A Light Under The Bed

"Baseball must be a great game to survive the fools who run it." - Bill Terry

Those who have a working familiarity with Christianity will recall when Jesus asks who would keep a light under his bed. Looking at the way Major League Baseball markets itself, I can't help but see Rob Manfred tucking a light under his bed.

Baseball had a PR and marketing problem. We have known this for years and it is purely a result of a league brass that continues to shoot itself in the foot again and again. From absurd rules around equipment, to blackouts, to this week's bizarre censure of Daniel Kim, it seems the worst enemy of proselytizing baseball to the masses is the league itself.

On equipment, you may recall the league absurdly coming down on Willson Contreras over the Venezuelan flag sleeve or Mike Clevinger and Ben Zobrist over custom cleats. What is the issue with a harmless display of patriotism by a player trying to bring some joy to a home country that so desperately needs it and that is a hot bed of baseball? What harm do custom cleats do? The league does nothing about pitchers using foreign substances to cheat but feels the need to enforce this. It makes no sense.

On the matter of regional blackouts, I understand that the league has conditions in their elaborate TV deals that they must honor but future deals will have to take the changing landscape of radio and television. Also, this is a major fan irritant as Rob Manfred is all too aware. Fans want to see their teams and if also if consumer devices are an issue for MLB, then find a way to adapt.

And now for the main reason I wrote this article. That latest PR gaffe from MLB cam to my attention through a tweet about KBO and MLB analyst Daniel Kim being barred from covering MLB for not being part of an "approved media organization". Kim is a highly respected baseball commentator and reporter. He was a go-to expert last year during ESPN's foray last year into KBO. Blue Jays and Mets fans in particular also know him well. In making this decision, MLB PR have barred an important and highly knowledgeable voice in our game as well as ineptly alienating a portion of the league's considerable Korean fanbase.

Moreover, it shows a lack of awareness from the league of the changing tide in the ways sports talk is consumed. Increasingly, people turn to YouTube to watch Urinating Tree, Jomboy, or GiraffeNeckMark. In case MLB hasn't realized it, ratings for Fox and ESPN are trending down because the content is no longer compelling to modern sports fans. These more independent voices offer more compelling and interesting content than the vapid talking points and political discourse that have infested conventional sports media. They look like the future of sports media. The "accredited media organizations" on the other hand look like the past and that is where MLB PR is stuck.

Baseball is still the greatest game on earth. It is the brightest shining lamp that I know of. But Rob Manfred and crew insist on keeping it under the bed, rather than on the nightstand where it can shine brightly. Let's hope that changes in 2021.