Previous to the age of internet and mobile connection there really was not such a large amount of pressure on them. It was just considered a game that was for entertainment, now with such a huge amount of pressure from money, there social image, and the business aspect it has really become more than just a game for entertainment. The players are scrutinized for what they say on there twitter or what they do off the field. Players making up to around 30 million dollars makes the game seem to be more of a business now then it has been. 

But still even back in the early years of the Major League there was still social issues that surrounded the game. The color barrier existed there was the Negro League and the MLB, African Americans were not aloud to play in the MLB and Whites were not able to play in the Negro League. This social barrier does not exist any more and was a lot more serious then the social issues surrounding MLB today. 

Players are basically property of the organization they are apart of, they agree on a contract and a certain amount of money and then they have to do what the team says. They become the face of the team if they tweet about something controversial or say something wrong the whole organization takes the hit.