Off-Topic Forum

As I finished coming across and watching an old episode of This Week in Baseball from 2004, I wondered to myself why a show like this doesn’t exist anymore.  Everyone talks about how baseball is dying, but honestly it does itself no favors in its lackluster marketing.  I can’t imagine that a show like this that has a new player host each week wouldn’t vastly improve the marketing of baseball in general.  Why does this type of thing not exist anymore?

Along these lines is the player introductions to the MLB All Star game earlier this month.  They had the guys running out all the way from the outfield and being introduced together with other players from the same team.  Everyone was wearing the all star jersey instead of their own team jerseys, and they didn’t even bother having a graphic of the players name and team when announced.  I think they managed to put a graphic for the starters at least.  I’m a fan of baseball, and some of the guys I couldn’t tell who they even were when they came out.

And then all the in game gimmicks like interviewing the pitcher in game while pitching is so unnecessary.  If you want to market the players, how about do it before the game and days leading up to the game.  These players have worked so hard to make this game and they can’t even enjoy the moment because they have to conduct an interview while playing on the field.  And as a fan I have to try to watch this game in a split screen because the broadcast is more interested in the interview than the game itself.  

It doesn’t send the best message when you are basically saying baseball is so boring we have to have gimmicks to distract you from the very best players playing the game.  
 

I don’t understand the strategy of marketing the event during the event.  That’s like a movie advertising the same movie while you are watching the movie.  I’m already watching the game.  Interview the players and hype up baseball in the weeks leading up to the game.  
 

I’m not some marketing expert, and maybe I’m not even correct.  But just wanted to share some of my thoughts that came across my mind today. 

I don't know what to tell you.  MLB took over the minors and eliminated my hometown team and the rest of the league.  I have not watched a baseball game since.  There is very little that Manfred has done that makes sense to me.  All that I know is that they did not want me to watch baseball anymore.  (I do love watching old TWIB episodes on youtube. I now have the theme music stuck in my head, and I love it.)

Beats me how MLB Network, while having enormous archives of material, only seem to have 6 hours of programming each day.  It's just the same shows over and over and over.

What was great about TWIB was that it was really your only chance to see actual video of the stars whose box scores you’d read through in the newspaper. Maybe you’d get a game of the week thrown in there too but otherwise your hometown team broadcast about 20 games a year (unless you were Chicago or Atlanta). There was no cable TV with 24 Hr sports networks and there was no internet. Both of those advancements with instant highlights and daily, full league, highlights kinda killed the need for TWIB. It was still good, but there’s other options and wasn’t must-see anymore 

I like the in game interviews with the players, as long as the are rare (like all star game, and ESPN game of the week)

mark

Aside from my thoughts on TWIB above, yes. MLB is terrible at meriting itself. Truly horrendous. 

I think your observations are right on target, sahal. The marketing geniuses at MLB obviously don’t think the game can grow on its own merits and needs an ever expanding array of gimmicks to attract and hold fans. From inter league play to special caps on Mothers Day and Father’s Day to the Nike City Connect jerseys to the de emphasis on individual team identity at the All Star Game to the abbreviated team introductions before postseason games, it’s all part of a disturbing trend towards creating a singular league where the things that made the National League and American League unique become just a fading memory. It didn’t start under Manfred, but rather under Bud Selig, but Manfred has done nothing to reverse the trend. To make matters worse, this is occurring during a time of shrinking daily coverage of baseball in print media. My hometown Los Angeles Times just introduced its “new” sports section which no longer contains game coverage, box scores, standings or schedules! It’s a tough time to be a baseball fan.

I think you've hit on a lot of the issues not only in baseball but in all of the televised sports. Somehow, in trying to increase the fan base, they are using these gimmicks to appeal to those who aren't that interested in the sport itself.  IMO, the worst example of this is the Super Bowl. Football is a great sport every weekend but then the biggest game of the year is broadcast with what happens on the field playing second fiddle to the half time show and all the commercials. The major sports are losing their long-time fans by trying to attract new fans.

Almost all of the changes in baseball that have been done in the last 25 years starting with interleague play has only lessened my interest in watching a game. The only change I do like is the pitch clock. I saw a Triple A game in Rochester using it and even the girlfriend who doesn't watch sports enjoyed the game because of it.

And yes, as for the media coverage of baseball, even close to Toronto where the Jays play, the stories are buried deep down the online pages of our major sports network even though they are the only major sport playing at this time.

Baseball has left an enduring imprint on popular culture, enthralling fans and inspiring literary works and films alike. For example, “How can you not be romantic about baseball” is a phrase that gained popularity through the Michael Lewis’s book “Moneyball”, which become a rallying cry for fans and players, encapsulating the unwavering devotion and passion surrounding the sport.

Bud Selig period.