tight games. Storied teams. Controversial, game-changing calls. The irrepressible David Ortiz. And those outrageous beards!

Through the first five games, Fox averaged over 14 million viewers, 12% more than last year. This was about more than just Boston and St. Louis, the two cities involved.

There's one problem, though: Too many kids have found something else to do.

It isn't hard to figure out why. So many games dragging deep into their fourth hour. All those AARP-eligible folks lining the lower levels of the stands. Baseball has morphed into sports' version of the opera—long productions filled with pomp, color and crazy facial hair that younger audiences just don't get.

The average World Series viewer this year is 54.4 years old, according to Nielsen, the media research firm. The trend line is heading north: The average age was 49.9 in 2009. Kids age 6 to 17 represented just 4.3% of the average audience for the American and National League Championship Series this year, compared with 7.4% a decade ago.