Yeah the 162 game season really damages baseball in many ways. Even serious baseball fans I know go through a couple of stretches a year where they just check the standings once a week. You pretty much have to have no responsibilities in life to really follow the sport or even 1 team. In football if you catch the once a week game and some pre-game show you can be pretty well in the know on your team.
That's what I do. And that's the beauty of the game. Baseball is a marathon while football is a sprint.