Perhaps you read this.

An ESPN poll suggests that young Americans, ages 12 to 17, are as likely to say they are “avid fans” of Major League Soccer as they are of Major League Baseball.

According to the survey, about 18 percent of Americans in that age group each identified themselves as “avid fans” of the two leagues. Which is interesting, but something far less than telling, and certainly not a reason for a British soccer writer to suggest that MLB is a “struggling” brand.

And we’ve got 74 million reasons that demonstrate it is anything but.

Check this table of “most-attended” world sports leagues.

See who is on top? By miles and miles?

The “struggling” MLB brand.

In the 2013 season, MLB sold 74 million tickets. Which is more than the combined attendance at the world’s top eight soccer leagues — the top leagues in Germany, England, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Argentina and France, with England’s second tier (the fourth-best attended soccer league) thrown in, too. Those eight leagues had 73.4 million paying customers in their most recent completed seasons.

Average attendance makes for a different list. In that one, baseball is “only” fifth — behind the NFL, Germany’s soccer league, the English Premier League and the Australian Football League (footy, not soccer), at 30,500 per game.

What is extraordinary about MLB is that it maintains that 30,500 average over the course of 2,426 games — far more than any other league plays. No other major sports league comes in higher than Japan’s baseball league, at 846 games.

That tells us about the depth and breadth of MLB’s popularity, that it fills so many stadiums … seven days a week for six months.

MLS is averaging 18,600 fans per game last season, a total of 6 million. And that average is pretty good, because it puts MLS ahead of leagues in China, Scotland, Russia … everyone who isn’t in the top eight soccer leagues on the planet.

So, kids 12-17 are as likely to be “avid” fans of MLS as much as MLB?

Could be. For now. Doesn’t mean those stats won’t change, as they take advantage of the increased availability of baseball (and baseball sold 41.5 million tickets for minor-league ball in North America, last year).

Baseball is not in any trouble. At all. Franchises are worth more than ever. It remains the preferred way for Americans to spend a night at a sports event. More of them may say they are avid fans of the NFL or NBA, but when it comes to handing over their money on a regular baseball, MLB is unrivaled.

A chunk of US residents preferring domestic soccer may mean MLS is gaining some traction in the U.S.; it doesn’t mean baseball is retreating.