Now is the Time for Baseball to Seize the Day
Baseball has been called the National Pastime, and it actually was for decades. Every single little boy played little league and dreamed of being a big leaguer. It was the only sport getting national media coverage on a consistent basis. The stadiums were landmarks, the stars recognizable by first names…Babe, Willie, Sandy, Stan, Pete to name only a few.
So, what happened? Other sports seized the opportunity to showcase themselves when baseball had two stoppages because of player strikes. The 1981 baseball strike, which led to a ridiculous “split-season champions,” happened to coincide with the rise of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The NBA was rarely televised, but now had marketable superstars, one on each coast, each of a different race, battling for championships every year. Fans turned off from baseball couldn’t get enough of this rivalry. Whenever I see specials on TV about it, I STILL can’t get enough of it. The NFL was also on the rise. By the time of the baseball strike, fans were beginning to enjoy the glory years of Monday Night Football and there were stars like Joe Montana appealing nationally.
The next baseball strike happened in 1994, and led to the cancellation of the World Series. This was the death penalty for a lot of fans. They flocked even more to the NFL, especially with the rise in Fantasy Football. Heck, even NASCAR skyrocketed in popularity as they smartly marketed their personalities and rivalries. The NBA, meanwhile, was enjoying the glory years of Michael Jordan, perhaps the most marketed athlete of all time.
Baseball fans came back briefly to watch Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa break the home run record in 1998, but even that was tainted with rumors of steroid use. And neither of those teams competed for a World Series (the PADRES were the NL Champs).
But, baseball didn’t die, it just took a backseat to the other leagues. Not to mention, people were taking to NASCAR as I mentioned, and Tiger Woods made golf must-see TV each weekend.
I am now saying MLB has an opening to re-gain the throne as the National Pastime. Here is why:
THE NFL IS BLEEDING FANS
Much has been made of the decline in NFL ratings last year. Some have suggested it was due to the constant coverage of Colin Kaepernick and his kneeling protests. I would say that’s a small percentage. What I believe is that the league is losing it’s superstars and there is a lull in replacing them. Brett Favre and Peyton Manning, the two most marketable players, now retired. Very soon, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning and Drew Brees will also be finished, just as Tony Romo hung it up recently. Cam Newton was thought to be the next great superstar, he’s basically had one great year. What is left? The hope that Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, and Matt Ryan can have sustained TEAM success for the league to showcase. What also bugs fans? They are tired of the New England Patriots. The league’s best team the past 15 years is as much known for dishonesty and cheating as they are winning. How about the concussion scandal? Players are retiring before they are 30 now because they are scared. I predict that in the next 7–10 years, there will be a shift in young athletes moving to baseball because of it’s fewer health risks and better financial security. Look at guys like Aaron Judge, tearing it up for the Yankees. He’s an offensive lineman wearing pinstripes. We will see more like him soon. Finally, the NFL has a huge image problem when it comes to violence by players, especially toward women. This ramped up with the Ray Rice video, and now we have controversy over Joe Mixon being drafted. NFL teams have continued to show, if you can play, we will look the other way. Fans are turned off by this, and rightfully so. When you can’t even root for your own team because of one player, as many fans are faced with, you have a huge problem.
EACH YEAR, ONLY 3 TEAMS HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN AN NBA TITLE
At least in the NFL, you can make a case for 6–8 teams to have a shot at the Super Bowl when the season begins. And with only 16 games, a team can catch fire unexpectedly and advance deep into the playoffs. There is a level of parity. In the NBA, however, there isn’t any parity, and hasn’t been for many years. Despite having a salary cap, players are looking to join super-teams. And these teams are the only ones who have a chance to win a title. The past three years, we have known it is the Warriors, Cavs, and Spurs. Every one else is pretending. Before that, it was pretty much the Heat and Spurs, and prior to that, you had the Lakers contending each year and everyone else trying to catch up. Boston formed a super team and got a title in there. So, the regular season means absolutely nothing. We already know who will be there in the end. This year’s playoffs show this even more. Let’s not forget, the NBA also invented tanking, which really turns fans off. Yes, there are examples where this has helped a franchise gain prominence. Teams know, consistently finishing just outside the lottery is a recipe for disaster. An overhaul of the structure of the salary cap system and draft process would bring parity to the league and at the very least, give some hope to another 5–7 franchises each year. But because in the NBA, way more than any other sports league, one player can make a transcendent difference for a team, we will see tanking if there is a special player coming in the draft. The NBA does an excellent job of marketing it’s superstars, and because they don’t wear hats and helmets, they become recognizable even to casual fans. Also, NBA arenas are fantastic entertainment venues. Even if your team sucks, you can have a good time at a game. The NBA has done a lot of things right, but knowing each year who will be in the Finals means there is no regular season excitement, and this year, there hasn’t been much playoff excitement.
DEAR MLB, PLEASE MARKET YOUR SUPERSTARS
So, we’ve seen above how there is an opening for MLB to become the National Pastime. I didn’t even mention that NASCAR popularity is dying (Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart retiring will do that), and Tiger Woods not playing meaningful golf in years has ran off TV viewers of the PGA.
I would suggest MLB find more ways to get players’ names in the household. Mike Trout is the best player in baseball. In five seasons, he has a Rookie of the Year award (unanimous), and two MVPs. The three seasons he didn’t win MVP, he finished second in voting all three times. He is only 25. He only need to stay healthy, and he will break many records and be one of the best of all-time. He is a transcendent talent, like LeBron James is to the NBA and Peyton Manning was to the NFL. How many sports fans know this???
Mike Trout has two problems, though. First, his teams have only one division title, and they got knocked out in the NLDS that year. Second, he plays in Anaheim. Most of his games start when most of the country is going to bed. He plays for a team that shares the media market with the Dodgers, Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Ducks, USC, UCLA, and now Rams and Chargers. When your team doesn’t have great success, you aren’t a story and your highlights will be on the late night and early morning editions of SportsCenter.
Trout won’t be a free agent until after the 2020 season. The Angels has struggled to build around him, so team success may not come. He has an endorsement deal with Subway, but where else have you seen him? He should be the idol of every kid holding baseball glove today. It’s not like he has had off the field issues.
Who else can help MLB? The Cubs did a magnificent job of doing that last fall. They have a young, handsome, talented star in Kris Bryant who can elevate the marketability of the league. The Cubs will need to keep winning.
Remember Bryce Harper? Looked like the next Willie Mays. Certainly performed like that in 2015, but fell off last year. Now, there is already talk about him asking for a contract that would be the largest in all of sports. It will overshadow his performance, but if he can carry the Nationals to the playoffs consistently, especially being on the East Coast, he will be must-see TV. He will need to be more engaging to the fans and media, but his talent should not be overshadowed. If we get a Yankees/Nationals World Series (some have called it the Trump Series already), the media will go crazy. And Harper will be the center of it.
Overall, baseball has much fewer off the field issues than the NBA and NFL. They have cleaned up steroid use, and the ones who get caught now face severe penalties. I like what I have seen from new commissioner Rob Manfred. I see him making the All-Star game better and I think he believes in the power of marketing the league. Best of all, there haven’t been any hints of a strike by players, which hurt the league the most in the first place. For MLB, it’s definitely Carpe Diem.
