While every other major sport continues to find ways to grow their audience, Major League Baseball continues to get in its own way.
The NFL owns sports media from August until February. Roughly April through mid-to-late June is owned by the NBA and NHL.
The dog days of summer could easily be the best time for Major League Baseball to take advantage of a sports-hungry, captive audience.
But on July 4, when American’s across the country are celebrating the birth of the nation, America’s past-time could only be found on the subscription-based MLB Network or Extra Innings packages.
Imagine if the NFL moved their Thanksgiving triple-header to the NFL Network or the NBA did the same thing with their marquee Christmas Day match-ups.
This issue is a fragment of a large issue facing Major League Baseball, which is Baseball’s inability to be progressive.
While the word “progressive” tends to have a negative connotation in this region due to political contexts; in sports and sports entertainment, it’s important to not grow stale and be left behind.
The mystique and fabled draw to certain ballparks and teams will always be there.
The NFL and NBA are two of the more progressive sports, but they still celebrate the legends like Roger Staubach, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Bart Starr and John Elway. Lambeau Field and Soldier Field still have atmospheres that resonate through every television screen during a primetime game.
The Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers still have a rivalry the magnitude of Red Sox-Yankees.
But it’s important to celebrate and embrace the present players and trendy teams.
The All-Star Break offers MLB an opportunity to do so. But afterward, the sport returns to focusing on the coastal teams like the Yankees and Dodgers.
By celebrating stars, you draw the attention of fans who only watch their team.
I’m not a Kansas City Chiefs fan, in fact the opposite since my favorite team is the Denver Broncos. But I tune in to almost every Chiefs game because Patrick Mahomes is a fun watch. The NBA does the same with young stars like Devin Booker and Trae Young.
But if all we know in baseball is about the stacked line-ups of Yankees and Dodgers, players like Nolan Arenado, Vlad Guerrero, Jr. and Sandy Alcantara aren’t celebrated.
Again, could you imagine if the only primetime NFL games were the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers?
Lastly, let the players have fun. We haven’t heard much about Fernando Tatis, Jr. this year because of injuries, but when he was scrutinized for bat flips, the “unnecessary” grand slam and other antics, guess what was happening? The sport was being talked about.
I don’t like the show-boating in the NFL either, but it creates more ratings and draws me to watch it more to see if someone can humble those players.
In closing, I’d love to see the sport of baseball grow and lose the negative attitude from the masses that the games are too long and/or boring. But until MLB stops getting in it’s own way, it will continue to lose ground in the sports entertainment landscape.
John Lee is the editor of The Pampa News and can be reached at pampanewseditor@gmail.com or find him on Twitter: @jcl1987.
