Major League Baseball officially returned on Thursday, as the 2022 season got under way a week later than originally planned due to the lockout.In cities like Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, it was met with excitement and optimism.

Over on Murph & Mac on KNBR in San Francisco, Chris Russo was asked about baseball's place in American culture given how one of the major talking points has been dwindling interest in the sport by younger people. Russo told Brian Murphy and Paul McCaffrey that it really does depend on where you go.

"If you live in certain cities, I think that baseball's as hot as it's ever been," the sports radio icon said. "I think if you're in Baltimore, I think if you're in Pittsburgh, I think if you're in Cincinnati, Phoenix, maybe Cleveland, I think if you're in those spots it's a disaster. And that's the difference between baseball and say the NFL."

Russo talked about competitive balance in football and how every August fans of teams far and wide come into the fresh start of a new season hopeful for success. In baseball, he said, you don't have that. Some teams will break the bank every offseason, while others just don't or can't afford to. And with baseball being such a long season to begin with, in some places you already know what you're going to get.

"There are certain markets here that baseball never really gets on track in the course of the year because these teams can't win," he said. "And I think that's a major problem. I'm not sure how they solve it."

He did say that baseball will always be liked in other places.

"In certain spots the game is timeless," he said.

Chris Russo has been outspoken this offseason regarding a number of things that had Major League Baseball in the headlines for the wrong reasons. He routinely voiced his opinion on the lockout that pushed back the start of the season. Just last week he lambasted the league for the number of games that will be streaming-only this season.